A Rescue Gone Wrong

After five years of gripping and educational survival tales, Out Alive is going on indefinite hiatus. Thank you to for listening and for your continued support. For more survival content, you can visit us at backpacker.com. Be safe out there. 

While every SAR unit faces different circumstances based on terrain, weather, and how they work with their local law enforcement, it’s the unseen obstacles like time away from family, paperwork, and the emotional toll that underpin SAR operations across the country. Go behind the ...  Show more

Joe Lentini is an elite mountain rescuer in New Hampshire. He regularly faces high-stakes decisions and dilemmas. But in 1982, during one treacherous mission to find two missing teenagers, disaster strikes Joe’s own team. What should he do now that one of his own is in the line o ...  Show more

Rescue workers search for the camera crew trapped inside Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o crater, but they’re forced to abandon their efforts when an incoming storm makes conditions too hazardous. Cameramen Chris Duddy and Mike Benson struggle to survive a night inside the volcano. When daylig ...  Show more

The blow-up of the 1949 Mann Gulch Wildfire had tragic consequences for a team of wildland firefighters. The event catalyzed a new era in fire safety, and wildland firefighting techniques that continue to this day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi ...  Show more

Most don’t make it to the finish. Some don’t survive. Two months into a monumental sailing race, Pete Goss is beset by the worst storm he’s ever faced. And then… a distress call comes in. A fellow skipper is sinking and needs urgent help. Suddenly, Pete’s battle to stay alive bec ...  Show more