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00:01My name's Mike Rowe, and this is my job.
00:06I explore the country looking for people who aren't afraid to get dirty.
00:10These are tough.
00:11Let them know you come.
00:12Oh, .
00:13Hard-working men and women who earn an honest living.
00:16Go this way a little bit.
00:17Right.
00:17Down the other way, a little bit more.
00:19Doing the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us.
00:23How am I doing?
00:26Now, get ready.
00:31To get dirty.
00:35Coming up on Dirty Jobs.
00:36It was a long time coming, but we finally made it to North Dakota.
00:40Here's a big piece of meat, this Hirschman Tower.
00:42I did not think you were going there.
00:43The 50th state for Dirty Jobs.
00:46This will be the first section coming up to us.
00:47We'll swing it around and plant it up there.
00:49And because putting up a 300-foot tower might also be our most dangerous job ever.
00:55Crap, man.
00:56North Dakota could very well be the state they bury me in.
00:59My mom right now is washing with both hands over her face.
01:03It's time to celebrate and whoop it up.
01:05Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop.
01:08With one of the wildest.
01:09Crazy, crazy job.
01:11Scariest.
01:12We got a couple of minutes.
01:13The rain's right on us.
01:14Dirty Jobs ever.
01:15Then, in Hollywood, we pull out all the stops with a 50-state tribute.
01:19It's weird.
01:20It'll knock your socks off in a dirty kind of way.
01:26Oh, God.
01:38So, here's what's happened.
01:40A couple of weeks ago, a twister came through North Dakota and all the radio towers got blown down in
01:46Dickinson.
01:46We're basically in radio-free North Dakota right now.
01:50And we've come here today to restore radio service by putting up a tower.
01:56That tower right there.
01:59Okay, there was no twister.
02:01And there's been no disruption in service.
02:03But we are going to work on a tower.
02:05And we are in Dickinson, North Dakota.
02:10North Dakota.
02:12Home of the Great Plains.
02:13The Square Dance.
02:15Barley Field and Lawrence Welk.
02:17God rest his soul.
02:19But we're not here to see any of those things.
02:21We're here for these.
02:23Tall, erect towers.
02:25Judding hundreds of feet into the North Dakotan sky.
02:28At least as long as the weather holds up.
02:33Well, the skies are blue over there.
02:34And that's nice.
02:35But over there, the whole thing has just turned to crap.
02:38This just happens every day here at this time?
02:40Yeah, that's right.
02:40It's SOP.
02:41Yeah.
02:41SOP.
02:42That's what you call your standard operating procedure.
02:44That's right.
02:44That's right.
02:44Otherwise we won't work.
02:45All right.
02:45Let's do the standard operating introductions.
02:48Who's who here?
02:48Well, I'm Kevin Reske, the owner of Great Plains Towers.
02:51Daniel.
02:53Daniel.
02:54Jan.
02:54Scott.
02:55Any nicknames?
02:56Any interesting monikers we should know about?
02:58We got Crispy over there.
03:00Which one?
03:01That one.
03:01Human Torch.
03:03Crispy because why?
03:04Set myself on fire.
03:05That's too bad.
03:06Not on purpose.
03:07No, it was.
03:08It was on purpose?
03:09Oh, yeah.
03:09Just wanted to send a message?
03:10Yeah.
03:11Okay.
03:12You guys put up radio towers for a little bit.
03:14Communication towers, everything.
03:15Microwave, TV, radio, FM, two-way, right?
03:18Yeah.
03:18I guess we're on a little plateau in the high plains.
03:20I see a lot of towers everywhere.
03:22Yeah.
03:22We put up the majority of almost everything you see around here for the last 50 years in our
03:25company history, almost everywhere.
03:26The majority of the stuff across the plain states is pretty much our family put stuff up.
03:31All right.
03:31So specifically today, what is the task at hand?
03:33Oh, we're going to top off our 330-foot tower for the county here.
03:38And we've got a couple sections left.
03:40And we'll even, before sunset, we might even get some antennas up too.
03:44All right.
03:44Well, at this point, it's only 10 in the morning, but sunset looks like it's going to happen any
03:47minute.
03:47Do we work through whatever happens?
03:49Yeah.
03:49We'll try and work.
03:50We'll have fall protection, everything to work around, even if it gets wet or wet or
03:54moist or spits or blows.
03:56Hopefully, we'll be able to work through it and around it and get all the iron up in
03:58the air for the day.
03:59Wet, moist, spits, and blows.
04:01Yeah.
04:01That's right.
04:01What about the weather?
04:05It was too easy.
04:07See, this way, Crispy could have some nicknames.
04:09You could be spit, you could be wet, you could be moist, and you could be blow, I suppose.
04:13All right.
04:13So this is the new tower.
04:16And how long will this tower last once we get on?
04:18Gosh, we'll get, this will be at least a 50-year.
04:20It would be nice to even get 100 years out of a tower like this nowadays.
04:23It's a big piece of meat desertion tower here.
04:25This is nice.
04:26I did not think you were going there.
04:27Nope.
04:28Honestly, I mean, I had no idea how that sentence was going to end, but when you put meat into
04:32it, it just gives it a whole human thing.
04:37All right.
04:37So we have, now, these are all the pieces of meat that you'll be dealing with today.
04:41That's right.
04:42All my worker bees, we'll see.
04:43Yep.
04:44I'm going to be either on the hoist or on the ball with us or on the...
04:48What do you mean the ball?
04:48Oh, and the headache ball will be riding.
04:50If you get clobbered, you'll know I got named that.
04:53You're the boss, obviously.
04:54Tell us what to do.
04:55We'll get started.
04:56Try and keep up.
04:56Move slow.
04:57Gotcha.
04:58What do you do?
04:58Get up there, Mike.
04:59This will be the first section coming up to us anyway, too.
05:01Holy...
05:02So this is the job.
05:03Right on, yeah.
05:03This is actually what we're...
05:04Yep.
