[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
male narrator: For the first time,
ten participants will fight to survive the Arctic
for longer than anyone in "Alone" history.
A grueling 100 days.
- This is the ultimate challenge.
- A hundred days in the Arctic is no joke.
narrator: If they can endure,
they'll win the biggest prize ever:
$1 million.
♪ ♪
- Whoa! - Holy [bleep]!
- You can't tap out
when there's a million bucks on the line.
- Oh, my gosh. - [growls]
- How hard can you work for $10,000 a day?
- It looks like frostbite.
- [screams]
- Holy [bleep]!
narrator: This is "Alone: Million Dollar Challenge."
- They're just surrounding my shelter.
[wolf growling]
♪ ♪
[low dramatic music]
♪ ♪
[cheering]
[helicopter rotor droning]
♪ ♪
- A million dollars. "Alone" has never done this.
- This is high stakes, my man.
Good-bye!
- If you make it to 100 days, you're rich.
That's a huge factor.
Whoo! Now what?
[laughs]
- This is the Arctic.
That means that these
are gonna be harsh, harsh conditions.
It can reach down to negative 30,
negative 40 degrees.
[laughs] Whoa!
♪ ♪
- Nobody's made it 100 days
in places that weren't the Arctic.
An environment that's gonna get that cold,
I know it'll be harder and harder
to push through this.
♪ ♪
- That's it.
And I'm alone.
♪ ♪
- Black bears, moose, wolverines.
They're dangerous creatures.
Running into one of those is gonna be a reality check.
That's it. They're flying away.
- Oh, my God. This is awesome.
You can get hurt so fast. And one injury, that's it.
See you! [laughs]
♪ ♪
- No food, extremely cold conditions.
I'm expecting my worst nightmare.
- This is the Olympics of the survival community.
♪ ♪
- Last chance to change my mind.
♪ ♪
And now, I'm alone.
Alone, alone.
I mean, anybody out there ever has any doubts
about this process, it's just me and this camera.
There's no green room.
There's no donuts.
Whatever's waiting for me in those woods.
[panting lightly]
All right, I have to track down the camera equipment.
Oh, there it is.
All right, I gotta lug this thing around.
Whoa, look at that.
Looks like where a bear's been trying to get in this.
♪ ♪
[sighs]
Oh, man.
They put me over here with Smokey the Bear.
♪ ♪
That's got some nice teeth marks in it.
♪ ♪
[insects buzzing]
All right, Mr. Bear.
I'm gonna move myself to a different spot,
because as much as I want to,
I'm not ready to take on a bear yet.
[grunts] Already and I just got here.
Fantastic.
What's up, guys, this is "Sean With the Wild."
I don't know about y'all, but I'm getting pretty tired
of eating grass.
I do bushcraft videos and sell my stuff online.
I am an "Alone" show superfan.
♪ ♪
I'm a student of the show.
I've watched every season, every episode multiple times.
And over the last few years,
I've been tailor making myself to win this show.
This would have to be much more insulated for the Arctic,
but it's lasted about a year and a half.
I think my biggest strength is gonna be in bushcraft.
Having those creature comforts,
you're gonna stay a whole lot longer.
I do a lot of hunting out here
and always conscious of where game trails are.
I like to design my own traps.
Whoo!
A hundred days almost seems impossible,
but, you know, I'm doing this because it'll be
so much validation in my skill set.
I live with my wife and my youngest daughter.
I'm gonna miss them,
but that's part of the game, you know?
That's why it's called "Alone."
$1 million is a lot of motivation.
And I know that I'm gonna get what I want out of it,
and I'll make it to the end.
- We love you.
- I'll do what I gotta do.
♪ ♪
[grunts] Okay, the first thing
I'm gonna wanna do is some scouting.
I'm gonna go ahead and get this bow strung up.
With the bear running around here,
kinda even the playing field a little bit
if he pops up on me.
Let's have a little look around.
This experience, to me,
is the holy grail, if you will.
From watching the seasons past,
it's more competition with yourself
than it is with the other contestants.
