Yukon Gold | |
---|---|
Genre | Documentary, Reality |
Written by | Michael Lavoie (Season 1) Aynsley Vogel (Season 2) |
Narrated by | Bill Courage |
Opening theme | "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant |
Composer | Adam Lastiwka |
Country of origin | Canada |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 50 |
Production | |
Executive producers | David Paperny Cal Shumiatcher Audrey Mehler Beth Wichterich |
Producers | David Paperny Cal Shumiatcher Vera Lubimova Christine Brandt |
Production locations | Klondike region, Yukon (Seasons 1 – 5) Atlin Mining District, Atlin, British Columbia (Season 4) Cassiar Country, British Columbia (Season 1) |
Cinematography | Simon Schneider |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Production companies | Paperny Entertainment (Entertainment One) |
Original release | |
Network | History Television |
Release | March 13, 2013 – May 3, 2017 |
Yukon Gold was a Canadian reality television series produced by Paperny Entertainment that aired on History Television. The series followed four or five placer mining crews as they searched for gold over the four-month Yukon mining season.
The series was acquired in the United States by the National Geographic Channel and aired starting in 2013. [1]
On June 1, 2017, Paperny Entertainment announced on the show's Twitter feed that after five seasons, Yukon Gold had "ended its run". [2]
In the first season, miners Ken Foy, Al McGregor, Bernie Kreft, and Karl Knutson each led one of the crews. [3]
Cam Johnson's group replaced Bernie Kreft's crew in the second season. [4]
Nika Guilbault & Chris St. Jean's group replaced "Big Al" McGregor's crew in the third season. [5] [6]
In the fourth season, the Bernie Kreft and "Big Al" McGregor crews rejoined the show, alongside the operations of Ken Foy & Guillaume Brodeur, Karl Knutson, and Nika Guilbault & Chris St. Jean. [7]
In the fifth season, the operations of Karl Knutson, Bernie Kreft, and Ken Foy & Guillaume Brodeur left the show, while the crews of "Big Al" McGregor and Nika Guilbault & Chris St. Jean returned. They were joined by the crews of Riley Gibson & Ed Long, and Andy Tai & Paul "P.J." Joseph. [8]
Season | Episodes | Special(s) | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season premiere | Season finale | ||||
1 | 10 | March 13, 2013 | May 15, 2013 | ||
2 | 10 | February 26, 2014 | April 30, 2014 | ||
3 | 10 | 1 | February 25, 2015 | May 6, 2015 | |
4 | 10 | 1 | February 17, 2016 | April 27, 2016 | |
5 | 8 | March 15, 2017 | May 3, 2017 | ||
No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Sluice or Die" | March 13, 2013 | |
Gold mining season begins in Dawson City, Yukon, and the countdown to winter is on. Newcomer "Big Al" worries his season could be over before it starts when his excavator named 'Big Girl' fails. Further south, Bernie struggles not only to teach his young sons how to be miners, but also to find gold. In Moose Creek, best friends Ken and Guillaume cannot get their sluice machine "The Beast" up and running – and without it, their entire season could be a bust. | ||||
2 | 2 | "No Deaths, No Worries" | March 20, 2013 | |
It is week three for mining crew Ken and Guillaume and non-stop rain jeopardizes their cut. On Sulphur Creek, young crew boss Karl has no sluice machine, and no sluicer means no gold. Karl's father Marty, a highly respected self-made miner, builds a new one from scratch. While Karl waits, he struggles to keep his crew on task – and live up to his father's high expectations. Big Al tests new strategies – and new equipment – on a fresh claim. If only he could keep his machines running. | ||||
3 | 3 | "The Curse of Moose Creek" | March 27, 2013 | |
Mining season in the North is in full swing, but for Ken and Guillaume equipment problems mean they are only sluicing half of what they should be. Karl must deal with mistakes his crew make and design flaws on the massive sluicer his dad Marty built. Bernie packs it in at McDame and moves his operation to Snow Creek, hoping his fortune is about to change. | ||||
4 | 4 | "Gold Fever!" | April 3, 2013 | |
With the weeks passing quickly, Ken and Guillaume's dreams of striking it big are starting to fade as they face continual equipment breakdowns and a crew member who goes AWOL. Bernie's decision to move to Snow Creek seems to be paying off, if only he can get his sons to step up and meet his expectations. Al McGregor's pay streak is threatened when he breaks a hitch trying to move his sluice plant. | ||||