05:05They'll be picking this up with a headache ball and dragging this off the ground, and it
05:08comes up to us and to you and I up there.
05:10And then we'll swing it around and plant it up there.
05:13I think we...
05:13So, yeah.
05:14It looks like a lot...
05:15Between here and there, it looks like a lot going on, but it's a...
05:18And with the breeze.
05:19Exactly.
05:20All right.
05:20So this is the final section?
05:23No, this will...
05:23This will be...
05:23Well, we still got...
05:25We'll be setting the sequence anyway today, too, in rough sense.
05:28We'll be...
05:28This section is next since I already have...
05:30We already have the gin pole high over the top.
05:32We've crowded it up over the top of the tower.
05:34The gin pole, which is short for engine, but...
05:37Oh, we've got...
05:38We'd be sipping gin at the top of the tower.
05:40All right.
05:42And then that goes on top of that?
05:43Yep.
05:43And so we'll set this first, and you see the guy wire ears that are welded on there,
05:47the three guys.
05:47So after we get this section, it's time to set up a...
05:51If you look around, you'll see...
05:52Oh, there you go.
05:52Right behind you, you'll see some guy wires there.
05:54We'll have...
05:55Our last set of guy wires goes on this section.
05:57Uh-huh.
05:57So we'll pin those on.
05:59Those will have the guys send us...
06:01Obviously, my new friend Kevin is smart.
06:03He knows what he's talking about, but...
06:05Remember the first day in French class when the teacher wouldn't speak any English at all,
06:09and you were totally lost in a convoluted stupor of terms and foreign language?
06:15Yeah.
06:16That's where I'm at.
06:17So we've got one more set of guy wires before we get to the top of the top piece.
06:20Before we top...
06:20For the top and off party, yep.
06:22You getting all this?
06:23So...
06:23In a rough, fast sense, but a lot of stuff's gotta happen.
06:27But anyway, it's a nice to tell her anyway.
06:29You know what?
06:31I'll understand when it's happening.
06:33I'm sure.
06:33I'll motion Cory out to lower the winch, and we'll take one gentleman up right away, too,
06:39and I'll...
06:39Gentlemen.
06:40I guess I don't know him enough.
06:42Troy?
06:42Would you care to be today's gentleman?
06:45Now, for us to show you what'll happen up there, we have to get an entire camera crew,
06:49and sound crew, and all of our equipment up this tower, all 300 feet of it.
06:54So we just keep a steady tension?
06:56Yeah.
06:56And my first order of the day was to pull on a rope, which would keep these gentlemen from hitting
07:01the structure on the way up.
07:03My job is just to keep them away from the tower.
07:05Mike can let us in a little further, a little bit of pressure on the blue wheel.
07:08A little less pressure.
07:10Oh, I see.
07:11He must be about 1050 feet off the tower.
07:13Yeah.
07:14So he wants to be closer to the tower.
07:16He must be scared.
07:17Sure he is.
07:21That's pretty good.
07:23So are they tying themselves off?
07:25Yeah, now they'll transfer their safeties onto a gen ball.
07:29And then from there, they'll unhook their clutch from the headache ball.
07:33And now the headache ball will be feeding him.
07:35So you're tied off at all times.
07:37Yeah.
07:39It's going to be one of those shoots.
07:40It's going to be elaborate.
07:41It's going to be ambitious.
07:44I'm going to have to climb up.
07:47Look at the wind.
07:48It's probably four times worse up there.
07:49I think it's four times worse up there?
07:51Yeah.
07:51Yeah.
07:53Our cameraman, Troy, is climbing on a separate structure called the gin pole, which is temporarily
07:59attached to the tower.
08:01What do you think they're doing up there?
08:02I don't know.
08:03The name gin pole is actually short for engine pole.
08:06This is the engineering wheelhouse for the whole tower.
08:10The pulleys and lifting mechanisms operate from this structure.
08:14And without it, it'd be impossible to erect a tower this high.
08:18You know what you could do if you wanted, is I'll give you this and figure out which one
08:24you want to put in there as a safety.
08:29Once up there, Troy mounted cameras at stratospheric heights to get you award-winning shots like these.
08:38Meanwhile, down on the ground, the tension was mounting for another cameraman with an infamous past.
08:45Some of you may recall our adventures on the window washing segment.
08:50I was 40 stories above the concrete, washing windows on an island with 15 other men and one whimpering little
09:01boy.
09:02How's it going, Doug?
09:05Can't get up to you.
09:06Can't get up to you.
09:07Can't get up to you.
09:07Can't get up to you.
09:09Can't get up to you.
09:09Hey, Mike.
09:10Yeah?
09:11Don't say no go.
09:13He's in the exact same position I am right now, except he's got a 40-pound camera on his
09:20shoulder, and it's a very trippy thing, taking that first step.
09:23I'm telling you, it's a, uh, it's a hell of a thing.
09:26How you doing, Doug?
09:27Great.
09:29Dude, I don't blame you.
09:30You're the only one here with any sense.
09:32No offense, gentlemen.
09:33We've given you a terrible, uh, hard time since then.
09:37In truth, it's a perfectly reasonable thing to, uh, to not do.
09:40Doing the work seemed unreasonable that day.
09:42But this, I shot a redemption, perhaps?
09:47Perhaps.
09:47We'll see.
09:48Coming up.
09:49You guys ever fallen?
09:51Oh, yeah.
09:51Just before celebrating the 50th state Dirty Jobs has worked in, be ashamed to die from
09:56a tragic fall.
09:57I could get up windy and break the wind a little bit.
09:59Or a gas leak.
10:00Nah, there's no need to start breaking wind.
10:04And later.
10:04Doug, I'm gonna try and throw this thing around you, okay?
10:07They don't call it a headache ball for nothing.
10:17This thing weighs 40 pounds.
10:19I bet it's gotta be.
10:21It was time for Doug and me to ride into the clouds.