But going 100 days is gonna be the hardest.
When the snow really sets in,
the game's a little more sparse,
morale's gonna go down,
and that's when you find out how gritty you really are.
[panting lightly]
[exhales sharply]
I love it out here. I love it.
[guffaws]
Crap. What is that?
[ominous music]
♪ ♪
[bowstring creaks]
♪ ♪
[arrow thwacks]
Boom. Mm.
[laughs] Just got a porcupine.
[laughs] Look at that.
I'm sure that's got some fat on him.
Oh, yeah, boy.
♪ ♪
Everything pumping. Whoo!
My goal is 100 days.
If I can keep my weight up,
I have no doubt that I can make it that long.
♪ ♪
Mm, he got some fat in there.
But for this show,
you gotta kinda manage expectations versus reality.
I have expectations,
but what the reality's actually gonna bring,
you don't ever know.
Mm-hmm.
♪ ♪
That's why you wear the gloves.
♪ ♪
You know, everybody has a plan until they get punched
in the face, but I'm doing good.
Gotta pay attention to the land and the animals.
One porcupine barbeque coming up.
Woot-woot! Yeah, yeah!
[foreboding music]
♪ ♪
- Folding a tarp by yourself 101.
The wind is your friend.
[tarp snaps]
Lay the tarp down. Even out the other side.
♪ ♪
One fold. Is that floss?
♪ ♪
Sure looks like some dental floss.
[thread snapping]
Hmm. No, little degraded.
[tsks]
Hmm, so quiet. I love the quiet.
[sighs]
♪ ♪
Here, Bee, do you want this?
Come here. Take it.
I am a biologist for the National Parks Service.
[chainsaw revving]
I grew up in a rural area and I've always been outdoors.
I love building.
I love coming up with novel solutions
to technical problems,
like using unfamiliar materials
to build a structure, and I started finding myself
wanting to do more and more extreme things in wild places.
♪ ♪
I feel like I've learned a lot of lessons by myself
in the wilderness.
I definitely can cope through hardship.
♪ ♪
Working for the parks,
I've developed a lot of plant ID skills.
My strengths lie in reading the landscape
and understanding relationships
and the ecosystem.
♪ ♪
$1 million is a life-changing quantity of money.
I think it would be hard to subject yourself
to this much potential hardship
without the idea of a reward at the end.
But ultimately, what I hope to gain
isn't really something tangible.
It's about the experience and learning from that experience.
♪ ♪
Let's do a little walking.
I wanna figure this place out.
[soft eerie music]
♪ ♪
This will definitely be the most difficult
wilderness challenge I have ever undertaken.
[water lapping]
[exhales]
I think this season is going to be much more difficult
psychologically because in past seasons,
you knew that when it was your time
and you were the last person
that someone would come get you and tell you.
I feel like now, you don't know if at day 20
you're the last person standing or if at day 99
you're the last person standing.
But the goal of the competition
is to make to 100 days, outlast all others.
♪ ♪
[squirrel chirping]
Squirrel friend, I hear you.
I see you.
♪ ♪
Worth taking a shot, I think.
I'm not a hunter, so I'm the only person
not coming out here with a bow.
But I have to have protein, so I need to adapt.
♪ ♪
Ooh! Little high.
Is he gonna give me another shot?
[squirrel chittering]
Ooh, he didn't like that.
♪ ♪
Ooh.
♪ ♪
Oh, I got him. [laughs]
Got a squirrel. Hoo!
I knew Little League Baseball was good for something.
[thrumming dramatic music]
♪ ♪
♪
- Time to heat up my porcupine.
We just gotta get a fire started.
[flint scraping]
[sighs] Crap.
[foreboding music]
Everything is wet.
Out here, the moss on the ground holds moisture in.
So anything you pick up off the ground,
you might as well forget it.
It almost seems impossible to start a fire,
even with a ferro rod.
And you cannot survive in the Arctic without fire.
Are you serious?
I need a bigger ball of fluff.
