Survival
Archive
Every season, the survival reality TV show features a few bushcraft specialists who approach wilderness living with an artistic flair
Once thought to be basically immortal, giant sequoias are dying in droves as fires burn bigger, hotter, and longer than at any other point in human history. Protecting them is possible, but managing western woods is a Pandora’s box of tough choices.
The outdoor world has produced another horror story involving a clumsy tourist, a lost cell phone, and a search and rescue mission
A British tourist trekking in Kyrgyzstan was enveloped by a massive slide. Rather than take cover, he filmed the whole thing. We are... glad he’s OK.
A massive slide on Italy’s Marmolada glacier sent rocks and ice tumbling down on multiple groups of climbers
An unidentified hiker went missing in California while retracing the footsteps of Jonathan Gerrish and Ellen Chung, who died with their one-year-old daughter of heat exposure and dehydration in 2021
Another contestant heads home early after the reality show throws viewers a few curveballs
Prep yourself with knowledge and tools before venturing out on your own
As an out-of-control blaze approached their home, a couple made what seems like a crazy choice: they ignored evacuation orders and stood their ground.
After kicking off an enormous slide on a familiar backcountry run in Colorado, our writer was forced to reconsider his relationship with skiing
Wildfire? Hurricane? Apocalypse? In this uncertain age, everyone should be prepared to escape in a hurry.
Plus, the emotional agony that comes with quitting the survival show early
After two young pilots crashed their small plane into the water off Hawaii, they realized their best hope for survival was to make it back to land on their own.
She didn’t seem up for the challenge—but her friend kept pushing her to keep soloing anyway
The Outside survival column returns with a shocking story from rural Massachusetts
Thanks to a lot of hard work, skill, luck, and love, these amazing animals emerged safely from the flames and disruption
Waves swept two hikers out to sea on the Northern California coast last week
Fresh out of film school, Soraya Simi’s first documentary was centered around the Paralympic rower’s 2,500-mile solo journey to Hawaii. Except Madsen never made it.
After two episodes, the survivalist reality show has already seen a few twists and turns
When vast gas reserves were discovered off the idyllic coast of northern Mozambique, a crew of roughnecks flew in from around the world to make their fortunes. But in March 2021, Islamist rebels attacked, and the foreigners and thousands of Mozambicans were abandoned. Two hundred holed up at the Amarula Lodge, where the expats faced a choice: save themselves, or risk it all to save everyone. As oil and gas fuel a new war in Europe, Alex Perry pieces together, shot by shot, a stunning morality tale for the global economy.
Crowds, inexperience, and social media are leading to a surge in rescue calls on one of the most climbed peaks in America
He was an environmentalist versed in the dangers of our warming world, an expert trail runner, and eminently capable of moving far and fast outside. The heat killed him all the same.
The outdoor-survival reality show returns for season nine—tune in and return to our site for updates and speculation on who will win
Rattlesnakes bite 150,000 pets each year in the U.S. These innovative rattlesnake training courses could save you and your canine companion.
In 2013, writer Mary Grimm got lost amid whiteout conditions and had to fend for herself for nearly a week
There’s a distinct pleasure to eating wild foods that you forage yourself—unless you pick the wrong thing
The well-known climber was helping guide a group of skiers in Utah’s Wasatch mountains last month when a slide engulfed him in several feet of snow
Don’t assume a noise deterrent will save you from a run-in with a wild animal. Do your homework before you head out into the wilderness.
If you’ve been riveted by the discovery of the ‘Endurance’ shipwreck, dive deeper into the rich history of daring—and often tragic—Arctic and Antarctic expeditions with these works of fiction and nonfiction
On February 3rd, a moose charged and trampled Bridgett Watkins' dog team near Fairbanks, Alaska when they were on a training run to prepare for the Iditarod. Here's what happened in her words, as told to Blair Braverman.
The United Nation’s latest scientific assessment on climate change is clear: it’s here, it’s impacting everyone, and it’s dangerous. Is there anything we can do?
Freezing to death. Heatstroke. The excruciatingly painful sting of a box jellyfish, which can kill a person in under a minute. After writing the classic 1997 story “Frozen Alive,” Peter Stark became an expert on what it feels like to die in the wild. We asked him why people are so interested in reading about it—and about his own close calls.
The accident highlights an industry at a crossroads and raises a crucial question: As safety schools boom, who is responsible for making sure the students come home?
Tim Leatherman’s invention was a runaway success. But until now, it’s never been the tool he intended.
Mark Jenkins chose to skip a risky adventure with his friends. Twenty-five years later, he’s still haunted by what happened in his absence.
While climbing Alaska’s Eagle Peak, Joe Yelverton’s life changed in a single moment. His account of the experience won our inaugural survival-stories essay contest.
Over two decades of ambitious adventures, elite skier and climber Zahan Billimoria has had some very close calls in the mountains
What it feels like to rescue a surfer from the massive winter waves that crash into the Hawaiian island
A secret abortion, pirates, and the peace found at the bottom of the ocean
Cahill’s stories and rollicking misadventures around the world have made this publication what it is today. Here he talks about his role in the creation of Outside magazine, choking down snake blood and gallbladder cocktails in the name of journalism, and how he came back from the dead after a frigid swim in the Grand Canyon’s biggest rapid.
In his new documentary, Max Lowe, son of the late climbing legend, explores his father’s high-profile death and the family drama that ensued
In an excerpt from his new book, ‘There and Back: Photographs from the Edge,’ the renowned climber and filmmaker recounts a 2003 expedition with snowboarder Stephen Koch
When someone gets hurt in the wild, we know what to do. But what we’ve lacked for way too long are the tools to help people in severe mental distress.