10:24But not before an equipment check and a pep talk from Crispy.
10:28You guys ever fallen?
10:29Oh, yeah.
10:30Yeah?
10:30No.
10:31Just him.
10:33You're having quite a run.
10:35Oh, God.
10:36I'm the invincible one.
10:38I've had my first share of accidents.
10:41How far did you, I mean, did you just fall like a couple of feet?
10:44I was 380 feet up and I was riding the ball and the ball got caught in the tower.
10:50Kicked off, fell 16 feet, snapped one hook, came swinging it into the tower, shattered my
10:55hard hat.
10:57And you were hanging by one hook?
10:58Yeah.
10:59That's my one hook.
11:00I'm like, all right, come on to the ground.
11:03Oh, crap, dude.
11:06God, man.
11:09Do you have any more of those stories?
11:10That's what I want to hear right now.
11:12Wow.
11:13Brilliant.
11:14Doug, there's a ball with our name on it.
11:16Yeah.
11:17What do you say?
11:18Me and you?
11:19You and me?
11:19All right.
11:20So we're suited up.
11:21Well, somewhat.
11:23All right, Doug.
11:24Good luck.
11:25From laying the concrete foundation to assembling the final piece, it takes about two weeks to
11:30build up to a 500-foot tower.
11:32Stay in a little bit.
11:36Well, Doug, this is flattery.
11:41Jeez Louise.
11:41All right, I guess we're in it now, Doug, huh?
11:44It really all comes down to this, doesn't it?
11:47That's such an important piece of steel.
11:50Oh, crap, man.
11:53The higher we went, the lower the temperature drops.
11:56The wind was kicking up, too.
12:00Come on, Jones.
12:02These guys often work in winds of over 50 miles an hour.
12:05And with that kind of wind, temperatures can drop to 60 degrees below zero.
12:12How cold is that?
12:14Well, that's 90 degrees lower than the freezing point of water.
12:17Coming to Papa.
12:18We're coming to you, Daddy.
12:20You're squeezing all the water out of that hook, are you, Mike?
12:22I really am.
12:24I'm looking at it real close.
12:25You're looking good.
12:25I'm going to grab you in a moment here.
12:27When you're right beside me, I'm going to stop you, all right?
12:29All right.
12:30Hey, grab Mike and pull him around to me.
12:32Grab his arm and swing him around behind you there, Dan.
12:35There you go.
12:37You don't let go of me now.
12:38For a novice, this is terrifying.
12:40Grab the tower leg right there.
12:42Can you grab the tower leg quick?
12:43Oh, yeah, right there?
12:45Yeah, yeah.
12:46But I'm in good hands.
12:47These guys are first-class professionals.
12:50Find a sweet spot that you like a lot?
12:52At least that's what they keep telling you.
12:55There you go.
12:56Your new home, bro.
12:57Oh, crap.
12:57Yeah, I know.
12:58It's a bunch.
12:59Yeah.
12:59Your mom would be proud.
13:00My mom right now is washing with both hands over her face.
13:05Yarned Oliver, Bob.
13:07Now you need to get into banking.
13:09That's right.
13:10That's what my mom said.
13:11Nice job at accounting.
13:12Okay, yeah.
13:12You got a safety on over here.
13:14I do?
13:14You got a monitor.
13:15You do that for me?
13:16And is this yours, too?
13:17That's mine, too.
13:20For what, about 300?
13:21Uh, yeah.
13:22I think we are.
13:22Yeah.
13:23You gonna be okay getting off?
13:25Yeah.
13:25Okay.
13:26Just climb along.
13:27Watch your camera.
13:29And just the wind pulls around nicely.
13:30I'm just looking at Doug's face, man.
13:32There's a lot of stuff going on in your mouth.
13:34There's a lot of rigging in there.
13:38Doug, what are you doing unclipping stuff?
13:40Yeah, I know.
13:41I gotta give an eye out of it.
13:43I like that.
13:43I like everybody built it in.
13:44That's what I like to do.
13:47How's that wind cutting into you yet?
13:48I'm all right.
13:49Right now it's kind of uncomfortably windy and swinging.
13:51Yeah, it is.
13:52We're safe, but that kind of knocks the fun out of it.
13:54Yeah.
13:54Yeah, I hate to knock the fun out of it.
13:56No.
13:57Hey, if you're wondering, yeah, I'm freezing.
14:04Protection now.
14:05There we go.
14:06So how many steel sections does it take to build a 330-foot tower?
14:09In this case, 17.
14:11Looking good, guys.
14:13Looking good.
14:1416 to number 20 feet tall.
14:15And the top one will be 10 feet tall.
14:18Each one weighs between 1,000 and 1,300 pounds.
14:23Everything's going to change up here when it gets to the next section.
14:25So you'll see a profound difference the way the things are rolling.
14:28So you mean, just the weight of this on here.
14:31It's just the wind dragging on another section is going to make it bounce further.
14:34It's going to be wobbly.
14:35More.
14:35More of it, so.
14:37I guess I should belt in, shouldn't I, while I'm talking?
14:39It does send the right message, Kevin.
14:42Yeah, yeah.
14:43You know.
14:44If anybody's watching it, we got no cameras up here.
14:46Yeah, yeah, no, no, no.
14:47It's not like we have any cameras on us.
14:50You got long johns on today or no?
14:52No, I didn't think of that.
14:54Is it blowing through those pants?
14:55Just like they're not even on.
14:56Yeah, I'll bet.
14:57If I could get up windy and break the wind a little bit.
15:00Nah, there's no need to start breaking wind.
15:04Coming up.
15:04I wouldn't put my hand there.
15:06Helping the guys.
15:07Why do they call him Guy?
15:08No, I had a good point.
15:09With some guy wires.
15:10Fast as you want to go, Mike.
15:12This is as fast as I can go, Kevin.
15:14Head later.
15:15A few curts.
15:16And a Hollywood soundstage.
15:17It's been a long and smelly odyssey.