5 | 5 | "Hard Days Night" | April 10, 2013 | |
Karl Knutson is shocked to learn just how quickly the season is passing, and with one water issue after another, his opportunity for a big payday is dwindling just as fast. A faulty clutch on Al McGregor's sluice machine results in a shutdown; it's a race to get it fixed and get back to work, even if it means working around the clock. | ||||
6 | 6 | "Never Say Die" | April 17, 2013 | |
Ken and Guillaume try to reverse their bad luck by moving across Moose Creek. Bernie has to deal with mistakes made by his junior crew. And Karl's night crew is starting to slow him down. | ||||
7 | 7 | "Run for the Narrows" | April 24, 2013 | |
Guillaume is ready to give up on "Bad Attitude" altogether, potentially sending half the crew home early. A frozen sluice box traps Karl's gold causing him to confront his crew. The crew lets off some steam on a moose hunt. Over at Indian River, Hiro battles beavers for precious sluicing water and Big Al decides to try an unconventional mining technique. | ||||
8 | 8 | "Winter Gamble" | May 1, 2013 | |
Ken makes a dangerous drive for fuel when winter hits early. Matt's mistake could cost him his job. Karl has a bad day with a frozen sluice plant, broken truck, burst pipe, and a visit from Dad. And Bernie's pay streak suddenly ends just as he loses a crew member. | ||||
9 | 9 | "The Last Stand" | May 8, 2013 | |
Ken moves The Beast and finally hits a mother lode of gold. But breakdowns could end Bernie's season early. And Big Al moves his sluice plant to its final site – his profit pit. | ||||
10 | 10 | "Freeze Up" | May 15, 2013 | |
In a dangerous attempt to replenish fuel, Ken risks everything to keep his sluice plant running before it and his pay dirt are covered in snow. Karl ignores his father's advice, intent on scooping up whatever unfrozen ground remains. And Big Al's rookie season on Indian River comes to a close, but mounting equipment failures and a tired crew may prevent him from reaching his magic number. |
No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
11 | 1 | "Behind the Eight Ball" | February 26, 2014 | |
Karl hopes to score 100 ounces of gold in one week. Ken weighs the cost of an eager but careless hand who keeps breaking equipment. Big Al has to replace big iron without a big payday. | ||||
12 | 2 | "In for a Penny, in for a Pound" | March 5, 2014 | |
Ken sinks big money to dig out a narrow cut. New miner Cam's big payday is threatened by fire. Karl's experienced but unreliable operator forces his hand. | ||||
13 | 3 | "It's Ours to Take" | March 12, 2014 | |
Ken loses a machine when he can't afford to pay his debts and his crew. Big Al smells gold in the ground, but gets shut down by equipment breakdowns. Dennis has to scrape $10,000 out of hostile ground to replace a part or face permanent shutdown. | ||||
14 | 4 | "What Doesn't Kill You..." | March 19, 2014 | |
Ken fights a double mutiny when his plant and a crew-member go rogue. Cam's veteran welder is struck down and airlifted to hospital. Karl's crew encounters a bear. | ||||
15 | 5 | "Know When to Hold 'Em" | March 26, 2014 | |
Ken's wife visits to discover he's on the verge of going broke. Big Al's excavator takes a nosedive. Karl's season is threatened by permafrost. | ||||
16 | 6 | "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" | April 2, 2014 | |
Dennis' hunt for gold proves unsuccessful. Ken breaks a machine in his haste to sluice. Karl's cut floods, putting his season in jeopardy. | ||||
17 | 7 | "All That Glitters Is Not Gold" | April 9, 2014 | |
Ken takes a roll in his bulldozer. Beavers threaten to shut down Big Al. Karl's loader springs a leak. | ||||
18 | 8 | "In It to Win It" | April 16, 2014 | |
Crews are racing to rip through ground as winter descends. Ken and right-hand man Guillaume fight to keep the Beast sluicing through subzero temperatures only to discover the dirt they've banked on has run dry. Cam's plans to mine an ancient waterfall go sideways when the treacherous ground threatens to bench his iron for good. Karl and right-hand man Kyle's mechanical skills are put to the test when the season takes its toll on Sulphur Creek's operation. | ||||
19 | 9 | "Know When to Fold 'Em" | April 23, 2014 | |
The short Yukon gold mining season is almost over, and crews are battling the elements in a mad push for gold. Ken is forced to call in reinforcements when winter hits Moose Creek hard. Cam hits an impenetrable ice wall that freezes him out of his cut and moves to risky new ground only to have crucial iron go down. Big Al's plans to rip through promising dirt are sidelined when his only stripping dozer suffers a catastrophic breakdown that puts right-hand man Hiro's mechanical skills to the ultimate test. | ||||
