When remote northern communities need supplies in the dead of winter, driving over a frozen river or lake is sometimes the only way to deliver the goods. Trucks can haul heavy cargo much cheaper than a plane, and for a few extremely cold months a year, ice roads can add thousands of extra kilometers to the Arctic’s limited network of all-weather highways.

But driving the giant low-temperature-optimized transport trucks across the frozen frontier is a dangerous and lonely job. Despite the lucrative pay–experienced ice road truckers can earn their entire year’s salary in a matter of weeks–the industry has a high turnover rate.

Ice Road Truckers, a popular show on the History Channel, follows a cast of real-life truckers as they ferry payloads and compete for contracts. Here’s a bit of what it’s like to be an ice road trucker.

Nerve-wracking

Unlike on a regular road, going slightly above the speed limit on an ice road can have dire consequences. If a heavy truck goes too fast or stops on the ice, it can cause the ice to crack and break. If the truck falls through (thankfully rare, since the ice roads’ extreme circumstances prompt extreme precautions) the driver would likely die almost instantly.