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A recap of the challenge in which the eight men divide into two teams shows their different approaches to building rafts to ride the Yukon River's violent rapids; one team builds a ruggedized craft, while the other opts for maneuverability.
From bear attacks to searching for water, the toughest challenges in this competition teach lessons that could save a life. Watch as we follow the competitors learning these lessons the hard way when they’re left in the wilds of Alaska.
Facing hypothermia, bear attacks and their physical limits, challengers race through a myriad of hurdles to complete this epic quest and claim the title of Ultimate Alaskan Survivor.
In leg six, the teams are inserted into the heart of Alaskan gold country. Slashing through a thorny gantlet of devil’s club, they charge for the insertion flag. Then the teams begin leg seven on remote tundra in the shadow of Mount McKinley. The area is known for being some of the most brutal, inhospitable terrain in Alaska.
The men pick their route: some take the higher land, some follow the river. Expert climber Willi Prittie leads Brent Sass and Tyler Johnson into the mountains. The bearing they're traveling reaches elevations over 4,000 feet. Veteran mountain man Marty Raney is leading his son Matt and survival expert Austin Manelick through the river valley. Brothers Dallas and Tyrell Seavey navigate along the ridgeline, crossing land with little cover. These born racers are resolute to be the first to arrive.
The men are divided into two groups, building competing rafts. Mountain man Marty Raney is taking charge, building a colossal raft weighing nearly 2 tons which he hopes will be sturdy enough in the rapids. After spending five hours on construction, the five-man crew get on their way, but hunger starts to take its toll. Dallas Seavey, his brother Tyrell and survival expert Austin Manelick are meticulously engineering a smaller raft that's speedy and maneuverable to tackle the turbulent Yukon.
Helicopters leave the eight explorers on a snow-capped summit. The men split into three groups and approach a 300-foot cliff, descend a ravine and traverse eight miles of the Triumvirate Glacier. Marty Raney, his son Matt and Brent Sass take a low route and are the first to cross. Willi Prittie and the Seavey brothers cross far from the icebergs, across 33-degree water. Austin and Tyler bypass the glacier, traveling along the ridgeline. They arrive last and Austin's showing signs of hypothermia.
The eight explorers are on the fourth leg of their expedition and are struggling to stay afloat on the Talachulitna River. With currents rushing at dangerous speeds, it's no easy feat to navigate the frigid waters. Expert climber Willi Prittie teams up with Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey and his brother Tyrell to find a much-needed food source. Meanwhile, mountain man Marty Raney and his son Matt enter the river further downstream hoping to minimize their time on the water.
The explorers brave the dangers of Alaska's "Bear Highway" only to find themselves stranded and fighting to survive Mother Nature's fury on the shores of Katmai Bay.
Facing the brink of collapse, the eight starving explorers set out with one mission: harvest as much food as possible from the barren landscape of Nunivak Island.
In the frigid waters of the Prince William Sound, eight explorers battle a minefield of icebergs, glaciers, massive waves and powerful tides.
On day 32 of the expedition, the explorers traverse the Nizina River Valley, a vast expanse of land known for its lush wildlife, hungry grizzlies and homesteaders living hundreds of miles from civilization.
The explorers travel to Admiralty Island, home to the highest density of brown bears in North America, and it's not long before they receive a "grizzly" welcome.
On the last leg of the 3,000-mile journey across Alaska, the explorers battle a brutal winter snowstorm as they climb a 5,000 foot mountain in the Juneau ice field.
The survivalists are in Dallas' territory: dog mushing. Dallas and the rest of the Endurance athletes are the first to arrive and harness their team of dogs. Not familiar with dog mushing and not wanting to waste any time, the Military team skips the dogs altogether and walks. The mission? Race across a 30-mile stretch of treacherous glacier, plunge down a 2,000-foot gully and battle 15 miles of whitewater rapids to the extraction point in Berners Bay.
