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The Faces of "Building Alaska"
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See Episode GuideGame Day
Just as Derek and his band of buddies are about to give up on their dream of a cliffside ski hut, Alaska hands them a miracle that turns a down day into game day. Lee loses one of his hardest working crew members out at Bulchitna Lake just as they have to lift an 800 pound truss into place, and Tony's hideaway cabin is in good enough shape to take a break and fish for halibut on the Lynn Canal.
Balancing Act
The builds are growing taller and the work more dangerous as Lee's crew must balance on a second story beam to get work done. Tony attempts to take a day off but stumbles upon a mysterious cabin that could be his next project. Meanwhile, Derek and his crew attempt to clear the site to create the ski hut's foundation pylons in the face of wicked winds, making it dangerous for the helicopter pilot to sling gravel to the guys.
Game Day
Just as Derek and his band of buddies are about to give up on their dream of a cliffside ski hut, Alaska hands them a miracle that turns a down day into game day. Lee loses one of his hardest working crew members out at Bulchitna Lake just as they have to lift an 800 pound truss into place, and Tony's hideaway cabin is in good enough shape to take a break and fish for halibut on the Lynn Canal.
Destructive Forces
Tony Malone's crew outside of Haines, Alaska, get a visit from a hungry bear. Builder Lee Raymond faces challenges when working closely with family. Derek Galbraith reveals the tragic story behind the heli-skiing industry in Valdez, Alaska.
A Long Hard Slog
After battling the tragedy of the loss of his righthand man, Ryan Beachy, Chuck Gerwig is back in the saddle and ready to finish the job that he and Ryan started months earlier. 312 miles northeast in Chicken, Alaska, Jim Wagner and crew are at a near standstill due to a nonstop rain that has turned their man-made road into an impassible swamp. And with a concrete truck due any minute, will they be able to get it fixed before they risk losing any hope of getting the foundation poured? Finally, Lee Raymond has been fighting the same weather since he started and he's still behind. Now he's losing his number one crew to college, so his final push will have to be with a brand new crew that can afford no errors.
Balancing Act
The builds are growing taller and the work more dangerous as Lee's crew must balance on a second story beam to get work done. Tony attempts to take a day off but stumbles upon a mysterious cabin that could be his next project. Meanwhile, Derek and his crew attempt to clear the site to create the ski hut's foundation pylons in the face of wicked winds, making it dangerous for the helicopter pilot to sling gravel to the guys.
Heads Up
The drama at Derek's cliffside build near Valdez escalates after rain saturates the region and an accident on the roof almost takes out a crew member. Tony leaves his build in Bobby's hands to tend to another job and returns to find an injury has occurred. Lee discovers the culprit behind a messy footprint while the crew faces sketchy conditions to install the custom windows on their 2500 square foot Bulchitna Lake build.
The Final Push
Lee is down to just a crew of three as he races to finish the interior of the cabin before the lake freezes over and prevents their floatplane from landing. Tony's crew discovers a serious miscalculation that will force them to miss their deadline unless a miracle occurs, and Derek and his crew push through the endless rainfall, dangerous conditions and dwindling materials to complete the project.
Don't Try This At Home
Creig's carpenter Jim pays the ultimate price for building alone in remote Alaska, Rich's crew performs a balancing act to get out of the mud and a worst-case scenario nails Tom's build and it's old school techniques to the rescue.
No Quit
While gale-force winds create danger for Tom's team, and rainy conditions threaten Creig's build, Sitka is nothing but sunny which provides the perfect conditions for Rich to have a whale of a good time.
Game Day
Just as Derek and his band of buddies are about to give up on their dream of a cliffside ski hut, Alaska hands them a miracle that turns a down day into game day. Lee loses one of his hardest working crew members out at Bulchitna Lake just as they have to lift an 800 pound truss into place, and Tony's hideaway cabin is in good enough shape to take a break and fish for halibut on the Lynn Canal.
Game Day
Just as Derek and his band of buddies are about to give up on their dream of a cliffside ski hut, Alaska hands them a miracle that turns a down day into game day. Lee loses one of his hardest working crew members out at Bulchitna Lake just as they have to lift an 800 pound truss into place, and Tony's hideaway cabin is in good enough shape to take a break and fish for halibut on the Lynn Canal.
Ryan's Song
While its full-steam ahead for Lee Raymond as he finally gets some much welcomed sun, Jim Wagner and his family begin the long process of starting over; building roads, leveling ground and ultimately trying to get their cabin in Chicken back up. Amidst all the fervor of the other two builds, Chuck Gerwig's site is oddly quiet. Disaster has struck. His righthand man, Ryan Beachy, has been tragically killed in a motorcycle accident. Now his build is suspended and a decision needs to be made, to continue or not.
Seasonal Squeeze
The three teams continue their builds in unique, remote Alaskan settings. At Bruce Chambers' build on LaTouche Island, the team wrestles giant glulam beams into place and the situation turns disastrous after a poorly cut beam pushes out an entire wall. At Mark Sams' build on Chichagof Island, things get scary when the guys lose control of a 700-pound ridge beam. At Dave Poppert's build near Point MacKenzie, his lumber mill takes a hit after an order gets cancelled and reduces funds for his dream retirement home.
Emergency Supply Run
At Bruce Chambers' build on LaTouche Island, the team comes dangerously close to catastrophe as they install a 1,000 pound ridge beam. At Mark Sam's build on Chichagof Island, the team runs out of critical supplies which sends Mark and Chris on an emergency run to Hoonah to find replacements. At Dave Poppert's build near Point MacKenzie, Dave is making progress with getting support columns into the loft area, getting him closer to having a roof over his build.
A Roof Overhead
At Bruce Chambers' build on LaTouche Island, rain has put everything on hold and the crew struggles to keep things dry. At Mark Sam's build on Chichagof Island, tensions run high on Rich's last day making the team uneasy. At Dave Poppert's build near Point MacKenzie, he and his crew rush to make up for lost time and work to get the trusses up and windows installed.
End Game
It's the end of the road for the three builders and their teams of helpful friends, family and handymen. At Point MacKenzie, Dave Poppert fights the cold and snow to finish his home in time for Thanksgiving dinner. Bruce Chambers lucks out when a friend comes to help put the finishing touches his Latouche Island cabin. In Southeast Alaska, Mark Sams and his team scramble to finish their cliff-side cabin on Chichagof Island.
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