20 | 10 | "Know When to Run" | April 30, 2014 | |
The miners battle nature's wrath in an epic final push for gold. Ken's bid to pull 100 ounces out of hot ground goes sideways when the mine runs out of fuel, forcing him to shut down sluicing and fight his way up Moose Creek's treacherous road in a desperate bid to get to a fuel station at the top. Karl's race to mine Sulphur Creek out so he can stake his own claim is benched when one of his crew deals his prize sluice plant a near fatal blow. Big Al follows his gut to high-stakes ground only to be shut out when his only stripping dozer goes down for the count. |
No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
21 | 1 | "Fresh Start" | February 25, 2015 | |
Ken and Guillaume journey over a treacherous mountain pass. Cam stresses over getting Oklahoma welder Gary into the country. Mining couple Nika and Chris have a rough start to their season. | ||||
22 | 2 | "Game Changer" | March 4, 2015 | |
Cam gambles on an expensive new water cannon. A broken part on his sluice plant slows Karl's progress. Ken and Guillaume's first gold test is a dud. | ||||
23 | 3 | "Time Crunch" | March 11, 2015 | |
Cam and his crew rush to start sluicing Donovan Cut. Karl comes up with a clever way to motivate his crew. Chris and Nika's operation is halted by a sluice plant breakdown. | ||||
24 | 4 | "Under Pressure" | March 18, 2015 | |
Chris and Nika butt heads while moving to a new cut. Cam struggles with machine failures and contaminated fuel. Ken and Guillaume find traces of gold. | ||||
25 | 5 | "Divine Intervention" | March 25, 2015 | |
Frozen ground threatens Cam's season. Ken and Guillaume abandon Arizona Creek. Karl gambles with broken equipment. | ||||
26 | 6 | "Financial Crisis" | April 1, 2015 | |
Chris and Nika face financial hardship. Cam's son-in-law is determined to find gold. Ken and Guillaume find a prime location to salvage their season. | ||||
27 | 7 | "Bedrock Blues" | April 8, 2015 | |
Karl hopes to make a profit at Last Chance. Chris and Nika move to Stowe Creek. Cam and his wife melt the gold they've collected and find they're way below their target. | ||||
28 | 8 | "Desperation Mode" | April 15, 2015 | |
Chris and Nika's mine hand Charles gets injured, leaving them short-handed. Cam gives Donovan Cut one final try to save his season. Ken and Guillaume up their recovery system in hopes of catching finer gold. | ||||
29 | 9 | "Home Stretch" | April 22, 2015 | |
Ken and Guillaume face a dangerous situation. Karl finally hits a pay streak. Cam tries to finish his season on a positive note. | ||||
30 | 10 | "Final Push" | April 29, 2015 | |
Nika and Chris push through the final week of the season. Low temperatures freeze Karl's sluicing plant. Ken and Guillaume get a huge surprise. |
No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
31 | 11 | "Looking Back" | May 6, 2015 | |
In a special retrospective episode, the miners recap their highs and lows of the season, and reveal their plans for next season. |
No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
32 | 1 | "Homecoming" | February 17, 2016 | |
Now in a wheelchair, Big Al returns to gold mining; Bernie clashes with his son; Karl finds gold right away; Chris reunites with Nika and their kids. | ||||
33 | 2 | "Treasure Hunt" | February 24, 2016 | |
Karl finds new gold with old maps; Nika and Chris find their first gold of the season; Bernie struggles to get started. Permit problems stall the beginning of Ken and Guillaume's season. | ||||
34 | 3 | "Hard Rain, Bad Luck" | March 2, 2016 | |
Karl struggles to find gold after a heavy rain; Nika and Chris' new crew member Nick gets their only dozer hopelessly stuck in the mud of the new cut; Big Al makes steady progress rehabilitating, but has a disappointing gold haul; Bernie pushes his sluice plant "Bouncing Betty" to the limit. | ||||
35 | 4 | "Embrace the Chaos" | March 9, 2016 | |
Nika and Chris face an excavator breakdown and water problems; just when Ken and Guillaume's mining permits are approved, Ken's wife wants him home for their child's birth; Bernie's son Jarret goes AWOL. Karl has a poor cleanup after betting on unproven ground. | ||||
36 | 5 | "For Blood or Money" | March 16, 2016 | |
Big Al's gamble pays off; Bernie argues with his son Justin; Ken and Guillaume sluice before Ken has to leave for his child's birth; Karl's team tries to sluice 200 ounces of gold in a week. | ||||