15:20The lyrics of my 50-state tribute song are a huge hit.
15:25This show has destroyed my ability to remember anything other than...
15:31What was I saying?
15:39Yeah, whatever I can do, just go ahead and tell me.
15:41The next 20-foot section of this communication tower we're putting up is being lifted to us with the help
15:47of the gin pole, which is attached to the top of the structure.
15:51With a blustery North Dakota wind blowing, we're about to attempt the tricky job of bolting the section onto the
15:57top of the tower.
15:58You'll be grabbing at the tower leg with that hand and trying to pull it all the way around over
16:02to me eventually, yeah.
16:03Everything up to this point has just been preparation.
16:06Woo!
16:07Now is when these guys make their money.
16:09And believe me, they earn it, risking life and limb to build a tower for communication.
16:15Think about that next time you pick up a phone to call Grandma.
16:18Woo!
16:19Woo!
16:21Good.
16:21Okay, hand it to Mike.
16:24Okay, you pull like you've never pulled.
16:26And I'll catch it.
16:28You had it to me.
16:28All right.
16:29Can you give a hand there, Dan?
16:30I got it.
16:31Or do you want him to struggle?
16:32I got it.
16:32And now let's go.
16:33Slow now.
16:34Steady, steady.
16:35Steady.
16:36You're going to send it around.
16:37Grab that leg.
16:38Yep.
16:39And then reach around behind.
16:40And I see the tower sign too, the droop head turning around real pretty.
16:43Yep.
16:46Stab any two holes.
16:49No dropping.
16:49Okay, good.
16:50We got her pinned.
16:51Okay.
16:51I'm going to let that go.
16:53All right.
16:54I'm going to let her down a little bit more.
16:57You ready, Dan?
16:57Great.
16:57Go ahead.
16:58Woo!
16:58Woo!
16:59It might sound like a celebration, but the whooping is their communication system to the
17:03ground crew.
17:04Two whoops are to lower the structure.
17:06One whoop means stop.
17:08Woo!
17:09Woo!
17:11Good.
17:12Woo!
17:12You can belt it.
17:13I'm going to bump up and get myself a little higher.
17:15You want me to go with this side?
17:17Yeah.
17:17Oh!
17:18Uh-oh.
17:19What do we got?
17:19That's the wind?
17:20Yeah, a little bit.
17:22I'm going to get my fat ass on it.
17:27Working in windy conditions is not so harrowing when you're on the ground.
17:31So, bolts are going to go up through, right?
17:32Correct this guy right on, okay?
17:34But at 300 feet, it's unnerving.
17:37Yeah, 20-30 blow, there'll be a lot of smiling going on up here.
17:42Yeah.
17:43But at least it's all year round.
17:44You know what the nice thing about it is?
17:45For seven months of the year, we have no competition that wants to compete against us
17:49stacking up here in the northern states.
17:52It's like one of those jobs that nobody wants.
17:55Uh-huh.
17:55To get an idea of what it's like, imagine stepping into your freezer for a couple of
17:59hours and assembling a giant erector set.
18:02Washer goes on top, no?
18:04Correct.
18:04And if you know me, I don't get along that well with nuts and bolts to begin with.
18:08Slowly, don't drop it.
18:10How many have you dropped?
18:11How many, Kevin?
18:12I bet every tower it's like rain with me on the tower.
18:15It's like rain down there.
18:17Go buy more bolts at the hardware store.
18:21After a frenzy of ratcheting and tightening.
18:23There's no such thing as too tight.
18:26Sure there is.
18:27The guys on the ground were nice enough to send up some support wires,
18:30which we will eventually anchor to the ground.
18:33I mean, I have to get these wires up and tight.
18:34Man, we've got a solid tower again.
18:36Yeah, it's a whole different ballgame.
18:37It is.
18:37When it's moving.
18:38No matter how many hundred years you've been up here.
18:41It's always nice to have.
18:41It always feels better.
18:42Yeah.
18:44I lived a full life, but you know what?
18:45I need to get to a hundred to piss everybody off.
18:47Yeah, you're not done yet.
18:49Looks like a couple of wires on there.
18:51I'd say so.
18:51For now, I simply attach them to the structure with subpar expertise.
18:56You're in.
18:57Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:58I think you got it.
18:59Beautiful.
19:00Just when Doug was getting used to heights.
19:02Doug, I'm going to try and throw this thing around you, okay?
19:05That's going to be tough.
19:06I send the headache ball around.
19:08And he very nearly his pants.
19:10Okay, you're alright?
19:11We attached ourselves.
19:13There you go.
19:13You're getting her.
19:14Okay.
19:14Ready, here we go.
19:15Woo!
19:17Watch out for the hardware mic along the way.
19:19And our frozen carcasses were lowered down to solid ground to thaw out.
19:24Woo!
19:25Good fun.
19:27How about Doug, huh?
19:28Look at him.
19:29Have I redeemed myself?
19:31Dude, you have swum.
19:34Swum?
19:35Swam?
19:36You have been baptized in the river of dirty redemption.
19:41Congratulations.
19:42So good about this.
19:43Well, we've got to go back up again.
19:46It's not going to be heavy until we get to the anchor, of course.
19:48Alright.
19:49Time has elapsed.
19:50It rained.
19:51We ate.
19:51It cleared up.
19:52Then it started raining again.
19:53And now we're at the point in the procedure where we're going to affix the guy wires.
19:57Right on to an anchor.
19:58To an anchor.
19:58To a separate anchor.
19:59But right on.
20:00Is this something I can do with you?
20:01Yep.
20:02As we start going out, we'll try and start funneling our way to where we run out of guy wires.
20:06So half a dozen guys handling the wire.
20:07So it's called a guy wire.
20:10G-U-Y.
20:12I know it sounds weird.
20:14Why do they call it guy?
20:15Oh, guy wire.
20:16Yeah.
20:17Oh, yeah.
20:17Good point.
