In tonight’s episode of Gold Rush, the team avoids a near-disaster when a piece of equipment breaks and they have to pull a boat out of the water, as seen in an exclusive clip.
Earlier in the episode, the pantoon cables snap, forcing Tony Beets to bring in more equipment to drag the 60-ton Jasmine B. boat out of the water. After guiding the boat in from the shore, and the cables pulled as tight as possible. It is not easy, as they have to get it up on boards in order to prevent it from getting stuck in the muck. At the end of the clip, the cables snap, so fans will have to check out the full episode in order to see if they can save the boat.
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Gold Rush is now in its ninth season and is the first since miner Todd Hoffman announced plans to retire from the show. He has appeared on it with his father, Jack, and his son, Hunter, since it began in 2010. However, in an interview with PopCulture.com, he confirmed the Hoffmans will no longer appear on the show.
“My father Jack, and my son Hunter and team Hoffman are … we’re not going to be back on Gold Rush — maybe never again,” Hoffman said.
Fellow crew member Parker Schnabel said this felt like Gold Rush was losing a legend.
“He was the only operation that was still going from the original season one. From a mining standpoint, it really doesn’t affect me at all. He was mining in Colorado, I’m in the Yukon,” Schnabel explained. “We really don’t see each other or deal with each other, but from a filming standpoint we’ve worked together for a long time.”
Other members of the cast include John Schnabel, Chris Doumitt, Dave Turin, Fred Hurt, Greg Remsburg, Jimmy Dorsey, Jim Thurber, Mike Halstead, Dustin Hurt, Rick Ness, Logan Pierce, Sterling Anderson, Walt “Dozer” Dillard, Andy Spinks, Melody Tallis, Kevin Hiatt, Mitch Blaschke, Austin Nickerson and “Nugget Brain” Wayne Peterson. The series, previously titled Gold Rush: Alaska, centers on the group of miners searching for gold in the the Yukon, Canada.
In the new season, Ness took on a bigger role with his own crew. He told PopCulture.com it was not easy, since many members of his crew are rookies.
“They’re greener than grass, yeah,” he said. “They’re hardworking guys though. That’s why I brought them with me, and they were up for the task. And they listened, and we learned a lot together this year, and we grew a lot together this year. “
New episodes of Gold Rush air on Discovery at 9 p.m. ET on Fridays.
Photo credit: Discovery
