Season 7 Plot
The battle lines are drawn in Manitoba, Canada. Hugh “Polar Bear” Rowland returns after quitting his job at Polar Industries and sets up his own shop right down the street. Bound and determined to reclaim his crown as “King of the Road,” he poaches Polar’s dispatcher, intent on landing enough loads to force his old company into submission. Hugh rounds up the toughest truckers he can find and they hit the winter roads. However, Polar Industries and its owner, Mark Kohaykewych, aren’t about to take this challenge lying down. To counter this threat on their turf, they enlist some of Hugh’s biggest rivals. Ice road legend Alex Debogorski signs on with Polar as well as Alaskan trucking icon Lisa Kelly, after a year hiatus. Montana legend Darrell Ward is also enlisted by the crew at Polar. This season also chronicles an eccentric mechanic way up north who dances to the beat of a completely different drum. Joey Barnes, nicknamed “The King of Obsolete,” fills his yard with trucks from decades past. Many of the vehicles are rarities, and some have been re-engineered as Joey’s own unique pieces of equipment. He’s taken it upon himself to use his fleet of trucks to rescue those stuck in the most remote corners of Manitoba.
Ice Road Truckers Season 7 aired on June 9th, 2013.
Season 7 Episodes
1. Collision Course
Hugh Rowland returns to the winter roads with a grudge and a goal; Mark Kohaykewych enlists some of Hugh's biggest rivals.
2. Art Attack
VP Express finally delivers their first loads of the season, but after a heated confrontation with owners Hugh Rowland and Vlad Pleskot, new hire Art Burke falls behind the bosses on the way back home. When his truck breaks down hundreds of miles from Winnipeg, Art suddenly finds himself stranded and alone. Polar snags a lucrative new contract, but it's over one of the most dangerous roads in Manitoba. Darrell Ward is the first to blaze the trail, but when he fails to conquer a mammoth incline, he's sent rolling backwards onto the ice. Fellow Polar drivers Lisa Kelly and Alex Debogorski follow close behind, but Lisa's broken wrist threatens to shut her down in the remote Canadian wilderness.
3. Fear the Crack
With loads needed to be hauled for their half million dollar contract, VP bosses Hugh Rowland and Vlad "The Mad Russian" Pleskot agree to keep struggling new hire Art Burke aboard. But they bring in new ice road hopeful Todd Dewey to keep freight moving and put pressure on Art to perform. In a convoy with Hugh and Art, Todd is put to the ultimate test as he faces the first ice crossing of his career. After rival Polar Industries snags a deal to haul loads over a newly opened road, Darrell Ward is sent out to test it, but his truck has a problem that could prove to be deadly. Lisa races to get off the winter roads and back into the load count battle with rival VP Express. While Alex Debogorski retraces his steps over the deadly Shamattawa trail with a giant forklift, knowing a successful delivery will help Polar hold off his old rival Hugh.
4. Ice Rodeo
Hugh's new company is in trouble. Mechanical trouble and angry employees cause him grief. Meanwhile, Lisa gets a chance to prove herself with her heaviest load of the season. Darrel faces a new problems.
5. World War Hugh
Polar Industries has pulled ahead of rival VP Express, and VP boss Hugh Rowland decides to hit the road on his own. Polar scores a lucrative contract hauling million dollar parts for a water treatment plant, but both Darrell Ward and Alex Debogorski face major delays.
6. Hail to the King
Things get ugly when VP Express boss Hugh Rowland steals a driver from Polar Industries and convinces the new hire to use his truck to block his former employer's front gate. Polar boss Mark Kohaykewych shows his faith in Lisa Kelly by sending her on a challenging, one-day round trip mission.
7. Load Rules
Alex Debogorski races to complete one of Polar's most critical hauls of the season after a dashboard fire nearly costs him more than just a paycheck. Lisa's forced to stop in the middle of a frozen lake when she loses sight of the road. Darrell Ward's patience with Polar reaches its limit after he fails to receive a promised load. At VP Express, Art Burke and Todd Dewey run into trouble when they find their high priced hauls frozen in the snow. And the King of Obsolete's convoy breaks through the ice on one of the most remote trails in Manitoba.
8. Art of War
The landscape in the battle for winter roads supremacy is shaken to the core as Art Burke locks horns with VP Express bosses Hugh Rowland and Vlad Plescott while at Polar, Darrell Ward confronts owner Mark Kohaykewych. Alex Debogorski gets stuck on a pressure ridge hauling a $100K load on the ice. And Lisa Kelly encounters her most treacherous ice crossing of her young winter roads career.
9. Haul of the Wild
Drivers Lisa Kelly, Alex Debogorski, Art Burke and Darrel Ward all attempt to conquer a remote, unmonitored trail, as the battle for Ice Road supremacy presses on. From lake crossings on thinning ice to wrong turns in the wilderness, the crew from Polar is put to the test. Meanwhile, rival VP Express' run over the melting roads leads to trouble when boss Hugh Rowland crashes into the ditch. Plus, Hugh shakes up the winter roads war when he makes Lisa an offer she might not be able to refuse.
10. Jagged Little Hill
As the end of the season nears, Polar tries to fulfill their contract over the unregulated road to Utik Lake. But when a jackknifed truck blocks the remote trail, it's up to Darrell Ward to move the wrecked rig all by himself. Lisa Kelly also braves the path to Utik with her heaviest haul of the season, and the melting roads give her a ride she'll never forget. New Polar hire Art Burke struggles on his first solo run as engine problems threaten to shut him down. At VP, rookie Todd Dewey's excavator haul causes multiple tires to blow out from under the massive weight. And The King of Obsolete's crew breaks through the ice at one of the northernmost destinations on the winter roads.
11. The Wrecking Crew
With only days remaining in the season to determine the load count winner, Polar and VP Express race to deliver hauls over the rapidly melting roads. At VP, boss Hugh Rowland drives a fire truck up the rugged route to Wasagamack. But before hitting the trail, he makes an unwelcome surprise visit at the Polar yard. Rookie Todd Dewey tries to make it back to Winnipeg with a load so light, he struggles to gain any traction. Polar driver Alex Debogorski is unable to manage the slick roads and crashes grill first into the ditch. Polar convoy Darrell Ward and Lisa Kelly hit the road with the widest haul of the season. But when Darrell's truck is unable to pull the monster load any further, it's up to Lisa to take it the final stretch.
12. Winter Takes All
As the ice roads melt away, Polar and VP Express are neck and neck in the load count. Racing to come out on top this season, both Polar and VP take on a late season mission to the remote village of God's Lake. Every driver joins the massive race, hoping their company comes out on top. But with the roads melting, getting in is only half the battle. Every driver must make it off the roads before they melt away or risk losing their truck and cargo to the Manitoba backwoods. It's the final dash for the cash, and only one company can win the load count.