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Following the success of Gold Rush, Discovery went all in on the franchise, launching several spin-off shows—one of which was Gold Rush: White Water. Premiering in 2018, White Water followed 'Dakota Fred' Hurt and his son Dustin as they ventured deep beneath raging waters in search of gold.
Finding gold at the bottom of the water can often be challenging. One has to think of the river current, worry about removing the rock stuck deep into the water, and carry equipment across nowhere.
Over nine seasons, the Gold Rush: White Water crew faced several such issues, often arising with a new twist of added challenges. To make sure the operation keeps running, the cast has been seen coming up with innovative engineering feats specifically designed to tackle the problem at hand.
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Top 3 most innovative engineering feats on Gold Rush: White Water
1) Motorized trolley system (season 4 episode 2)
In Gold Rush: White Water season 4 episode 2, the crew had to transfer some of their equipment from the campsite to the dive site. The problem standing in their way was a path between the two points, which was 600 ft in distance, above a small valley.
To take care of the issue, the crew prepared a motorized trolley system containing a platform spanning between the two points and hanging over a half-inch steel cable, which was suspended 400 ft above the ground.
Dustin Hurt, son of 'Dakota Fred' Hurt, stood at the campsite operating the trolley system. Using a lever on his side, he controlled the platform’s speed. He began by testing the system with lightweight materials before gradually moving on to heavier items, such as motors and other utilities.
After two exchanges, Dustin felt like he couldn't handle the system, and he believed that the speed was getting out of his control. Soon, crew fabricator Wes Richardson stepped in for Dustin's position at the hall line, sending the rest of the required equipment.
2) Rock-sled pulley system (season 4 episode 10)
In season 4 episode 10 of Gold Rush: White Water, the crew faced a unique challenge: removing rocks from a moderately deep river that flowed alongside towering mountains.
At the trailhead of the mountain trifecta, Fred came up with the Rock-sled pulley system, which was described as the new way to remove rocks from a steep dive hole.
They planned to create a vertical lift system by converting their existing dragline. First, they attached a double block pulley to their skyline and then ran the downstream winch through the pulley to the new basket so they could lower it down into the hole and lift out the rocks.
For the basket, Fred brought in a sled, which he said was specifically made to carry out such operations. This sled was a foot shorter and about 10 inches narrower than the sled they already had at the location.
"Now we can't maintain our ramp for the sled to go up. We're going to have to pick vertical out of the hole just like a basket, except this happens to be available," Fred noted at the time.
The plan was a success and worked exactly according to the manual. The crew was able to remove rocks, one batch at a time, and continued their search for gold below them.
3) Redirected winch system (season 6 episode 5)
In Gold Rush: White Water, season 6 episode 5, the crew found themselves stuck at the Golden Gates, unable to haul large rocks from their dive site.
When their existing winch system failed to solve the problem, Dustin devised a series of upgrades to tackle the issue.
According to the new plans, Wes switched out the polyethylene rope of the old system with a 1/4-inch steel cable that he believed wouldn't snag on the sharp rocks. Additionally, he replaced the key winch with a model with twice the pulling power.
To get the dredge in the water by the end of the week, the Gold Rush: White Water crew was completely dependent on the new system. However, they still weren't able to move some of the boulders.
Wes believed the position of the redirect for the lower winch was dragging the boulders down into the riverbed. So they decided to raise it up by 25 ft., and with the adjustment, they were easily able to pull the boulders up and out, clearing a space for the dredge.
Gold Rush: White Water season 9 episodes aired every Friday on Discovery.