Tim Zimmermann’s feature about a 12,000-pound orca that killed a SeaWorld trainer changed the future of marine parks, was developed into a powerful 2013 documentary, and turned the author into a vegan
Ivy Le’s wildy funny take on adventure entertainment might just shift the conversation on who belongs in the outdoors
We caught up with author Sebastian Junger to find out how he reported the incredible Outside Classic story of the Andrea Gail’s crew, what’s changed in the commercial fishing industry, and why he’s drawn to people who have dangerous jobs
Israel Start-Up Nation owner Sylvan Adams and UCI played key roles in helping young Afghan women cyclists escape the clutches of the Taliban
Each year an estimated 300,000 smugglers, known as ‘kolbars,’ haul millions of pounds of contraband from Iraq to Iran over the 14,000-foot peaks of the Zagros Mountains. More than 50 of them will die—shot dead, killed in accidents, or freezing to death—and countless more will be arrested and imprisoned. Alex Perry travels to Iraqi Kurdistan to investigate the roots of a trade that all but defies comprehension.
Over the past few years, McCastle has completed 5,804 pull-ups in a single day, pulled a 5,000-pound truck across the Mojave Desert, and climbed a rope the equivalent height of Mount Everest. How on earth has this Navy SEAL dropout accomplished some of the craziest physical feats in recent memory?
If you get lost or injured in the woods these days, aid might come from above—in the form of small-propeller drones that are revolutionizing SAR and saving lives
A firsthand account of a free-solo accident in the Sierra Nevada
After an American Army captain came home traumatized from the war, he lost his ability to love. It took the wilderness to reopen his heart.
For elite mountain athlete Hillary Allen, a near deadly fall was the start of a long, winding journey to find a new source of strength and purpose
Lyme-carrying ticks are a bigger threat than ever. A promising new antibody treatment looks to stop infection—even after a tick bite.
To live in the small town of Haines, Alaska, is to live with bears, with roughly one brown bear for every nine human residents. Last winter, a local snowboarder woke a hibernating brown bear in the backcountry and was severely injured, furthering tensions between food-stressed bears and anxious local residents. But in most encounters, it’s the bear that ends up dead, prompting the question of what it means to coexist.
Kyle Dickman had spent his life chasing adventure. But after nearly dying from a snake bite, he saw menacing risks everywhere he went.
Bus 142 spent 60 years sitting in the Alaskan backcountry and saw thousands of visitors before it ended up at the Museum of the North in Fairbanks. Now a team of conservators, students, and volunteers face the challenge ahead.
Grizzly and black bears have killed five people in North America over the last five months. Is this cause for concern?
Phillip Dwight Morgan became obsessed with the hit History Channel series during quarantine. It inspired him to dive into survivalism and gave him skills to navigate an unprecedented year.
That shiny sheet of plastic you have wadded up at the bottom of your daypack can help you stay alive. Will it help you stay comfortable? That’s a different story.
Despite warnings, rules, and common sense, tourists in Yellowstone keep approaching bears and bison.
From ‘Naked and Afraid’ to ‘Running Wild with Bear Grylls,’ these are our picks for the most riveting adventure series on TV
To really understand the outer limits of dehydration, you need to listen to the remarkable story of Pablo Valencia
The remarkable survival story of Claire Nelson, whose solo hike in the desert turned into a desperate fight for her life
In September 2017, Outside published a feature about the ‘Berserk,’ a ship that went missing in 2011 off the coast of Antarctica with three men aboard. The expedition leader, Jarle Andhoy, disagreed with the story we published, which contained some factual errors, and with our portrayal of the lost men of the ‘Berserk.’ He also believed that the story left out crucial information about the days before the ship’s disappearance. Outside editor in chief Christopher Keyes interviewed Andhoy and his lawyer, Gunnar Nerdrum Aagaard, to better understand new details the two have gathered, which may help explain what happened to the men on board.
Digging deep with journalist Daniel Barbarisi, whose new account reveals the very real danger of the chase
A tragedy forced Savannah Cummins to come to terms with the fact that doing what she loves means putting lives in danger
Sometimes the biggest threat in the wilderness is another human
Cyclist and explorer Kate Leeming ventures across Namibia's Skeleton Coast in this series
When Joe Stone crashed his paraglider into a mountain, his days as an athlete were supposed to be finished. But Joe had other plans.
Investigators, family, and friends are still trying to close the case of Paul Fugate, a naturalist at Arizona’s Chiricahua National Monument who vanished without a trace in 1980. What keeps them motivated to stick with a mystery that may be unsolvable?
Wes Siler explains why absolutely everyone should keep one of these $40 MSR Home Emergency water filters around
All too often, we tell ourselves that being scared is just part of an adventure. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
What happens if a natural disaster strikes and you’re away from home?
A new book by the acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis looks at human attempts to save other species from extinction, from John Muir to the World Wildlife Fund
Planning a trip to or through a place with unreliable utilities? Plan for a blackout.
Vaccines are rolling out with increasing speed, but we’ll also need effective treatments, because new coronavirus cases will be a worldwide reality for years to come. Enter Jacob Glanville, a maverick San Francisco immunologist who believes he’s found an unparalleled path to healing.
An avalanche is every backcountry adventurer’s worst nightmare. Know what to do with your beacon in case the worst happens.
When an avalanche killed Caroline Gleich’s brother, it didn’t end her pro skiing dreams. But it did change her approach to the mountains.