Ultimate Survival Alaska

2013 • National Geographic Channel
4.6
190 reviews
TV-14
Rating
Eligible
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Season 3 episodes (13)

1 Back for Blood
1/9/15
In the first leg of the thirteen-leg competition, four teams battle their way to the summit of Mount Gerdine. They'll cross a rapidly thawing lake, traverse a crevasse-filled glacier, and claw up walls of crumbing ice. After narrowly losing to the Endurance team last season, the Military team is out for revenge. Meanwhile, the Alaskans team, led by three-time Ultimate Survival Alaska veteran Marty Raney, takes the steepest route up the mountain.
2 Deadly Descent
1/8/15
Dropped near the top of a towering mountain peak, teams are provided with skis, snowboards and climbing rope. The mission is clear: descend the mountain in any way possible. Facing an array of life-threatening obstacles. The Alaskans have the advantage, as all three are expert skiers, but their confidence leads to costly mistakes. The Lower 48 team struggles to work together. After a navigational dispute, one team member threatens to quit.
3 Crash Course
1/11/15
On leg three, teams descend 2,000 ft of snowy ridges, bush-covered slopes and spongy swamps to reach the LZ. At the insertion flag, the adventurers find a cache of dog sleds, skis, snowshoes and packrafts. Lel’s rookie mistake leaves the Endurance team immobilized. The Alaskans grab skis and set off across the snowy plateau to bush ski. But Vern thinks fast to get them quickly across the tundra after getting caught in the deep snow.
4 Deadly Tide
1/18/15
On leg four, 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 one of the most notoriously dangerous rivers in Alaska, or make a grueling trek over a mountain pass. The Alaskans take two inflatable canoes down the deadly rapids. Barely making it out alive, the Alaskan vets attempt to ride a massive tidal wave known as the Turnagain Arm bore tide.
5 Devil’s Due
1/25/15
Riding on the historic Alaskan Railroad, the teams are inserted into a remote river valley. To reach extraction, the adventurers must traverse mountains, canyons, glaciers and an iceberg-filled lake. The winless Military team pulls out all the stops. Falling behind, The Endurance team rigs a Tyrolean traverse across an ice gorge. It’s a dangerous maneuver, but could propel them to a win.
6 Going Rogue
2/12/15
In leg six, the teams are inserted into the heart of Alaskan gold country. Slashing through a thorny gauntlet of devil’s club, they charge for the insertion flag. Some head for the high ground to escape the dungeon of thorns, while others bushwhack directly through the forest. Fed up with Lower 48's lack of communication, Sweeney goes rogue, leaving Kasha and Cluck behind.
7 Live Before You Die
2/12/15
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.” Tensions run high as one injured team member contemplates quitting the competition.
8 Savage Waters
2/15/15
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.
9 Kodiak Killers
2/22/15
Dropped on Kodiak Island, the hunters become the hunted, as teams face their fiercest challenge yet: Kodiak brown bears. Chased downstream by a brown bear, the Military team must choose to jump off a forty-foot waterfall, or become the beast’s next meal. The Alaskans take a direct route straight through the heart of bear country and when one man gets separated from the team, he comes face-to-face with a massive predator.
10 Covert Ops
3/1/15
In leg ten, the teams continue in the Kodiak Islands, this time, with the choice of traveling by land or sea. The Military team charges up a mountain peak and dehydration soon sets in. The Lower 48 team travels by sea kayak but a giant pod of whales threatens to sink their expedition. The Endurance team must drag a sick teammate to the LZ and the Alaskan's trip through violent rapids sends one kayaker in over his head.
11 Long Way Down
3/8/15
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.
12 Knockout Punch
3/15/15
With two legs to go, the pressure’s on to snag one of the few remaining wins. At the insertion flag, teams must design and build handmade rafts durable enough to survive the roughest whitewater they’ve faced yet. Endurance is derailed after a crash leaves them struggling . The Alaskans need a win, but when their rafts flip, they must sprint to the finish. The Military team trails Endurance by one point, and can’t afford to make any mistakes.
13 Final Gauntlet
3/22/15
Beaten down after weeks in the Alaskan backcountry, the competitors brace for one last battle: treacherous glaciers, volatile rivers and perilous mountains.

About this show

They are some the toughest, most extreme survivalists that Alaska has to offer. Going head to head, eight men of a rare breed are about to take the ultimate test of survival in Arctic conditions that only National Geographic could inspire. Dropped in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness by bush plane, with only their raw, mountain-man ingenuity, they'll navigate through treacherous glaciated river valleys, barren ridgelines, and high mountain peaks, battling hunger, hostile predators, and perilous weather conditions along the way. Like the original National Geographic explorers, for those who succeed there is no grand prize, just the well-fought pride of having conquered the grueling challenges that Mother Nature can throw at them. It's an epic competition series where the only prize is survival.

Ratings and reviews

4.6
190 reviews
Audra C
January 26, 2015
Come on. Of course theres a Medivac waiting and a crew in the bushes, but you cant deny these guys actually COULD die, whether they take precautions or not, and at the very least are tested beyond what we mere mortals would be willing to do or physically get tested regularly to withstand. Just to watch the scenery and envision myself in the same scenario is a total treat. Once a week I get to escape Los Angeles into backcountry AK, and that, my friends, is FIVE STAR!!
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Barbra Kirkland
June 15, 2015
I love this show but I cheered when Sweeney called it quits. What a miserable excuse for a human being. I know it's scripted, but if that was even close to Sweeney's true personality, I'm surprised he doesn't get his a.. beat on a regular basis! Please leave that sort of drama out next season
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L Miller
February 10, 2015
It takes almost a week to get new episodes. I'm not sure why I purchase any series in advance, you guys are the worst out of the big 3 in getting episodes for nearly every network up and their really is no way to even plan. I'm going to purchase from Amazon Instant from now on. Anyway, this show is awesome and quickly became one of my favorites.
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