Ice road queen driveth

MANILA, Philippines - “I’m not even quite sure where you’re at, but I hope to someday because I’ll probably never forget where you’re at again,” graciously replies the lady on the other end of the phone, after being asked if she’s ever been to the Philippines.

Lisa Kelley is talking to me from Wasilla, the sixth largest city in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in Alaska – a region that averages a chilly 10 degrees Centigrade this time of the year, and dips to a numbing -14 in December and January. Home for just two days since her great Himalayan adventure as an ice road trucker, Kelley admits to some disorientation. “I almost got into the passenger seat once,” she says with a laugh, and adds that she had to remember to drive on the right side of the road again.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

In 2000, the History Channel (now simply known as History) ran Ice Road Truckers, a program that documented the dangerous job of driving trucks over frozen lakes (also called “ice roads”) in Northern Canada. Seven years later, that story was spun off into a proper series that’s still going strong today.

On July 28, Thursday, at 10 p.m., a new 10-episode season rolls out, dubbed Ice Road Truckers: Deadliest Roads, which follows Lisa and two male drivers tasked to test their mettle on – of all places – Himalayan roads. History, in a statement, says that the highways of India are “some of the deadliest of the planet... whether it’s driving along 1,000 feet-high cliffs, dodging avalanches, failing to communicate in a different language, staying cool in temperatures over 115 degrees (Fahrenheit), staying warm in temperatures below freezing.”

Lisa Kelley, a pretty 20-something blonde, was first conscripted for the show’s third season, where she and five other drivers braved the ice road that is Alaska Route 11 (Dalton Highway) “to bring supplies nearly 500 miles... (for) oil fields and offshore rigs. However, the combination of avalanches, strong Arctic winds leading to whiteouts, and unforgiving terrain has led to hundreds of accidents in past years.”

Lisa did well – finishing tied for second by delivering 15 loads (the winning trucker registered 20). Her poise under pressure, as well as her mental toughness, surely proved indispensable in her Himalayan sojourn.

I asked her how it compared to her Dalton experience. “Because I grew up around Dalton, Alaska, I’ve gotten used to it. It’s my normal, everyday job. But when I went over to the Himalayas, it was a whole new culture, a whole new road, a whole new truck – a whole new way of everything. It was very challenging for me.”

The drivers were put behind the wheel of 150 hp Tata model 1613s – each elaborately colored and designed with depictions of religious idols for protection. The vehicles are not exactly paradigms of high technology. History says “the chassis is the only part of this truck that is made of steel, while the cab is constructed entirely of wood.”

Nonetheless, Lisa swears by the machine. “The trucks that we were driving were perfectly suited for the road that we were on. I love my truck here at home, but there would be no way I’d be able to spin it on the roads there.”

Particularly challenging was the Cliffside section of the NH22 (one of two perilous routes the truckers negotiated). I ask her how it was for her. She starts with a laugh “So scary! I just drove super slow and tried not to look over the edge and not imagine what could happen. That would freak me out.”

To drive on ice is a vastly different proposition, says Lisa. “Ice is slippery of course, so you don’t have the traction that you do in asphalt. When you have ice between tires and the asphalt, you have to learn to drive a whole different way. You have to anticipate that you’re going to slide. You have to give a lot of time to stop.”

She underscores, “You have to think so much further ahead about what could happen and drive accordingly.”

To tip the scales in the driver’s favor, specialized tires are used. For instance, softer rubber tires stick to the ice a lot better than conventional ones. The key is getting more surface area for give better traction, Lisa shares.

Sometimes spikes or studs are used to provide more grip. Other times, chains are employed. “It also helps to have warm tires. They stick better to the ice,” adds Kelley.

Back home, Lisa’s also opts for a big set of wheels. “A Chevy pickup,” she declares. This uber trucker, who also used to drive a school bus, is equally adept on two wheels – she’s a sometime motocross champion. Just a few days back, she had already hit the track, and confesses to performing some jumps – in the hope that she would again be able to compete in the near future.

For now, she’s happy with multi-ton trucks on less-than-ideal surfaces. Speaking of which, I told her she should try the roads here in the Philippines.

“That sounds difficult,” she says.