The men pick their route: some take the higher land, some follow the river. Expert climber Willi Prittie leads Brent Sass and Tyler Johnson into the mountains. The bearing they're traveling reaches elevations over 4,000 feet. Veteran mountain man Marty Raney is leading his son Matt and survival expert Austin Manelick through the river valley. Brothers Dallas and Tyrell Seavey navigate along the ridgeline, crossing land with little cover. These born racers are resolute to be the first to arrive.
Mission: Bushwhack through 45 miles of dense forest at Tongass National Forest, plunge down steep, 70-foot waterfalls and battle the violent open ocean waters at Steven's Passage. With the Woodsmen and Military teams forging forward, the Endurance athletes are eager to build an early lead. After finding a quick route through the Tongass National Forest, they must rappel down the waterfall and Dallas nearly slips off his rope.
The teams trek 30 miles up and over the snow-covered Tordrillo Mountains to reach the landing zone on the banks of Frustration Lake. The Military team sticks to lower elevations, but ends up staring a huge canyon straight in the face. The Endurance team's strategy of hiking up and over backfires when they run into a wall of ice. The Mountaineers are also climbing straight up, counting on their rock-climbing experience to get to the extraction point.
The teams will navigate 50 miles of turbulent rivers, battle through a deadly stretch of whitewater rapids known as Hell's Gate and bushwhack through thick brush to reach the extraction point. Armed with their pack rafts, the Endurance athletes hit a mass of fallen trees in water so dangerous that one team member goes under, and the Military Team unknowingly takes a break in an area filled with bear. Across the valley, the Mountaineers have a different strategy.
The teams will traverse the treacherous Hayes Glacier, then bushwhack through dense forest on their way to the extraction zone 30 miles away. The Mountaineers charge through a glacial canyon and hit what might be a dead end, but expert ice climber Tyler isn't daunted by the 80-foot ice wall. The Endurance team gets a shock when their strategy leads them right to a dangerous 200-foot rappel. Military is making great time until a wrong step drops Grady into the depths of a deadly crevasse.
The teams cross a steep ridge to the crumbling Strandline Canyon, then trek 40 miles to the landing zone. The Military Team's strategy is to charge straight down the glacial drainage basin. Before they know it, they're up to their knees in quicksand. The Mountaineers follow the same flatland strategy, and Marty and Tyler are soon stuck in the quicksand. Endurance Team heads straight for the canyon and hopes to follow the winding valley to the landing zone, but a furious river blocks their path.
With seven legs of the competition under their belts, take a look back at the extreme challenges the survivalists have endured and take a peek at the brutal adventures still to come. Get to know the teams again and witness their ups and downs throughout the battle to become Alaska's ultimate survivor.
On the eighth leg of the expedition, the teams will battle through a gauntlet of dense alder thickets, cross the roaring waters of Coal Creek and scale a 600-foot rock fall to reach the extraction zone. To get an early lead and escape the torturous bushwhack, the Mountaineer team's strategy is to immediately cross Coal Creek, despite the risky rushing waters. When they reach the creek, Tyler attempts to walk across, but the powerful rapids sweep him downstream and out of sight.
The teams head out on Afognak Island, which is ruled by Kodiak bears, one of the largest bears on Earth. The teams will cross 31 miles of treacherous, bear-packed wilderness to reach the extraction point at the northernmost tip of the island. All three teams are running into bears at every turn. As the Endurance team stops to fish, Sean is left staring into the jaws of a charging brown bear. Between lost maps and wrong turns, the survivalists are just trying to get out of bear country alive.
After nine grueling legs, the teams enter this leg battered, bruised and worn down. But they're in luck leg 10 takes the three remaining teams to Kodiak Island, a lush temperate rainforest full of hunting opportunities. The Military and Mountaineer teams use this opportunity to stock up on protein. The Endurance athletes aim to prove they're not out of the competition yet. But when attempting a treacherous lake crossing, Dallas slips into freezing cold water.
