- [Narrator] At the Pete and Joe
number three mine in Bear Gulch.
- Well Paul, it looks a hell of a lot better
than it did when we started.
- [Narrator] A brand new portal set brings
the Dale brothers one step closer to Ollie's gold.
- I'm right under the place
where I wouldn't have walked before.
With this in, I feel all right.
- [Narrator] But the work has just begun.
To go any further, they have to walk through
the original portal set.
And this 100 year old relic is barely standing
under the weight of 70 feet of solid earth.
- So I think what we can do, safely,
is actually set a stall under each
of these spreaders.
And I think it'll be secure.
- [Narrator] Kitt and Paul use a leftover lodge pole
and some scrape wood to rig a support post
called a stall under the unstable cap beam
at the mouth of the old portal.
- Feels all right.
- I wish it was the same all the way in here
but that's another chore.
- I don't really like that.
So we need more timber.
- Yeah.
- [Narrator] They need three more stalls
to shore up the old portal.
(light music)
Down on his property at the foot of Bear Gulch,
oldest brother Rick has the right tool for the job.
- I hope you had your Wheaties.
Ready, go.
Go.
- The gray logs are a lot lighter.
- I know.
- We've got a saw mill.
We feel really fortunate we can work
the tasks that are needed from one end
to the other of this project.
- Okay, let's walk this up.
- The first thing is to get one side flat.
Then we roll it over and you work on it in inches.
Does that look like a good cut?
- Good enough for mine timber.
- All right.
- Okay, they look good to me.
We're not building a house.
- [Narrator] Up at the B and H,
Paul checks on Marty's progress closing up
the side adit to keep trespassers away
from unexploded rounds.
(ominous music)
- How's that look, Paul?
- I think we can call this done.
- Good.
- [Narrator] The dynamite is sealed off,
but so is the reservoir of water John
was counting on to melt the ice in the B and H.
Now they'll have to find another way
to clear the tunnel.
And Tad has a plan.
- Got the old water truck going up the road
and I need to get it up there
to help cut that ice down in that B and H tunnel.
This will help.
- [Narrator] Tad is betting that his 500 gallon
water tank and a high pressure hose
can cut the ice down to size.
The only draw backs is that the nearest water source
is at the base of the gulch, 600 vertical feet
below the B and H.
- Okay.
I'm gonna stick that in the bucket.
That's ready to go.
(engine starting)
Oh yeah!
We've got pressure now.
Unlimited supply of water in that creek, that's great.
- [Narrator] At the Pete and Joe number three,
Paul and Marty add an extra layer
of protection to the new portal.
- We've got a really good, solid portal set.
Next we'll just have to put some plastic covering on it
to keep the moisture off it.
And then backfill.
- That good, Paul?
- I'm good over here!
Let me get some nails in it.
- [Narrator] At 8,200 feet up,
this stretch of the Tobacco Root Mountains
averages 180 days of snowfall a year.
This plastic tarp will help keep
the lagging dry in the extreme climate.
- That'll help a bunch, huh?
- That'll be good.
I'm sweating already.
- [Narrator] Next, they'll bury it under
a blanket of top soil to seal it to the mountain
and shield it from blizzards.
(light music)
- What do you think, boss?
- I think that looks pretty damn nice, Marty.
So that's secure.
That's gonna be there for a long time
and we don't need to worry about it.
Solid as can be.
- What else do you wanna do?
- I think it's time for lunch.
- Huh?
- I think it's time for lunch.
- [Narrator] While Paul and Marty take
a well earned break.
- Uh-oh.
We can't even eat on the [bleep] job, we get caught.
(chuckling)
- [Narrator] Rick and John finished
the final stall they need to rehab
the old portal at the Pete and Joe number three.
- Okay.
- They look good to me.
- They'll support the little weight
that's gonna be on the portal.
- Yeah.
- I think we should take these up
and see if we can give Kitt a hand up there.
- Okay.
- [Narrator] Rick and John catch up with Kitt
and head to the B and H to help Tad
as he puts his water tank to the test.
If his technique can efficiently melt
the ice in this 2,500 foot tunnel,
they'll have access to mine
the feeder system at the heart of the mountain.
Worth an estimated 50 to 100 million dollars.
- Hey, how you guys doing?
- Well, we'll let you judge for yourself.
We haven't been up here for a few days.
- What'd you think you've got to advance
with all this stuff then?
- With everything?
Six, seven feet.
- Well, I got that tank full of water.
I could squirt 50 feet.
(dramatic music)
- Wait a minute.
You're not equipped here.
There.
- Yeah, I might need that.
- Good luck.
- Okay, fire in the hole.
(rumbling engine)
- What kid doesn't like to play with water?
(funky music)
- Looks like it's cutting it.
- Clearing that bottom out.
- I think the tank's about empty,
I'm losing my spray.
- Yeah, the pump just revved up.
- He's back in there about five feet
but I takes a long time to cut a channel
with that fire hose.
- That's a lot of fuel.
- Yeah.
- [Narrator] At a rate of one foot of ice
for every hundred gallons of water,
Tad's technique is a bust.
They'll have to go back to the drawing board
to clear out this massive ice structure.
- I'll tell you what, guys.
I think you could call that a successful test
for fire control and unsuccessful test for ice cutting.
- Kind of like Edison and the light bulbs, huh?
Found out all the ways it didn't work.
- [Narrator] Coming up.
A better look into the number three.
Spells disaster for the Dales.
- Jesus, I don't wanna touch any of this.
- No.
We're caved.
(ominous music)