20:18It wasn't much of a point, actually.
20:20In hindsight, it was more of a question.
20:22Guy wire.
20:24I don't know why they call it that.
20:25Just keep pulling on it.
20:26I'm pulling.
20:27I am yanking on this guy wire.
20:28Steady puller.
20:29Steady puller.
20:30And ho.
20:32Pull down.
20:32Get it down to the ground a little lower.
20:33What do you think, Dan?
20:34Do you have any theory on why they're called guy wires?
20:36No.
20:37Some guy named him.
20:38Some guy named him.
20:39Some guy.
20:40Pretty clever.
20:43Look at him.
20:44A nimble little minkton.
20:47Got about two feet, three feet left.
20:49I think we're good.
20:51I'm going to start with...
20:52That's good.
20:53Watch yourself.
20:54I'm going to start ratcheting here.
20:55All right.
20:56Oh, that looks like a job for Mike, no?
20:58Sure, I'll do it.
21:03As fast as you want to go, Mike.
21:05This is as fast as I can go, Kevin.
21:07Four or five more handfuls there.
21:09I'm sorry.
21:10One.
21:11Two.
21:12Three.
21:15What do you guys think of that?
21:16Does that balance the other one?
21:17How do we know when they're tight enough?
21:18We'll have a Dillon dynamometer.
21:20We'll have a tension meter.
21:21We'll snap on one of the anchors,
21:22and they'll come up symmetrical and straight.
21:24We'll have a shunt meter on there,
21:26and whichever worker bees at an anchor can read out the pressure
21:29so we're at the proper tension, what it calls for,
21:30for the specs for the engineering for the tower.
21:32A shunt?
21:33Yeah.
21:33A shunt meter?
21:34A shunt.
21:35Let me translate for you at home.
21:37Basically, what we're doing now is securing the structure
21:40with three guy wires that are attached to the tower
21:42and then anchored around its perimeter.
21:45Yeah, you know what?
21:45I don't know why I'm asking what a shunt meter is.
21:46We don't know why they call them guy wires yet.
21:48Nobody has theories.
21:51North Dakota is also known as the land of tall towers.
21:55Approximately 4,000 communication towers, the tallest of which at 2,063 feet
22:00is three and a half times taller than the Washington Monument,
22:03populate the landscape and service both first responders and the general public.
22:14Securing the tower with guy wires requires the use of a bunch of gadgets with funny names,
22:19as my new friend Crispy will now explain.
22:21What?
22:21A muley.
22:22A muley?
22:23Why?
22:24Don't ask why.
22:25Pull that back.
22:26That back.
22:27Keep going until it doesn't go anymore.
22:29The muley, which is attached to the anchor, is used to spool out a thin wire.
22:33Yep, now you bring that side over here.
22:35What's that?
22:36Bring that side over here.
22:37This?
22:38Yep.
22:38Bring that this way.
22:39This side.
22:41This is now your new best friend.
22:43This is?
22:44Hello, friend.
22:44And this is a guy.
22:45What's this guy called?
22:46The gripper.
22:47The gripper.
22:47Then, the gripper takes the thin wire, which is connected to the anchor,
22:51and attaches it to the guy wire, and pulls the guy wire taut.
22:56I'm going to put this on here like this.
22:57Yep.
22:58Push it all the way in.
22:59As far as you can open it.
23:01You got the rest of that gap there.
23:03Keep pushing.
23:04Oh, man.
23:05Watch your fingers.
23:08Okay.
23:09I think you can.
23:10I think you can.
23:10All right.
23:10I'll slide her as far up as you can.
23:13Eventually, you're going to be up in the sky.
23:15You're going to be coming up like that way in a second.
23:17All right.
23:18Okay, don't let it come off that wire, Mike.
23:20Keep an eye on it.
23:21Okay, you'll stop pulling, guys, so Mike can catch you up.
23:23Wait a minute.
23:24Yes.
23:24It's still in there.
23:25Okay.
23:26Pull the more wire here.
23:27There you go.
23:29All right.
23:29Now, you want me to stand on this?
23:31These spin.
23:32I'd avoid these.
23:33You saw Crispy do it once.
23:35I didn't know what I was looking at, honestly.
23:40I'm surrounded by guy wires.
23:41I don't even know why they're called guy wires.
23:46Come on.
23:46Hold on now.
23:48Okay.
23:48There we go.
23:50Okay.
23:50Hold up.
23:51We're going to let her grab again.
23:52Uh-huh.
23:52One, two.
23:55This is really, this is state-of-the-art stuff, right?
23:58There's no special tool.
23:59This is how we do it.
24:01That's why we used to have big families doing this.
24:03Yeah.
24:04A lot of kids in there.
24:04Circus families.
24:06Then we can, uh, should we leave Mike at this anchor then?
24:08You guys get ready.
24:10We'll go work on the other anchors.
24:11We'll kind of pull it up symmetrically.
24:12Okay.
24:13Yep.
24:13We'll leave you in the sunshine here.
24:14All right.
24:15Am I going with you or am I waiting here?
24:16Oh, that's good.
24:16You work with Danny there.
24:17All right, Danny, me and you.
24:18Yeah.
24:18A lot of things just happen very, very quickly.
24:21A lot of tools have been spread around.
24:22A lot of talk has been bandied about.
24:26A lot of walkie-talkie chatter.
24:28So, um, in an effort to understand every step of the process along the way, you feel free
24:32to jump in and, in a clear, well-modulated baritone, explain what the hell's happening.
24:38We started, put all the guy wires to the same tension roughly.
24:42We hooked these, these muley come-alongs on.
24:46That's cool the way you're talking to the camera.
24:47I didn't think you were going to go that far with it, but I like it.
24:50No, go with it.
24:51Go with it.
24:51All right.
24:52So then we're going to pull the same tension on each one.
24:55Then we're going to put this preform and this turnbuckle on, and we're going to transfer
25:00the tension onto this turnbuckle.
