Raging rivers, hungry bears, huge avalanches—no matter how prepared you are, a walk in the woods can go from innocent to disastrous in the blink of an eye. Out Alive is a podcast series about real people who survived the unsurvivable. Each survivor takes you through what happened, from the packing mistakes to the missed signals to the plain bad luck, while experts and witnesses weigh in on how things went wrong.
When Charlie Finlayson was just 13 and alone with his dad David deep in the backcountry, his father suffered a horrific injury from a rockfall. But Charlie, despite being forced to make decisions way beyond his age and experience, never doubted that his father could survive and that he could help him. Thanks to his unwavering faith, Charlie and David pulled off the impossible.
A pair of hunters wearing camouflage become lost for six days in Alaska. Help is tantalizingly close but just out of reach, as rescuers are unable to see them.
Jeremy Evans takes us through a first-hand account of the catastrophic injuries he sustained after being mauled by a grizzly bear while deep in the Canadian backcountry.
In the second of a two-part episode, listen to a terror-filled tale on one of America's deadliest peaks.
Listen to a hair-raising account of terror and salvation on one of America's deadliest peaks.
When Svati Narula agreed to spend a season as part of a communications team at Mt. Everest basecamp she thought there would be a buffer between hers and the perils of Everest’s high slopes. But she would find there was no safe distance from the worst disaster in Mt. Everest’s history.
Peter Agricola was mountain biking near his home in Norfolk, Massachusetts when went over the handlebars on a downhill and landed chest-first on a downed log.
When a rafter was stung by a scorpion, she assumed she’d be fine. Then she lost her ability to see or speak clearly.
While snow climbing, William Toor and Mariella Colvin fell nearly 1,000 feet down a couloir in Rocky Mountain National Park.
A first-hand account of an alligator attack in Florida.
A firsthand account of a free-solo accident in the Sierra Nevada.
Cave divers Rick Stanton and Dr. Richard Harris, two of the most influential rescuers from the Thai Cave Rescue, disclose how their pursuit of an unusual and dangerous hobby made them some of the only people anywhere who would have a chance to save the lives of 12 boys and their coach.
Trauma specialist and psychologist Dr. Alison Roy is confronted with helping her own family heal in the aftermath of a vicious, rabid animal attack.
Andrew Devers survived 9 days near the Pratt River Trail in Washington by drinking stream water and eating berries. But the biggest threat to his own survival and only hope turned out to be himself.
In 2013, Mary Grimm got lost amid whiteout conditions on Mt. Hood. She spent six days alone before anyone found her.
In 2013, Mary Grimm got lost amid whiteout conditions on Mt. Hood. She spent six days alone before anyone found her.
A routine flight turns into a fight for life.
After Jacob Velarde fell 50 feet while on a solo hike, he could hardly move, let alone hike out.
When a flash flood raged through Havasupai in 2008, it would change the canyon forever—and their lives.
In June of 2020, Courtney Henderson and Gavin Caruso fell more than 50 feet down a mountainside. They were trapped, bleeding, and a storm was raging overhead. But help was on the way.
Matt Dyer thought he would be lucky to see a polar bear on his trip to Canada's Torngat Mountains National Park. As it turned out, he did see one—from closer than he ever expected.
Ultrarunner Jeremy Humphrey could move effortlessly through the mountains. But when a hiker went missing in his home range, he decided to put his skills to a higher use.
Check out Louisa Albanese's author page.
Check out Louisa Albanese and Zoe Gates's author page.
Check out Louisa Albanese's author page.
The thru-hiking community knew that "Sovereign" was bad news. Why wasn't anyone able to stop him?
An unexpected rescue leads to many unanswered questions in the latest episode of Out Alive.
Falling rock leaves a hiker injured and trapped miles from help in the latest episode of Out Alive.
Four climbers struggle to survive as they face life-threatening conditions in the alpine.
After a fall while climbing a remote Alaskan peak, Malcolm Daly found himself gravely injured and miles from help.
A misstep in Zion traps a hiker in the mud in the season 2 premiere of Out Alive.
Are we wired to get out of dangerous situations alive? We talked to the experts.
When a boulder snaps his leg on a California mountain, Gregg Hein finds himself in a fight for his life.
What if you were bitten by a venomous snake far from help? For Scott Vuncannon, an encounter with a rattler in the North Carolina backcountry was the beginning of a struggle for survival.
Your chances of being attacked by a bear are around one in two million. Todd Orr was mauled by one twice in a single day. Listen to his story in the latest episode of our podcast.
A fatal accident is the beginning of a six-day-long wilderness ordeal in the second episode of BACKPACKER's Out Alive podcast.
The wilderness is full of dangers. This podcast tells the stories of the people who survived them.