♪ ♪
[branches crackling]
[chuckling] All right.
I decided to cut off the leg quarters
and cook them in a pot.
The rest will just cook slowly overnight.
Should pull it apart nice and easy in the morning,
be good breakfast.
Anyway, we're cooking some meat!
[quiet dramatic music]
♪ ♪
Mmm. Oh, that fat is so good.
♪ ♪
You can't beat that.
Oh, yes. Thank you, Mr. Porcupine.
♪ ♪
Mmm. Mmm-mmm-mmm.
Mmm. Mmm.
All right, take my pot down to the shoreline.
'Cause if there's one good way to get a visitor,
it's to have something in your sleeping quarters
that they want.
[quiet tense music]
♪ ♪
[metallic clanging]
It's just getting dark, and I just fell asleep,
and I was woken by a clanging sound,
which I know it was my cooking pots, so I'm kinda--
kinda, like, freaking out a little bit.
I think the bears have probably found me again.
♪ ♪
[metallic snapping]
I don't know of anything else that coulda knocked that
cooking pot around like that.
It's pretty heavy cast iron.
Either a bear or wolverine.
[zipper zipping]
I'm trying to slip up and get my bow
and get down there and see-- see if I can see something.
[grunts]
[tense music]
♪ ♪
I'm trying to move pretty quick here.
See if I can see anything.
[animal growls]
What is that?
Something knows I'm here.
[exhales sharply]
[leaves rustling]
[low animal growl]
I'm not the only one out here.
I'm definitely not the only one hungry.
[bleep]!
Aw, crap.
[exhales sharply]
Aw, dang it.
Hmm, yeah, there's definitely something been in my pot.
♪ ♪
It's definitely unnerving. Something knows I'm here.
[panting lightly]
♪ ♪
All right. Maybe I run him off.
♪ ♪
Everything out here wants to take your food.
Everything.
♪ ♪
[grunting and panting]
I don't imagine I'll get any sleep, listening.
[tarp crinkling]
[light tense music]
♪ ♪
[branch rustling]
- Seven snares. Right on.
Are you ready for this?
[hard exhale]
[laughs softly]
Oh, there's some wicked bundles of spruce sap.
I'm just gonna chew some,
'cause this actually looks like, um, pre-chewed.
I may regret this, but I'm gonna do it.
[clears throat] Did think that was cleaner.
Worst idea yet.
[light ominous music]
♪ ♪
See if my snares produced.
It would be pretty wonderful to have a rabbit.
My main priority is to provide myself with enough food.
If I'm not actively hunting or fishing,
I want to be passively hunting or fishing.
So my goal is to set seven snares a day.
Making to 100 days is going to be extremely hard.
I think psychologically it's nice to have
a definite end date, but that doesn't make it any easier
to physically get there, but I know how to put my head
down and just get things done when things are tough.
♪ ♪
We've got snow again.
My profession is a wilderness snowshoe guide.
Day 15.
My husband and I do remote wilderness adventures
through minus-40 degree weather, snowstorms, slush.
Everyone's ready for a knock-'em-out, easy day, 10K.
I have the ability to overcome harsh environments.
I'm still making my gill net.
Knowing what to expect in the Arctic,
that's going to be a huge advantage.
The only thing that would make me tap
is an injury or starvation.
[arrow thwacks]
My husband Dave, he and I, we do everything together.
We are best friends, business partners.
$1 million is more than I could even imagine.
Having that money means that we can take more time
to live off the land and have the simple life.
- We got this.
- I want to show people how resilient women can be.
[motor revs]
This is an opportunity for me to prove to myself
that I can do it without Dave.
I have full confidence that I can make it until
they come and get me on day 100 with $1 million.
[rabbit cries]
Hmm, that's my snare.
My first rabbit. Sweet.
[rabbit crying]
[bones snap]
[sighs] [sniffles]
[sniffling and sobbing]
Such a small guy. Noose was too weak.
This is awful.
[crying]
I just feel really bad.
