Every week, viewers see the breakout star of the Discovery Channel reality show Bering Sea Gold: Under The Ice digging underneath several feet of ice to reach the bottom of the sea, which sits above the Arctic Circle. Temperatures plunge into the negatives, making the threat of frostbite and hypothermia ever-present.
“We were really limited by the elements, the winds 20 or 30 below. It was very difficult conditions to make money in,” Riedel told FOX411. “There were a lot of barriers we needed to overcome and we are all still learning. It was a chaotic and frustrating time drilling under the ice… we aren’t certified divers and we are trying to do something that is very difficult and dangerous.”
Emily Riedel is one of the show’s brightest stars, a seemingly out-of-place and free-spirited brunette. Away from the rough world of ice drilling, she spends her time singing opera and said that singing is her passion.
She is also the only woman on the show, and one of the only females working in the entire field.
Emily Riedel said it’s the perfect job for her.
“On a bad day I say I could stop this and become an accountant, but that’s not true. I would be a horrible accountant. We are incapable of having regular jobs. I have an uncomfortable personality in general,” Riedel said. “Normal settings make me really anxious. I don’t feel normal in what should be normal situations.”
Bering Sea Gold: Under The Ice comes from the creators of Deadliest Catch and follows a similar formula. Viewers get to watch people risk their lives for one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, one that can also be incredibly lucrative if they can strike it big. Unlike Deadliest Catch, which follows fishing crews, Bering Sea Gold: Under The Ice follows deep-sea mining operations that search for gold.
Riedel said she hopes more women will enter the field of deep-sea mining, and hopes she can set the example.
