Frozen North Deadly on a Mission: Pole to Pole

This is Alaska. It's the largest state in America

and the scale of it is simply impossible to comprehend.

You can fly for hours and below you see nothing but lakes,

mountains and forests.

This is the last frontier.

My name's Steve Backshall...

..and I'm on a mission, searching for...

deadly places,

deadly adventures

and deadly animals.

And you're coming with me every step of the way.

Argh!

Alaska. Our pole-to-pole journey continues south.

We are now beyond the Arctic Circle and in a much more temperate world.

In the Alaskan seas we'll encounter and ocean giant...

Breathtaking.

..see an American icon like never before...

Yes.

..then go in search of a dark water monster.

What was that?

But we begin with something new.

Not an animal but a feature of Alaska itself.

A deadly force of nature...

..of such size and scale

the only way to appreciate it is from the sky.

We are pulling up at what appears to be a vast white-water river

but this is in fact a river of ice.

It's a glacier.

Constantly moving glaciers have the power to sculpt mountains,

carve valleys and give birth to giant icebergs.

Made up of millions of tonnes of ice,

they plough through everything in their path.

Their ponderous progress is most evident

when you feel the ice beneath your feet.

As the vast weight shifts, it creaks and groans

and you can feel its devastating potential.

Though it looks like one big, white, solid object,

A glacier is almost a living, moving thing.

All of this forms way up high in the mountains

in a place called the ice field,

so snow will accumulate over centuries and centuries

and it gets compacted by its own weight

and turns into ice and that ice starts to flow down like a river,

forming these incredible ice-falls and great sheets of ice.

Some part of the glacier are more dynamic than others.

We're seeking out the most dramatic.

All of the ice on the surface of the glacier

is constantly heated by the sun

and forms little streams like this,

which eventually run into big rivers.

Now, these rivers create an enormous amount of water

and that water has to go somewhere.

Eventually, it finds a weak point in the glacier

and it burrows down into a whirlpool...

..called a moulin.

This is the gateway to the guts of the glacier.

It's an incredibly frightening place and believe it or not,

that's where we're going.

We set up a system of ropes, secured by ice screws.

These will be my lifeline into the moulin.

OK, I'm all prepared for my trip into the underworld.

I've got my waterproof suit on,

I've also got this camera

which we usually use for filming underwater

and as soon as I get over the edge and I'm into the waterfall

I'll lose contact with the rest of the crew,

so I've got a radio to be able to talk to them

and I can't put it off any longer.

This is going to be seriously cold.

That is the understatement of the century.

The glacial meltwater thunders into the blue depths

and in a few minutes it's going to be crashing over me.

I'm going to get absolutely hammered here.

Whoa.

This looks absolutely brutal.

I've got two separate falls coming in.

The big one over there I'm going to be able to stay clear of

for most of the way.

That one's going to hit me

within a few metres...

..and the water is going to numb my brain and my fingers

and my whole body will start to shut down really quickly.

Glaciers may look like a static alien world

but they are constantly moving and changing.

Nobody has ever ventured into this unique moulin

and we don't know what we'll find below.

This would have to be one of the most hostile places

you can ever be in.

This is a place that human beings are simply not supposed to be.

I'm looking down

to the very bottom of a glacier,

an enormous, moving river of ice.

If I didn't have my drysuit,

I wouldn't last seconds here.

The water is only just above freezing

and thundering down around my ears.

Steve, are you OK down there?

Uh...

Uh!

I'm not sure if he's going to hear it.

Uh.

Oh, my fingers!

I can't feel my fingers.

Is he coming back, Johnny?

Oh!

Whoa!

It's such an incredibly beautiful place...

..but it's almost too frightening and too overwhelming to appreciate.

I don't think I should go on any further.

I think it'd just be too dangerous.

And look at all that water thundering down below me.

I think, if I tried to head down there...

..I wouldn't make it.

OK, I need to start climbing back up now.

One last ledge.

But the water has frozen my fingers solid.

I can't get back onto the ropes to start climbing out.

But finally I get it together and start to escape the moulin.

Come on!

That was probably the most hardcore thing I've ever done on Deadly.

It's going to be hours before I can feel my fingers again.

I am

totally

smashed...

..but there's no doubt that

places like moulins

are a lethal environment.

Definitely deadly.

More familiar territory now.

We're ocean-bound in search of an Alaskan giant.

For the next few days we're going to be out at sea in search

of one of the largest predators on the planet - the humpback whale.

Humpbacks are among the most massive creatures on earth.

They can get to be over 15m in length,

weigh 40 tonnes, and eat a tonne and a half of small fish,

crustaceans and plankton in a day.

The humpbacks span the planet in their annual migrations and

move massive distances to find food so we have to cover a lot of ground.

The crew are eagle-eyed and ready for action.

Some of the time.

We eventually reach an area where the whales have been seen feeding

but the engines of our boat could put the whales off their game

so I slide into a silent sea kayak.

We've found ourselves an absolutely perfect spot.

We're in a channel with the water completely flat calm.

The opportunity couldn't be better.

All we need now is for the whales to play ball.