25:02Turnbuckle, preform.
25:04And then that's going to release the tension on this muley.
25:06And then from there, we'll finish tightening straight into the tower.
25:09Which last name?
25:10Healy.
25:11How do you spell it?
25:12H-E-A-L-Y.
25:13H-E-A?
25:14L-Y.
25:15L-Y, Healy.
25:16Say, um, and that's all you need to know.
25:20I'm Dan Healy.
25:21That's all you need to know.
25:22I'm Dan Healy.
25:25Awesome.
25:27And now the riveting ground action begins.
25:31With a whole bunch of cranking and barking of orders, the challenge was to get each guy
25:36wire to over 2,500 pounds of tension, which we measured with another fun little tool.
25:42What do you think?
25:43What does it say on there?
25:44Well, that's no fun if I tell you there's no guessing game.
25:47Oh, there's 400.
25:49No, more.
25:50Seven.
25:51720.
25:51Okay, everybody up our 30.
25:53So we can see it getting tighter as you do this.
25:55Yep.
25:56We're at 1,500.
25:57You crank this, it'll get more and more.
25:59The point of all this, of course, is to make a slightly crooked tower perfectly plump.
26:04What does it say now?
26:062580.
26:07Okay, we're up to tension.
26:10And now for an update from our field reporter, Dan.
26:13That's it.
26:13Find your center.
26:14Don't let anybody direct you.
26:15Dan Healy.
26:16I am a tower technician at Great Plains Towers.
26:19Right now we are trying to adjust the tensions on the guy wire.
26:23And at this point we have the Pentech on.
26:26We're waiting for proper tension and straightness and plumbness of the tower.
26:30It's not so damn easy, is it, Dan Healy?
26:34Right?
26:34No.
26:35It's a pain in the neck.
26:36Trying to figure out what to say next.
26:38You're looking into that flat, black, lifeless eye.
26:40Like a doll's eye.
26:42The lens of a camera.
26:43To swallow you whole.
26:46Then the screaming starts.
26:48The awful high-pitched screaming only a man can make when he realizes he's on the television
26:53but has nothing to say.
26:56Back to you, Mike.
26:57Hey, thanks, Dan.
26:58I'm just up here on one of the guy wires.
27:00No one knows why we call him that.
27:05Nice.
27:06Look at that.
27:07That is hermetically sealed in there now.
27:09After a few final touches.
27:10Corey, you feel good about the tension?
27:13During which the threatening weather made good on its promise.
27:17It's cool.
27:17It's not raining again.
27:18We psyched ourselves up for round two of working on one seriously tall lightning rod.
27:23So now, why don't we go sit in the truck and then if it blows over, we'll crawl back up
27:27and put on antennas.
27:28Sounds good.
27:29All right.
27:30Thanks, guys.
27:30That was both dangerous and ill-advised.
27:36Coming up.
27:36Oh, crap.
27:37You can see the rain.
27:38It's hard to believe it's going to get us.
27:39I'm at the top of the world, celebrating working in all 50 states without getting electrocuted.
27:44The rain is nothing.
27:45I heard he had whacked.
27:46Thought all that could change after the break.
27:48It's like sitting on a power line.
27:50Jack.
27:50Up.
27:52And later.
27:53I'm doing all the times.
27:55My heart-wrenching 50th State Tribute song is really getting to people.
27:59I think we've affected him in a deeply emotional way.
28:02I bet you made him cry.
28:03I bet there was some weeping.
28:05Was there weeping?
28:05Mine is touched.
28:14All right, so the stars and stripes are flapping in the breeze.
28:18The weather is schizophrenic.
28:19The helicopter is ready to take off.
28:21I've got some new overalls, some soaking wet clothes underneath that.
28:23I weighed twice my normal weight.
28:25We're going on the ball one more time to put this apparatus on top of the last apparatus.
28:30And then we'll come down and see what's next.
28:34You guys down with that?
28:35Oh, you ain't coming down.
28:37Hold on.
28:39The torch is hysterical.
28:40So, we put on the flag.
28:42We put on...
28:43What's the top part called?
28:45The...
28:45Top section.
28:46We put on the top section, according to Burkett...
28:50What do they call you?
28:51Crispy.
28:52Crispy.
28:53And then the antennae, or the antennas.
28:56Yep.
28:57And there's our heli...
28:58Did you get a good look at our helicopter today?
29:00It's fabulous.
29:00Look at it over there.
29:02So, for the second time today, Doug and I make the 300-foot ascent to the top.
29:07This time, however, our ride was a little more...
29:10Shall we say...
29:12Intimate?
29:13There we go.
29:15Aw, Doug.
29:19This isn't weird.
29:21Super uncomfortable.
29:23You know what?
29:23Why don't you shoot yourself?
29:25There you go.
29:27Friends of work, we have 30 minutes before we get down for it again.
29:30We better get flying, or we gotta come back down.
29:32Okay, and I think you got a good grip there, team, Mike, right?
29:35I got pretty good grip.
29:36I'll be right here, all right?
29:37Uh-huh.
29:37Okay.
29:37Kevin obviously knew something we didn't, because his intensity level moved several clicks
29:42up the panic meter.
29:43He's got to stay right there.
29:44We gotta go.
29:45Here.
29:45I'll go get his camera.
29:45He's not gonna be safe if we lose another 10 minutes.
29:47Yeah.
29:48He's got some...
29:48Okay, go...
29:49I'll go get his camera.
29:49And once I got settled, I finally saw why.
29:56Oh, crap.
29:59Oh, you can see the weather.
30:00Yeah.
30:01You can see the rain.
30:02I think we're gonna get wet, man.
30:04If there's one place you don't want to be during a Midwestern thunderstorm, it's on
30:09a metal tower, 330 feet up in the sky.
30:12It's hard to believe it's gonna get us.
30:14It's gonna get us.
30:15Yeah.
30:16Get a section.
30:16Get that section.
30:18Tell him.
