The Five Best Survival Shelters in ‘Alone’ History

Published August 18, 2025 03:47PM

As Alone Africa chugs toward its finale, super-fans like myself enjoyed two glorious treats during episode 9, which aired on August 14.

We got a laugh-out-loud montage starring Kelsey, and a tour of one of the most impressive survival structures in the show’s history.

(Spoilers ahead) Nobody tapped out during episode 9, and Alone Africa’s three remaining participants—Nathan, Kelsey, and Katie—performed the daily ritual of pursuing food, purifying water, and staving off hunger.

Kelsey, who spent much of episode 8 battling negative thoughts, produced a segment that left me giggling with glee. Having shed 20 or so pounds due to her lack of food, she recorded a homage to a workout video/health spa commercial—complete with jump cuts, dance moves, and some hilarious zingers. The segment honored her new svelte waistline, and the weeks she’s spent on the show without sustenance.

“If you want the weight to just melt away, just book your spot on Alone, with zero food!” she says into the camera. “You’ll get a very nice tan as you lay in the sun and starve!”

I loved it. The humor reinvigorated my affection for Kelsey, whose battle with her inner demons over the past two episodes has produced plenty of tension.

Rather than dwell on her hunger, Kelsey made light of it, and to be honest, created one of the funnier segments in recent Alone memory. It was up there with Timber Cleghorn’s moose antler bass solo from season 11.

The other high point was Nathan finishing his rock house, made entirely of shale and sand. He did so after spending nearly half of the season building and then repairing the structure.

With thick rock walls, a mud roof, and plenty of square footage to sleep and cook food, Nathan’s home is absolutely the most impressive of Alone Africa. But it also enters the oevre of classic Alone homes.

During the show’s 12-season run, we’ve seen survivalists hack together some pretty cool abodes made from trees, rocks, and earth. And as an Alone completist, a handful of these structures have been truly memorable for their accoutrements and design.

Jokes aside, here are the five coolest survival structures in Alone history, as chosen by me.

Argentine A-Frame

Way back in season 3, participants headed to Patagonia to live on the banks of a massive lake. That season, Callie North, an herbalist from Washington State, built a simple a-frame house that had some cool creature comforts: giant fireplace, sauna, cool shelves and storage, an armoire made from sticks, and even a walkway made of pavers.

Callie’s house helped her survive 72 days in the wild. And it showed that survival abodes don’t have to be bare-bones structures with no personality.

Fort Moosehead

Timber Cleghorn’s log cabin in Canada’s arctic north had everything you’d need for a long stay in the woods:an elevated bed, plenty of pine boughs, spacious living quarters, and yes, moose antlers mounted above the door. The antlers came from the moose that Cleghorn successfully hunted before the snow began to fall. Cleghorn was so cozy in his den that he had enough time and energy to build a bass guitar—yep, from another set of antlers.

Whipple Cabin

Back in Alone’s fourth season, producers had survivalists compete in teams of two. Husband-and-wife duo Brooke and Dave Whipple didn’t win, but they created a memorable log cabin that still ranks among the best. The duo cut down several dozen pine trees and then drove the timbers vertically into the soft earth, creating an ad-hoc fort that would make any Lincoln Log fan proud. They furnished the interior with photos of their kids, shelves, and even strands of shelves foraged from the ocean. The cool cabin had a massive fireplace, substantial sleeping space, and high enough ceilings for Dave and Brooke to stand up.

The Shale Mansion

Nathan’s rock house from Alone Africa is truly a marvel of both smart design and perseverance. He’s built the walls from flat shale stones, filling in the gaps between these rocks with sand. The construction makes the house look like it could survive a tornado, or a direct hit from a Kudu. But, as fans of the show’s 12th season know, the house is potentially less stable than it appears. While building it, Nathan watched in horror as one of the walls collapsed. The debacle marked the biggest hurdle that Nathan faced in the backcountry, but he rebounded with impressive zeal. He spent several days demolishing and then rebuilding the broken wall, eventually constructing a cozy abode that blends in nicely with the surroundings.

Rock House

No other house in Alone history supports its own line of merch. Rock House is the most famous abode in the show’s run, and the words are synonymous with season 9 winner Roland Welker. Welker, a force-of-nature wild man from Red Devil, Alaska, built the shelter by cutting and hauling massive logs into a giant rock outcrop in the Canadian wilderness, and then stacking huge boulders to complete the walls. He then bolstered the structure by adding more rocks, insulation, and logs. The final product was a tank-like fortress that appeared to be impenetrable by the howling wind. Every season of Alone ends by showing the winner’s structure be gradually removed from view, one beam at a time. My guess is the producers required heavy machinery and maybe even some dynamite to take Rock House apart.