[mournful music]
♪ ♪
Not everybody gets the chance to look in the eye
of the animal you're about to eat.
♪ ♪
Out here there is no grocery store.
You can't just open up the fridge,
and when you have to kill your food,
you don't take it for granted.
Mmm.
[quiet foreboding music]
♪ ♪
♪
- [sniffles] I see breakfast.
Ants just boiling out of that birch.
Bunch of them are getting away too--I gotta get them.
[grunts]
[light music]
Here's a big one.
[crunching]
♪ ♪
Out here, any little thing's good,
even if it ain't a major food source.
[chuckles]
That one grabbed ahold of my tongue.
You gotta make sure you eat their heads first,
or they'll pinch your tongue.
We'll eat stuff you'd never even touch back home.
Crunch down every bit of it, and drink the juice
and lick the bowl.
That might be about it.
Nobody got a clue what it's like to rough it.
[light dramatic music]
I've been living off the land pretty much my whole life.
I don't do the pacifist,
"all one with the wilderness" bull[bleep].
I'm a registered big-game guide in Red Devil, Alaska.
That was a good shot.
I do extreme wilderness hunts.
I'll spend all winter out there trapping.
I call this my moose shot. I am good at it.
And when I get bored, I got logging
and try to smash myself that way.
I have this opportunity to make a million bucks.
That's huge in my world. That's big money, man.
There is nothing going on in my home life to make me
tap out of this, nothing.
You're gonna have to pull me out, because a million bucks
is just too much money.
I'm the ultimate wilderness machine,
and I'm doing this to show the whole world
I'm the big bull of the north woods.
♪ ♪
What a beautiful lake.
There's a nice little beach here.
There's some old black bear tracks here in the sand.
I wanted to look in the sand, see if there's any fresh prints
of moose or whatever.
Small black bear, pad and toes.
Old sign.
Clear back, summertime old.
Oh, there's a big find right there.
This is what I didn't bring, and it's what I might need.
I can untangle that and get
a hunk of serviceable fishing line.
It could pay off big time
if I can come up with some kind of hook.
Heading up the shoreline here to prospect for fishing sites.
♪ ♪
I think it's gonna take some very strong medicine
to be the last man or woman after 100 days.
You're gonna have to do things
you would never dream of doing.
You're gonna have to be tough,
you're gonna have to be smart,
you're gonna have to be aggressive,
and I got all that and a couple more.
There's deep water here, could be good.
I'm gonna go see if there's a bay on the next side.
[panting lightly]
[dramatic music]
Oh, [bleep]!
♪ ♪
[animal growls]
There he goes.
That [bleep] was close.
Looked to be about a 40-pounder, too.
♪ ♪
How was that for some close encounters?
That was some pretty intense wolverine action there, man.
He popped up over that rock in my face, just right here.
But I didn't have a bow.
If he had been any closer, the axe might have worked.
But no good.
♪ ♪
Hoo!
I don't like him being around my camp.
Those things are notorious camp busters.
They're gonna steal your meat.
♪ ♪
[soft dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Kinda worried about the bears coming, you know?
I will be sleeping with my air horn in my sleeping bag again.
And the reason for that-- is I have bear spray also.
But the bear spray's gonna require me to jump up and move
and spray.
The air horn, I actually don't even have to move.
I can just deploy the sound from inside the sleeping bag.
I don't think my family wants me dying over anything, so.
[grunting and exhaling]
[light dramatic music]
♪ ♪
The money would do a lot.
This journey and this experience
and getting to be here was because of a lot
of my hard work, but my wife and kids
had to sacrifice as well.
The way to repay them would be to get them that money.
So for me to stop anything short of the end
would almost be kinda like betraying them.
Good night. Love you guys.
[brisk ominous music]
♪ ♪
[birds chirping]
♪ ♪
- All right, people. Let's get cleaned up.
♪ ♪
[groaning]
Oh, it's not warm. [grunts]
Oh, damn it.
Oh, this feels weird.
Getting over it, though. [laughs]
[exhaling sharply]
[grunts] [chuckling]
All right, good and warmed up.
