Paddle, hike, and portage with ten strangers up the historic 1,200-kilometre York Factory Express fur-trading route. A $500,000 prize awaits the winners, but can they work together to conquer the treacherous Canadian terrain in a mere 28 days?
EPISODE 1
A BOAT CALLED WANDA-ER
Meet the ten members of the brigade and get to know their personalities at the starting point of the race, on the Columbia River’s Canadian shores. Paddle out onto this legendary waterway and watch them face their first competitive challenges.
EPISODE 2
PARALYSIS BY OVERANALYSIS
Face off with the Columbia River’s swift current, which tests the brigade’s strength and skill. Then negotiate an ominous logjam on Wood River that forces the team to choose a leader. Later, a hasty move seriously injures one of the paddlers.
EPISODE 3
AGAINST THE CURRENT
Slog through a gruelling upstream paddle with the competitors, who then have to tackle a back-breaking uphill trek through the Rocky Mountains. An injured teammate slows the brigade down further, and factions struggle to find a way forward.
EPISODE 4
THE WAY DOWN FROM HERE
Catch a break from climbing as the team descends the Athabasca Pass—all while bears and new injuries threaten to throw them off course. Then jump onto a raft and see how turbulent whitewater tests the unity and safety of the brigade.
EPISODE 5
NO TIME FOR BREAKS
Take an icy plunge into the Athabasca River as the brigade’s canoes capsize in rough waters. Then track the team’s progress through the unforgiving wilderness of northeastern Manitoba, including a brutal portage that nearly causes a breakdown.
EPISODE 6
RISKS AND TREPIDATIONS
Sit in on tense debates as the brigade faces food shortages and low energy reserves. Watch as intense downstream rapids threaten to smash their 29-foot, 2,500-pound voyageur canoe, Wanda, to smithereens.