On the final leg, the teams face their toughest challenge yet a race across an icy glacier, down a whitewater river and across the open ocean to the Mount Augustine volcano. The trek begins high atop the Aleutian Mountains, where the competitors harness up and charge across a crevasse-laden glacier. With all three teams facing daunting obstacles, it's anyone's game going into next week's exciting conclusion.
With the final hours of the competition running off the clock, the three remaining teams risk it all for the glory of being crowned champion. It's a cutthroat battle to the top of Mount Augustine a 4,000-foot active volcano in the middle of the open ocean. To reach it, the teams race across 35 miles of punishing white water rapids and unforgiving seas. In the end, the first team to reach the summit of the volcano is crowned Ultimate Alaskan Survivors.
In the first leg of the 13-leg competition, four teams battle their way to the summit of Mount Gerdine. To get there, they must cross a rapidly thawing lake, traverse a crevasse-filled glacier and claw their way up walls of crumbing ice. On the second leg of the competition, teams are dropped near the top of a towering mountain peak and provided with skis, snowboards and climbing rope. The mission is clear: Descend the mountain in any way possible.
On the second leg of the competition, teams are dropped near the top of a towering mountain peak and provided with skis, snowboards and climbing rope. The mission is clear: Descend the mountain in any way possible.
On leg three, teams descend 2,000 feet of snowy ridges, bush-covered slopes and spongy swamps to reach the LZ (landing zone) at Talachulitna Lake. At the insertion flag, the adventurers find a cache of dogsleds, skis, snowshoes and packrafts.
On leg four, the teams travel by land and water as they charge toward the extraction LZ on an ocean inlet. The adventurers choose to either take boats down Six Mile Creek — one of the most notoriously dangerous rivers in Alaska — or make a grueling trek over a mountain pass.
Riding on the historic Alaskan Railroad, the teams are inserted into a remote river valley. To reach extraction, the adventurers traverse mountains, canyons, glaciers and an iceberg-filled lake.
In leg six, the teams are inserted into the heart of Alaskan gold country. Slashing through a thorny gantlet of devil’s club, they charge for the insertion flag. After reading their maps, some head for the high ground to escape the dungeon of thorns, while others bushwhack directly through the forest.
The teams begin leg seven on remote tundra in the shadow of Mount McKinley. The area is known for being some of the most brutal, inhospitable terrain in Alaska. It’s also known as the final resting place of Chris McCandless, whose tragic story of adventure and demise was made famous by the book and movie “Into the Wild.”
The teams are dropped on the banks of the Tazlina River and tasked with building log rafts. Faced with punishing rocks and class four whitewater, their designs are crucial to their success and survival.
Dropped on Kodiak Island, the hunters become the hunted, as the teams face their fiercest challenge yet — Kodiak brown bears.
In leg 10, the teams continue their adventure in the Kodiak Islands, this time with the choice of traveling by land or by sea. The competitors are dropped on a remote beach, where they race to the insertion flag and find a cache of sea kayaks.
Eleven legs in, the competitors are starting to feel the pain as Alaska pushes them over the edge. The four teams are dropped below a steep peak high in the Alaska Range, and as they climb to find the insertion flag, the elevation takes its toll. Once they reach the flag, they find that they must descend 2,000 feet to the Triumvirate Glacier, then battle 24 miles of ice fields, frigid rivers and rugged terrain to reach the LZ at Beluga Lake.
With just two legs to go, the pressure’s on to snag one of the few remaining wins. At the insertion flag, the teams find a cache of inner tubes, planks and ropes to design and build handmade rafts durable enough to survive the roughest whitewater they’ve faced yet.
Beaten down after weeks in the Alaskan backcountry, the competitors brace for one last battle involving treacherous glaciers, volatile rivers and perilous mountains. Dropped in a glacial river valley, the four teams charge toward the final insertion flag, where they find a cache of mountain bikes.
Beaten down after weeks in the Alaskan backcountry, the competitors brace for one last battle involving treacherous glaciers, volatile rivers and perilous mountains. Dropped in a glacial river valley, the four teams charge toward the final insertion flag, where they find a cache of mountain bikes.