37 | 6 | "Desperate Times" | March 23, 2016 | |
Nika and Chris face an excavator repair they can't afford; Guillaume has trouble while Ken is away; Karl asks his family for help; Bernie gets a surprise. | ||||
38 | 7 | "Hurts Like Hell" | March 30, 2016 | |
Breakdowns shut down Nika and Chris' mine; Big Al remembers his wife's death; Ken and Guillaume try to save their season; Bernie and his team have a big payoff. | ||||
39 | 8 | "Double Down" | April 6, 2016 | |
Nika's little brother Daylen gets in the way; when his main sluicing water pump stops, Big Al is shut down; Ken and Guillaume's two sluice plant plan turns into a disaster; Karl and his crew go to a charity golf tournament. | ||||
40 | 9 | "Old Timers' Revenge" | April 13, 2016 | |
Big Al revives an old passive "push-in (aka Pearson) sluice box" in a last-ditch effort to keep sluicing; Karl brings in help to hit his goal; Chris and Nika get help from Chris' family when they check their gold haul. Bernie finds extensive Gold Rush-era mine shafts under his claim, ending his season. | ||||
41 | 10 | "Race to the Finish" | April 20, 2016 | |
Big Al risks his health to break even; Nika's brother Daylen makes a surprising decision; Ken and Guillaume dig deep; Karl tries to top his goal. |
No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
42 | 11 | "Grit, Guts & Glory" | April 27, 2016 | |
A special retrospective episode of the previous four seasons featuring all six crews. Includes some scenes never before broadcast. |
No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
43 | 1 | "Strike While the Iron Is Hot" | March 15, 2017 | |
After an early setback, Big Al questions his instincts; Ed and Riley struggle to transport a sluice plant to their remote mine site; bad weather causes a roadblock for P.J. and Andy. | ||||
44 | 2 | "Not Beaten" | March 22, 2017 | |
Big Al's health declines; Chris St. Jean deals with a rookie mine hand; P.J. and Andy face floods and breakdowns. | ||||
45 | 3 | "The Hiro Curse" | March 29, 2017 | |
Hiro's Curse returns for Big Al; unstable ground shuts down Chris and Nika. | ||||
46 | 4 | "Hard Lessons" | April 5, 2017 | |
Chris risks his season on a new cut; Andy tries to manage the mine alone while P.J. heads south to visit his family; Ed and Riley go hunting, but head back to their claim when their sluice plant's bearings act up. | ||||
47 | 5 | "No Backing Down" | April 12, 2017 | |
Desperate, Big Al pushes Hiro to his limit; Chris looks to salvage his season; P.J. and Andy's camp experiences a mini-revolt. | ||||
48 | 6 | "The Cost of Gold" | April 19, 2017 | |
Big Al's plans are thwarted by no-show staff; P.J.'s wife has concerns regarding mining and their family; Ed and Riley run out of fuel. | ||||
49 | 7 | "The Razor's Edge" | April 26, 2017 | |
P.J. and Andy's investor gives them an ultimatum; Chris discovers something that could lead to a big payout; Ed and Riley's season may end early. | ||||
50 | 8 | "Winter's Grasp" | May 3, 2017 | |
Al faces breakdowns that threaten his profit; desperate, P.J. and Andy start a night shift; Ed and Riley make a final effort to prove themselves. |
The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon, in north-western Canada, between 1896 and 1899. Gold was discovered there by local miners on August 16, 1896; when news reached Seattle and San Francisco the following year, it triggered a stampede of prospectors. Some became wealthy, but the majority went in vain. It has been immortalized in films, literature, and photographs.
Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a city in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest city in Yukon.
Edward Lawrence Schieffelin (1847–1897) was an Indian scout and prospector who discovered silver in the Arizona Territory, which led to the founding of Tombstone, Arizona. He entered into a partnership with his brother Al and mining engineer Richard Gird in a handshake deal that produced millions of dollars in wealth for all three men. During the course of Tombstone's mining history, about US $85,000,000 in silver was produced from its mines.
Ellen Cashman was an Irish gold prospector, nurse, restaurateur, businesswoman and philanthropist in Arizona, Alaska, British Columbia and Yukon.
Hunting For Hidden Gold is Volume 5 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. The book ranks 111th on Publishers Weekly's All-Time Bestselling Children's Book List for the United States, with 1,179,533 copies sold as of 2001.
