The CRUX: True Survival Stories

Takeyasu was 33 in 1990 when he summited the sheer rock face of Trango Tower In Pakistan, also called the Nameless Tower. Instead of belaying down the tower like most climbers would, Takeyasu decided to paraglide without his gear, and what happened next was an unimaginable terror. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal...

The Evans family dreamed of moving to Alaska, and were able to make this a reality when parents Donald and Rosemarie got a teaching jobs in a remote village in 2011. They were traveling from McGrath to Anvik with their family in a small plane when the weather changed, setting the stage for a crash landing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our coll...

Deborah was a talented young sailer with a lot of experience who was hired to transport a yacht from Maine to Florida in the fall of 1981. Things were briefly going well until the second day when they came upon a large storm that lead to the sinking of said yacht, "Trashman". Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data...

Earnest Shackleton was a well known explorer in the early 1900's. In 1914 he embarked on a mission to Antarctica with a crew of 28 men. Little did they know that they would end up trapped in Arctic ice for more than a year. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Yossi Ghinsberg was just 21 when he set off to experience the Amazon in December of 1981. While traveling in Bolivia, a strange and enticing man touted stories of adventure and lore, and promised to take Ghinsberg to the heart of the jungle. Ghinsberg was excited at the prospect and encouraged 2 new friends to come along. No one could have anticipated the ways they would be tested by nature's elem...

Nicholas Alkemade was part of the RAF when he had to face a terrible decision; to go down with a flaming aircraft or to jump to his certain death below. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Joe Simpson and Simon Yates were two ambitious young climbers with aptitude and passion who pursued a first ascent of the West face of Siula Grande, a mountain in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. They were successful in reaching their goal of the summit, although the climbing was difficult. They had hoped that the descent they had chosen would be less difficult, but it turned into a nightmare when Joe...

The Wild Boars football team went into the Tham Luang cave to do a little exploring on Saturday, June 23, 2018. The team, a group of 12 boys ages 11-16 and their 25 yo coach got trapped after an unexpected flash flood. When the children didn't arrive home in the evening, the head coach found the teams bicycles and bags outside the mouth of the cave, with water seeping from its entrance. What follo...

Tyson Steele was homesteading in the Alaskan wilderness, snowed in.. really… miles from his closest neighbor… the closest road 45 miles away, without a snowmobile/snowmachine. He made the mistake of throwing cardboard on his fire, and a portion of that cardboard, once lit, traveled through the chimney and deposited itself on the roof of the home he was living in, burning his home to the ground, le...

Paul Templer was an experienced military man, who once discharged from the military was a guide on the Zambezi river in Zimbabwe. He was taking a group of tourists down the river in a canoe with some guides in training when Paul got in over his head. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ricky Megee was driving to Port Hedland in the Northern Territory of Australia when he stopped to help some fellow travelers who had run out of petrol. Shortly there after, he awoke in a shallow grave, covered with a tarp, without his shoes and in the middle of no where. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for...

Ed and Kelly Moellmer are a father daughter duo that set off for a one day backcountry ski in the Cabinet Mountains. All was well until Ed took a wrong turn/step, separating them and putting both their lives at risk. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week we have two short stories to tell. The fist story highlights the Higgen's family, who got stuck in their family vehicle turned snow cave on the way to a New Mexico ski trip. The second story is about Amber Van Hecke, who got lost on the way to the Grand Canyon, and spent five days alone. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection an...

Jose Alvarenga is an avid and experienced fisherman that set out from the fishing village of Costa Azul, of the coast of Chiapas, Mexico on November 2012 with 23 yo Ezequiel Cordoba for a 30 hour excursion for deep sea fishing. This short trip was turned on its head when Alvarenga and Cordoba hit rough waters and hung on for dear life through a storm that raged on for five days. Hosted by Simpleca...

A woman's drive to visit her sister takes a sharp turn off a large cliff. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This tough cookie held it together twice when he was attacked by the same bear on the same day. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A young man, trapped inside a boat 100 feet under water struggles to maintain a positive mental outlook as he waits submerged in water for 60+ hours. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A teenage girl suffers an unanticipated terror while hitchhiking when she is picked up by a predator. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Juliane was only 17 when she was ejected from a plane mid-flight to the jungle floor below. Never would her background prove to be more useful. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A young man with the spirit of adventure finds himself trapped in a canyon and is forced to do the unthinkable. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mauro Prosperi is a talented and physically fit individual who signed up for a desert marathon in 1994 for a new, challenging experience, but he ended up learning firsthand what it is like to depend on ones self for survival. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode delves into one man's struggle to survive during a horrendous storm on Mount Everest in 1996, and teaches us that some things are possible against all odds. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.