30:18Quick.
30:18ASAP.
30:19Kick it.
30:21Urgency.
30:21Yes.
30:23Can you see that?
30:26It's coming.
30:26I don't see any lightning view yet.
30:28You see any flashes?
30:29Well, that's gonna be bad.
30:31Yeah.
30:31We really got a mess.
30:33Rain is nothing.
30:34It's already getting black.
30:36Yeah, have him come up slow.
30:38We got job apps in the trailer too, Mike, by the way, yeah.
30:41Good deal.
30:41Yeah, yeah.
30:42See how my audition goes.
30:44Doug, it's coming up.
30:45Come up nice and straight, didn't it?
30:48Woo!
30:49I'll feed it to Mike.
30:51Okay.
30:52You gotta rotate all the way around.
30:54That leg will go over to her.
30:55Yep.
30:56Okay, I'll do the signal down.
30:57Or Mike, do you wanna whoop, whoop down?
30:59Woo!
31:00Maybe try it again.
31:01I can't.
31:02Right at him.
31:03Woo!
31:03Woo!
31:05Hit a leg.
31:09Lamar, Lamar.
31:10Hold on a second.
31:10Lamar, Lamar.
31:12Okay, hold that.
31:13Woo!
31:17Fun to section right out of here, guys.
31:19I can see it.
31:20Come on.
31:21Out of curiosity, at what point is this not safe?
31:24Uh, well, it's just about an hour and, uh, wet.
31:28I mean, the tower's not gonna collapse.
31:30I'm talking about lightning.
31:31You'll, you're, all the hair on your face and all your arms all rise, but since you're,
31:35it's like standing a bird sitting on a power line.
31:37You can taste some charged particles in here, that's for sure.
31:39Jack.
31:40Come on.
31:41Let's go.
31:46Gotta go.
31:48There we go.
31:49We got her.
31:50We got her?
31:50We're not, we're not off this thing yet.
31:53Really, we're at about one, two, three, four, five, six, oh, almost ten miles.
31:58Almost, if it, if that's coming at us, we're gonna get peed on.
32:02And as if right on cue, the wind showed up.
32:05Yeah, when I hear that wind like a breath.
32:06Here it comes.
32:08No pressure.
32:11No pressure.
32:12Here comes the rain too.
32:13Send up an antenna ASAP.
32:14If you think we have time.
32:16So the plan is, we figure we got a couple of minutes, the rain's right on us.
32:21They're gonna set up one antenna.
32:23If we can fix it here, then technically we will have done what we came to do.
32:29Yeah.
32:30Can't reach them if I pull it towards you?
32:32Yeah.
32:33Sitting atop this antenna is a red beacon, which blinks to make sure aircraft keep their distance.
32:38This way?
32:39Yeah, correct.
32:40Or toward me?
32:40Yup, you're good.
32:41You're right on.
32:41Yeah.
32:43You're doing good.
32:44You're like the worst tire change in the history of the world.
32:48Which, besides our helicopter, no pilot in his right mind would be out in this weather.
32:53Here comes the rain.
32:54Oh, ****.
32:55Unbelievable.
32:57One crazy, crazy job.
33:01And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the men and women who
33:06do jobs like these.
33:07One lap washer and one lap washer and a nut.
33:09The wind's a heck of a lot colder than it was.
33:11It's not easy, to say the least.
33:13And today, it's not warm or dry either.
33:15It's getting darker, isn't it?
33:17I hate that.
33:17Well, you got the idea, right?
33:19They work in the snow.
33:20They work in the sleet, the rain, the wind.
33:22It's a North Dakota thing.
33:23Tower goes up one piece at a time.
33:26You saw us put on the final section.
33:28You saw us put on an antenna.
33:30Kevin and his crew will finish the work.
33:31My crew and I will go back to the hotel and have a nice hot shower and try and forget
33:36about most of this.
33:36Kevin, great work.
33:37You're a monster.
33:39We appreciate it.
33:40You bet.
33:41Thanks for all the help.
33:42Yeah, be careful.
33:49Coming up.
33:50Are you ready?
33:51To celebrate dirty jobs, getting to all 50 states.
33:54When your job is dirty and a little nuts, I perform some original ditties to dirt, sonnets for slime, verses
34:00for vermin, and limericks for lividity.
34:05Not bad.
34:06It really sounds like a frickin' zone.
34:17It's been a long and dirty road, working in every single state in our country.
34:22This is weird.
34:24And that's an accomplishment that deserves something.
34:28Well, I do believe this may be a dirty jobs first.
34:31Never in the long and ridiculous history of this program, if we actually come to a sound stage in Hollywood,
34:37and yet here we are for this very special occasion, frankly, it creeps me out a bit.
34:41I'd be much more comfortable if it looked like a barn.
34:43Look at that.
34:45It's a miracle.
34:46Hollywood magic.
34:47I want a hay bale.
34:48I can have a hay bale.
34:49I want a window with a view.
34:51Boom.
34:52I got a window with a view.
34:52I can have anything I want.
34:54I want a monitor.
34:55I want one right back there.
34:57Bigger one.
34:58Give me a bigger one.
34:59Give me the biggest monitor you have.
35:02Huh?
35:02That's what I'm talkin' about.
35:03Miss Scott, by the way.
35:05Are you ready?
35:07Are you ready for the enthusiasm and the art to wash over, not just ourselves, but literally dozens of viewers?
35:12Yes.
35:12Well, here it goes then.
35:14Go in like that.
35:15If you got a dirty job in your inner ruts, send your arms inside of a bovine butt.
35:19A fella's mind'll wander as he works.
35:23He might reflect on all he's seen, on where he's been, and what it means to search the country high
35:29and low for dirt.
35:31He might recall the times he froze, the times he bled, the times he chose to keep on workin' as
35:37though it were his fate.
35:39Until the day when he could say that his disgusting resume included dirt from every single state.