The Far Country is a 1954 American Technicolor Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Walter Brennan, John McIntire and Corinne Calvet. Written by Borden Chase, the film is about a self-minded adventurer who locks horns with an evil, corrupt judge while driving cattle to Dawson, Yukon Territory. It is one of the few Westerns to be set in Alaska — others include The Spoilers (1955) and North to Alaska (1960) — although it was not filmed there. This was the fourth Western film collaboration between Anthony Mann and James Stewart. The supporting cast features Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Steve Brodie, Robert J. Wilke, Chubby Johnson, Royal Dano and Jack Elam.
The history of the Yukon covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians through the Beringia land bridge approximately 20,000 years ago. In the 18th century, Russian explorers began to trade with the First Nations people along the Alaskan coast, and later established trade networks extending into Yukon. By the 19th century, traders from the Hudson's Bay Company were also active in the region. The region was administered as a part of the North-Western Territory until 1870, when the United Kingdom transferred the territory to Canada and it became the North-West Territories.
Gold mining in Alaska, a state of the United States, has been a major industry and impetus for exploration and settlement since a few years after the United States acquired the territory in 1867 from the Russian Empire. Russian explorers discovered placer gold in the Kenai River in 1848, but no gold was produced. Gold mining started in 1870 from placers southeast of Juneau, Alaska.
"The King of the Klondike" or "The Argonaut of White Agony Creek" is a 1993 Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa. It is the eighth of the original 12 chapters in the series The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. The story takes place from 1896 to 1897 and deals with Scrooge McDuck who participates in the Klondike Gold Rush. It takes place before The Prisoner of White Agony Creek and The Hearts of the Yukon.
Felice Pedroni, commonly known by his Hispanicized alias Felix Pedro, was an Italian immigrant whose discovery of gold in Interior Alaska marked the beginning of the 1902 Fairbanks Gold Rush.
Gold Rush is a reality television series that airs on Discovery and its affiliates worldwide. The series follows the placer gold mining efforts of various family-run mining companies, mostly in the Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, as well as in the U.S. state of Alaska. In its 12th season as of early 2021, prior seasons also included mining efforts in South America and western North America.
The Klondike Gold Rush is commemorated through film, literature, historical parks etc.
Gold Trails and Ghost Towns is a Canadian historical documentary show, created and produced by television station CHBC-TV in Kelowna, British Columbia for Canadian syndication and hosted by Mike Roberts with historian/storyteller Bill Barlee. The show was filmed in a studio which resembled an old trapper's cabin. Mike and Bill discussed prospectors and the history of British Columbia around 1900.
The Klondike Mines Railway (KMRy) was a 3 ft narrow gauge railway operating in the Klondike region of Yukon, Canada. Construction on the KMRy began in 1905 and the railway ceased operations in 1913.
Thomas William O'Brien was a Klondike gold rush entrepreneur who was best known for his Klondike Mines Railway and Klondike brewery businesses. He was also elected as a member of the Yukon Territorial Council, and was the first president of the Yukon Order of Pioneers, Klondike Lodge.
Alice Rollins-Crane Moraczewski was an American ethnologist, writer, business owner, and miner well known for her work with the Apache and her time in Alaska and the Yukon. She is the compiler of Smiles and Tears from the Klondyke, and the author of Our Klondyke Success and various other short pieces.
An Klondike is an Irish Western television series created by Dathaí Keane for TG4. Internationally, the series is known as Dominion Creek. Set during the Klondike Gold Rush, it portrays the lives of three Irish brothers in the fictional town of Dominion Creek who possess their own mining claims.
Dredge No. 4 is a wooden-hulled bucketline sluice dredge that mined placer gold on the Yukon River from 1913 until 1959. It is now located along Bonanza Creek Road 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south of the Klondike Highway near Dawson City, Yukon, where it is preserved as one of the National Historic Sites of Canada. It is the largest wooden-hulled dredge in North America.
Jade Fever is a Canadian documentary television series from Discovery Channel Canada, produced by Omnifilm Entertainment, that ran for seven seasons between April 2015 and July 2021. The series follows a long-standing jade mining family as they explored and placer-mined nephrite jade in the Dease Lake area of Northern British Columbia while also running a small motel and souvenir business in Jade City. The series was narrated by Martin Strong.
Portus B. Weare was a wooden sternwheel steamship built in 1892 for service on the Yukon River. She played a notable role in the Klondike gold rush, being the second ship to bring news of the Klondike gold strike and an estimated $1 million in gold down the river in 1897. This set off the gold rush. The vessel carried freight and passengers up the Yukon to Dawson City and later Fairbanks. She was abandoned in 1926 or 1927, after the need for steamboat transport to the interior declined.