When do ice road truckers drive

Ice road trucking operations usually begin around January and run for a few months after that. Throughout these winter months—when ice roads are formed and open for operation—they are maintained by maintenance crews and patrolled by enforcement personnel. These are a few of the only people that can be seen along the ice roads during ice trucking season.

These truckers brave the ice roads to deliver anything from fuel to food. For example, crews working in gold mines in northern Alaska need fuel, food, and many other supplies and equipment. Since these gold mines are found in remote locations, the best and most effective way to deliver supplies is by truck. Another mode of delivery in Alaska is having things flown in, but trucking is a fraction of the cost!

The world needs truckers who are willing to brave the icy roads of the Arctic! Lastly, some of the equipment that needs to make its way to the Arctic is too big or too heavy to be flown in—so sometimes trucking is the only option. These mining supplies are just one of the main resources that ice road truckers deliver.

One who goes into ice road trucking should certainly be aware of the hazards that come with the job. Some are obvious—like the fact that to degree temperature days are anything but out of the ordinary. Or that the average daily temperature in Alaska during ice road trucking months in 34 degrees Fahrenheit. And not only are the temperatures brutal, but these extreme lows can cause other problems. For example, extreme lows cause steel to become brittle, and so anything from the rims to the frame of the truck could snap and break.

Not all roads that ice road truckers drive on are built on frozen water, but many of them are. In North America, ice road truckers work primarily in Alaska and northern Canada. The ice road season is short, and the roads are always heavily maintained during the season.

Ice road drivers use these roads to deliver loads to places that only trucks can reach. One of the top reasons that ice road truckers get into the job is for the pay. The season is only a few months long, but the pay can be very good from a reputable company. Home time is another big draw for drivers considering taking a job on the ice roads.

Because the season is so heavily dependent on the weather, most jobs run from about mid-January to mid-March. After those two months, drivers can decide how to spend the rest of their year. For some, that might mean time to look for other driving jobs in the off-season. Others might simply want more time at home to balance the time away during the season.

No one will deny that ice road trucking is a dangerous job. That said, there are many safety measures and regulations in place to protect drivers. Ice road trucking companies perform strict maintenance on the ice roads, regularly inspect the equipment, and carefully train drivers. The stakes are high when incidents occur, but employers are extremely attentive to driver safety. One of the biggest cons of ice road trucking is also one of the most obvious.

The job comes with high levels of risk. All truck drivers have moderate levels of risk based on the amount of time they spend behind the wheel, but the bar is especially high for ice road drivers. Weather runs the show, and whiteouts, avalanches, and frigid temperatures can cause issues that range from moderately problematic to fatal.

A blowout occurs when a wave under the ice creates a slow-motion upheaval in the surface. A jagged bomb crater-like hole appears.

The road maintenance men have to then divert traffic away from the area and do what they can to repair the damage. They also watch for thinning areas in the ice and dig auger holes to release water and thicken those areas.

Safety is utmost in the minds of the trucking companies so everything that can be done will be done to make the ice roads safer. The United States Antarctic program also maintains two ice roads during the austral summer. The other road provides access to the ice runway which is on sea ice. The road between the runway and McMurdo station varies in length from year to year depending on many factors including ice stability.

With only miles of paved highway serving a scant 42, souls, getting anywhere in the Northwest Territories requires a plane or the ice roads. This road is the longest of its kind, running miles up into the Canadian tundra. This road serves the mining camps that tap into the rich deposits of diamond-bearing Kimberlite.

Samples of Kimberlite were first found in Another mine opened at Snap Lake halfway up the Tibbitt to Contwoyto road and , tons of fuel, explosives, steel, and concrete had to be hauled over the ice roads.

One of the main reason people are interested in driving the ice roads is the pay. Most of the ice road routes run from Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, to the mining camps.