After a while. I put down my paddle and wait.

Goodness. Whoa!

And in no time at all I am surrounded,

with whales everywhere, spouting as they surface.

The water looks like it's alive with cannons firing.

Oh, my goodness.

It's a crazy feeling. I know that there are

at least ten animals...

..each of which could weigh 30 or even 40 tonnes

and they're beneath me right now and yet they totally disappear.

The second they go beneath the surface, they're invisible.

But there are uninvited guests-

Steller sea lions.

There are hundreds of them, in a mood for mischief.

This is out of this world.

The sea lions seem to see the whales as a big plaything

which can be irritating, even to these huge beasts.

They're so playful.

And these animals are here for the same reasons as the whales are -

food.

There's an abundance of fish here, primarily herring,

but also the salmon that are waiting to head up-river to spawn

and these Steller sea lions have got food in abundance.

So much food that they can just afford to spend

an enormous amount of time mucking about.

Fun as this is for us, the whales are being pestered at the surface

and keep diving, put off their feeding.

We'd really hoped to film the whales in full predatory glory

so decide to change location.

Several hours away, we have an unexpected, jaw-dropping encounter.

Oh, look at that!

Whoa!

I don't quite believe what I've just seen.

That is an animal that weighs probably more than a fire truck

and it's just propelled itself out of the water,

mere metres from the side of our boat.

The shower that came off it as it hit the water was phenomenal.

This whale is in a playful mood.

After each gargantuan breach,

the whale swims down to gain momentum then breaches again.

Scientists are still unsure as to why whales breach.

It certainly helps to shed dead skin and get rid of parasites.

It may also be a display and have a role in communication.

But it seems as if this exuberant whale is just having fun.

It's only when you're this close,

that you get any real sense of the size and scale of humpback whales.

Most of the time all you see is that distinctive hump shape

as they just come out of the water breathing,

but when they breach, you can see the whole thing

and it is simply enormous.

And it's far from finished.

Breathtaking.

Absolutely breathtaking.

Despite its size, with just a couple of sweeps of that mighty tail,

it can propel itself clear of the water.

I've never had a breach that close to me before.

Extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary.

Humpbacks are gentle giants

but consume as much as a tonne and a half of other animals in a day

which makes them worthy of the deadly name.

Alaska remains one of my favourite places on the continent.

Goodness!

But it's time to continue our journey south -

the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Just off the coast, Vancouver Island is a wild, rugged place,

but some of its finest and most unusual wildlife

is found beneath the waves.

It's also one of the only places you can see a little-known predator.

It's called the sixgill shark.

They inhabit the darkest depths of our oceans,

over a mile below the surface.

We know little about their secret lives.

But they certainly scavenge carcases like dead whales

that sink down from above.

They even eat each other.

They're rarely seen and we're short on time

so it will be a true challenge...

but...

..we've got this remarkable bit of Deadly technology.

Effectively what this is is an underwater CCTV camera.

It's going to sit on the bottom right next to our bait

and we can see what's going on at the surface using this tablet.

We can switch on the lights,

so even in the dead of night we'll still be able to film

and hopefully this will be triggered by a shark

coming in to check out our bait.

We want to leave our remote camera in place,

scanning the depths.

We install the camera at 18m.

This is one of the few places on earth

that sixgills visit these shallower waters.

Like all sharks, their sense of smell

will draw them to food from a great distance.

This is our bait here.

These crates are filled with old fish heads

and lots of blood is floating off into the water.

You can't see it, but the sharks can smell it.

Hopefully, this camera here is going to see them as they come in.

While the remote camera is our best chance of a sighting,

we can still dream of a face-to-face encounter

so we set off to explore.

And you don't have to peer into too many holes

before something peers back at you.

Oh, wow! Yes, yes, yes! I see it!

Underneath this ledge

is the massive, imposing head of a wolf eel.

And in this bag, I've got some nice stinky chicken

to try and entice it out into the open.

Ideally, I'd have some kind of tongs or tweezers or something,

because...I really don't want to be having my fingers snapped.

That big, troll-like head belongs to a fish that feeds on

the spikiest of all foods - the sea urchin.

They crack them open to get at the soft insides.

OK, it's interested.

Come on out, big fella.

No! It's been stolen!

But hopefully that's got his attention enough

to come out into the open because this is

one of the most magnificent creatures of these pacific seas.

There he is! Oh, fantastic.

Completely out in the open.

Wonderful stuff.

Though worlds apart from a tropical coral reef,

these temperate waters brim with colour and life...

Look at all those fish.

..some of which is beyond bizarre.

Oh, this is brilliant. Come over and look at this.

It's a giant nudibranch.

It's actually a kind of sea snail or sea slug.

It's quite closely related

to the slugs and snails you find in your back garden.

But could not be more different.

It's absolutely dazzling, incredibly flamboyant.

They move quite slowly but they are actually predatory.

A magical example of murder in miniature.

These nudibranch hunt tube anemones on the sea floor.

Predators really don't get any stranger than this.

As the dive comes to an end,

we know our remote camera will never sleep...

..and can keep its electronic eye on the goings-on down below.

