When some TV types installed a camera in his truck, Hugh Rowland of Winfield thought: No one‘s going to watch this stuff. Four years later, Rowland is the star of the History Channel‘s Ice Road Truckers, and people are watching in droves for the Arctic action, tension on ice, and the nice and not-so-nice interaction between truckers doing what‘s been called "the most dangerous job on earth." Rowland, who owns and operates R&R Hoe Service in Winfield when he‘s not on the ice roads, has also put out a book, On Thin Ice. "It‘s No. 1 on Amazon," said Rowland at a book signing Saturday at Mosaic Books in downtown Kelowna. "The TV show and the book are exceeding my wildest expectations." Rowland, 47, decided to do a book because he wanted to tell more about ice road trucking‘s history, joys and challenges than can be told in the TV series. "The TV is only 13 one-hour episodes a year," he said. "Sometimes we come off as wild cowboys on ice, but it‘s a serious job with a lot of history. One trip - and I‘ll sometimes do 58 of them in a single 12-week season - takes 36 hours. So there‘s a lot of material there."When lakes and ocean freeze to ice half a metre thick, it‘s strong enough for semi-trailer trucks to drive on the naturally formed roads of ice and snow. While trucks have been used to get supplies to remote communities and camps for decades on those winter ice roads, the demand has ramped up exponentially with three diamond mines in the Arctic needing massive volumes of supplies delivered. With his sense of humour, burly and bearded appearance, generosity, skill and no-nonsense approach to ice road driving, Rowland has become a celebrity - even if he doesn‘t think so. "I do the show and carry on my merry way," he said. "Sometimes I get recognized and people say: ‘Hey, Hugh. I recognize you from TV. I love your show.‘ But that‘s about it." He has enjoyed perks like trips to New York and the Nascar circuit to promote Ice Road Truckers. On the show, Rowland has earned the nickname The Polar Bear. He‘s the kind of guy who can blow methyl hydrate into his one brake and fuel lines in frigid temperatures and who welcomes whiteout storms because they provide a break from the boredom of long-haul trucking. He said driving on ice is all about throwing out everything you know about driving on pavement or gravel. You go slow, pick the right gear, lay off the engine brakes and make no sudden movements because you are, after all, on slippery ice that could crack and swallow you up. About one trucker dies on the ice roads each year. Rowland lost his brother-in-law to the profession in the early 1990s. Yet, he continues to drive. "I like the alone time (and) the thinking time," he said of driving long hours on ice. "And the Arctic is the most beautiful place on earth. I‘ll keep at it until I‘m not having fun anymore." Rowland developed his affinity for the North growing up in Yellowknife. He helped build ice roads when he was 16 years old. Soon after, he started trucking on those same roads. Along the way, he married his high school sweetheart, Dianne, moved to the Okanagan and set up his own business, had three daughters (Karly, Chandra and Candace) and became a grandfather to two. Tonight on the History Channel, there will be back-to-back episodes of Ice Road Truckers, titled Avalanche and Danger at 55 Below. Rowland‘s book, On Thin Ice, written with Los Angeles writer Michael Lent (a big fan of the show), costs $29.99 at book stores and online. Top of Page