35:47It was a long and smelly odyssey that led from sea to shining sea, and all the pits and sewers
35:54in between.
35:55Feel the blood?
35:56But in that mess, I must confess, I learned the secret of success, had nothing to do with getting clean.
36:04Now, I'll be honest with you, I didn't set out to get dirty in all 50 states.
36:08It wasn't some sort of personal wish fulfillment.
36:11It was really just the symptom of a show that didn't know when to go away.
36:14I mean, I tried to stop it, honest to God, many times.
36:18But people kept writing in, fans kept saying, hey, you should go here, you should go there.
36:22And pretty soon we found ourselves going here and there and everywhere.
36:26And I was crossing states off the list with a level of intensity that made me think for a moment
36:31that I might actually make it to all 50 without collapsing like a cheap card table.
36:35Well, this year it finally happened.
36:37I didn't collapse like a cheap card table.
36:39I got to all 50 states, which is why I'm here today on this Hollywood set on the verge of
36:44bursting in a song.
36:46When you're hanging high without a net at an altitude, you won't forget or jammed into a hole that's half
36:53your size.
36:54You might regret the path you took or give your boss a sideways look and wonder if the world will
37:01sympathize.
37:03But then you hear on the radio unemployment's high and the market is low and pickings might be best described
37:10as slim.
37:12That's when a fella might conclude his attitude should be reviewed because lots of people have got it worse than
37:19him.
37:20It was a long and smelly odyssey that led from sea to shining sea and all the pits and sewers
37:27in between.
37:27This is horrible.
37:29But in that mess, I must confess, I learned the secret of success.
37:33Had nothing to do with getting clean.
37:36Crap!
37:37Now, I'm not saying that things couldn't be better out there.
37:42Hell, things could always be better.
37:43I'm just saying that things could also always be worse.
37:46So if you're having one of those days where you feel like the boss is all over you,
37:50where you got the short end of a stick or, you know, a little sorry for yourself,
37:54you might be well advised to consider the tale of Les Swanson from Wisconsin.
37:59That's Les up there right now.
38:01Love the guy.
38:02He's waist deep in waste.
38:05That's what he does.
38:06He cleans septic tanks and he's really good at it.
38:09And the thing is, he really loves what he does, which is why I love Les Swanson.
38:14Which is why I'm pretty sure if you think about Les and the work he does,
38:17there's probably a lesson in there somewhere.
38:19You know, when you sweat like that, it almost looks like a tear.
38:22That's tears of joy.
38:26When you're making steel in Illinois or mining salt with Kansas boys
38:31or pulling cars from Minnesota ice.
38:34That's nice.
38:35Try to smile or maybe grin and celebrate the place you're in,
38:39even if it's California, picking lice.
38:43And if you're hired to castrate sheep with nothing but your two front teeth,
38:48don't despair, just do the best you can.
38:52It might not feel exactly right, but my advice is,
38:56take a bite and thank your lucky stars, you're not the land.
39:00It was a long and smelly odyssey that led from sea to shining sea
39:05and all the pits and sewers in between.
39:09But in that mess, I must confess, I learned the secret of success
39:13had nothing to do with getting clean.
39:17Now, I've always been personally a little suspicious of role models,
39:22but if we have to have them, well then, why not some of the people featured in this show?
39:27I mean, do we really need another American idol?
39:30How about some American icons, right?
39:33I'm talking about farmers, tradesmen, people who wake up every morning,
39:39walk outside, take a deep breath, and detect somewhere on the horizon
39:43an unmistakable stench, and then without thinking twice,
39:46happily walk off straight into the funk.
39:50You know who you are.
39:52You're the real stars of Dirty Jobs.
39:54And I'm grateful to each and every one of you.
39:57When you smell like poop that's not your own
40:00or pulling flesh off cattle bones,
40:02please remember what I just conveyed.
40:06Because if you work outside of the box
40:08and your attitude's unorthodox,
40:10you're the reason Dirty Jobs was made.
40:14You are some kind of wacky chick.
40:18Now, I hate to lie and I hate to boast,
40:21but the facts are clear, so I'll raise a toast
40:23to everyone who helped along the way.
40:27There was Dave and Doug and Jones and Troy,
40:30Amber and Dan and that other boy named Ryan.
40:33Y'all were underpaid.
40:35Wrap it up, boys.
40:36That's the crew who, along with you,
40:38provided the essential glue to keep me dirty
40:41all across the map.
40:44I thank you each for all you've done,
40:46for all the grime and all the fun.
40:49Y'all deserve a long and lengthy clap.
40:52And by clap, of course, I'm referring to a
40:55enthusiastic, sustained round of applause,
40:58not a sexually transmitted disease.
41:01Nobody deserves that.
41:02Not even Barsky.
41:05Carry on.
41:07It was a long and smelly odyssey
41:10that led from sea to shining sea
41:13and all the pits and sewers in between.
41:16But in that mess, I must confess,
41:19I learned the secret of success
41:21had nothing to do with getting clean.
41:24I said not one thing to do with getting clean.
41:28In other words, dirty is much more fun
41:33than more fun than clean.
41:45It's just a theory I have.
41:47Thanks, Scott.
41:48I appreciate it.
41:50We always like to leave the dirty job set exactly as we found it.
41:53So, easiest cleanup in the history of television.
41:58But I'm leaving.
41:59You keep playing.
42:00This town makes me nervous.
42:04Here, let me show you something that makes me laugh every time I see this.
42:09I'm Mike Rowe.
42:11Ooh.
42:13I should get that right.
42:15In case Cory's falling asleep on the hoist
42:17and we need to communicate with Cory out on the erection hoist out there.
42:20We'll scream like girls out there.
42:22I'll teach you how I want to get up there.
42:23You'll want to scream.
42:25Yeah.
42:25Scream, Cory, and erection.
42:26All in the same sense.
42:27That's right.
42:28There's a lot going through your mind right now.
42:29There's a tease.
42:31It's not my mind I'm worried about.
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