Here's hoping a sixgill swims by.

There's so much life down there.

Unbelievable colours. Real animal oddities.

But, as yet, not quote the one we're looking for.

We dig in for a long wait,

making sure someone is always watching the screen.

But all our bait is attracting is some small rock fish.

After several hours of staring, sleeping and snoring,

we decide to leave the camera to do its job and head inland.

The team and I are going to try out another new piece of filming

technology to show you a Canadian icon like never before.

This part of the world is paradise for birds

and this being Deadly, we're going for birds of prey.

This is a bald eagle, a bird of legendary power,

a potent force in the mythology and legends of the continent.

But no matter how familiar this bird is,

there's always something new to learn.

We've come to the Pacific North West Raptor Centre

to see their predatory prowess with fresh eyes.

It is one of the most spectacular birds you'll see in the whole world

and one of the most powerful birds of prey.

And most of the power is down here, in the talons.

They're strong, curved and perfect

for catching a hold of things like fish.

He also has... I'll come in quite carefully,

cos he's not entirely used to me yet.

Now he's showing off one of his primary weapons, that beak,

and I'm trying to keep it as far away from my face as possible.

And the cutting edge of the beak

is seriously as sharp as a carving knife.

Now these birds can kill prey as large as geese,

but far more often they'll just steal food,

even off other bald eagles.

Now, I could... Now, I could talk about this bird all day long,

but I think it'd be much better if we showed you him in action.

So, to see a bald eagle at their best,

we've got a bit of Deadly technology -

this. It's a paddling pool,

but a paddling pool with a very special addition.

Running all the way round the outside

we've got a circle of very small cameras

and they're focused on a sweet spot around about here.

We're going to put in this - it kind of looks like a little flip-flop,

but this is a lure and it has here some salmon.

When our bald eagle takes the lure,

just as it would snatch a fish in the wild,

all the cameras will fire off

and we'll be able to analyse its strike from 360 degrees.

Our high-speed camera will slow the moment down frame by frame.

OK, so the lure has gone in, it's right slap bang in the sweet spot.

HANDLER WHISTLES

Yes, he's gone! Look at that! No, he's really gone.

HE LAUGHS

Erm... Let's try again.

Man away.

Just going to wait until I can see I've got his attention.

Right, he's seen it.

Yes!

Fantastic! That could not have been more perfect.

That was exactly the pounce I was hoping for.

Our high-speed camera shows the eagle hit the lure bang on.

So, let's view back the time slice.

It's been a long day, but we've got all the results finished here,

downloaded and we can start to watch them properly.

So this is our bald eagle skimming just over the top of those cameras.

Absolutely incredible!

For the first time ever, we can see an eagle striking from 360 degrees.

It arches its wings upwards like a parachute to slow its approach.

The legs thrust forward, talons as long as my thumb extend,

aimed like stabbing daggers into the target.

And if that was a fish, even a really big fish like a salmon,

it would all be over in a millisecond.

This is happening so quickly.

In slow motion, you can see that as the eagle approaches,

its head steadies, eyes lock on to the target

and never leave it until the talons are engaged.

Once the target's caught, the eagle needs to get airborne immediately

to avoid crashing into the water.

It's also now carrying extra weight.

The broad wings drive down, giving lift.

Front talons grip the prize, rear talons stab in, securing the kill.

I've never seen anything like this before.

This is just out of this world.

This is a true filming first.

Such a strike is over in the blink of an eye.

Seen from every angle,

you can really appreciate quite how much is going on.

And all driven by deadly instinct.

While we've been busy elsewhere,

our aquatic technology has been tirelessly filming.

We returned to the chilly coast to check back the footage.

Could we have managed to capture on camera the elusive sixgill shark?

So, let's have look and see what we've got.

Wow! There's so much activity.

Wow! Look at that!

This is one of our giant nudibranchs, the same ones we saw on

the sea bed, but it's swimming right up in the water column.

That is beautiful!

This camera is set to automatically record

every time something swims by,

but it's being triggered almost constantly.

The whole place is buzzing with life, day and night.

The sunflower stars are out in force,

one using its tubed feet to taste our camera.

Rockfish by the dozen...all coming in to check out the bait box.

Rockfish by the dozen...all coming in to check out the bait box.

It really goes to show quite what's going on

in the darkness below us that we just don't see.

What was that?!

That was definitely a shark tail!

It's a sixgill! We've got a sixgill shark!

Fantastic!

It looks like quite a long animal, actually.

This is a really privileged glimpse into the life of an animal

that normally we would never have the opportunity to see.

This awesome animal that's been around since before the dinosaurs

is for me one of the most sinister, creepy,

but exciting animals on Earth.

And, I reckon, sixgills are deadly.

The Pacific Northwest has shown us some grand adventures.

We've filmed familiar animals in ways they've never been seen before

and caught a tantalising glimpse of a sea monster.

Join us next time as we continue ever southwards.

We go on the trail of wolves in sub-zero snows...

Her heart's going crazy.

..search for an animal straight from hell...

Oh!

..and, as the journey warms up, get immersed in a mega swarm.

Argh!