Gonna do a bit of berry foraging,
maybe bring back a few mushrooms.
[gentle music]
♪ ♪
That's a juniper.
♪ ♪
Coral fungus.
♪ ♪
All edible, as far as I know.
♪ ♪
What is that?
Definitely seeing some tracks in here.
Pretty well-established little trail here.
Pretty matted down.
Used somewhat recently.
Tough to say in this environment.
[branches rustling]
Oh, [bleep], there's a bear.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
It's coming my way.
♪ ♪
It could be heading straight into my camp.
The smell of guts.
There's kind of two ways to go about doing this.
Leave him alone or go on the offensive.
[sighs]
[zipper zipping]
All right, I'm gonna go toward the bear.
erablewith nothing but a green tarp
between me and a bear.
Hoping I can get up there and head him off.
♪ ♪
It'd be pretty thrilling if I had a bow in my hands
right now, wouldn't it?
I'm not the person who sits in the dark woods
and has the hair stand up on the back of my neck
as soon as there's a sound.
I'm the person that hears that thing
and silently goes toward that.
Before he gets the idea that I equal food,
I'd like him to have the idea that I equal scary,
loud noises.
[light panting]
♪ ♪
I'm not gonna be able to get up that ledge.
♪ ♪
Dang it.
[flies buzzing]
I think he got around me.
This is getting crazy.
♪ ♪
I've only challenged myself in this way before
on my own terms.
Never in this way have the factors
been so completely out of my control.
[birds chirping]
[quiet dramatic music]
♪ ♪
♪
- [sniffles]
Morning.
So much to do.
I wanna finalize my shelter.
The days are gonna go by quickly,
and if I can forget about my shelter early on,
then that's-- that's great.
[light tense music]
[axe thudding]
[wood snapping]
It's simple.
I'm a "keep it simple" kind of person.
Originally, I really liked the idea of the seven-pole pitch.
That's how prospector tents are set up.
All right, in she goes.
But I wanted it to be narrow enough that the tarp
could go all the way to the bottom
for wind protection, because an airproof shelter
is gonna keep you a lot warmer than a leaky one.
I have to build that up, way up.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
The Arctic is one of the most dangerous places because
you have to be on your game for everything.
Winter is coming, and winter is harsh and relentless.
It doesn't care if you're here or not.
♪ ♪
On the gear list was a pair of gaiters.
I sewed them together.
I'm going to use them as a door.
Don't hate, appreciate.
Through my career I've been able to inspire a lot of women
that are thinking that they can't do some things
that aren't necessarily womanly.
I want to be a voice for women to feel like they can
just get up and do it.
I'm stronger than a lot of guys, physically and mentally.
I wanna finally have a woman win this show,
and I can be that person.
[upbeat dramatic music]
♪ ♪
This is my new home.
♪ ♪
[soft eerie music]
♪ ♪
[wood crackling]
Gotta say, big fan of my little caban.
It's just gonna keep getting better.
I feel like my knee could use a, uh, hot tub.
[sniffles] [exhales]
Maybe I'll order one on Amazon.
Do you think they give free delivery here?
When I left home, there was numerous nights crying,
telling Dave that I was scared.
But now that I'm out here, I'm not leaving.
Like, not happening.
[slurps and gulps]
[rustling]
♪ ♪
- Morning. [sniffles]
Why do I have the Toys-R-Us song stuck in my head?
What the [bleep]?
I think it's 'cause I thought, "I don't wanna get up."
Which turned into "I don't wanna grow up."
But I'm not gonna sing it,
'cause I'd like for it to go away.
[quiet dramatic music]
I'm definitely hungry right now.
I'm setting snares and experimenting a little bit
with different methods, but I'm just keeping it
consistent, figuring out what's working
and what's not working.
[exhales heavily] Gotta start getting some food.
Everybody knows that's the name of the game here.
I've probably been getting about 500 calories a day,
something like that.
I'm pretty used to functioning on minimum,
but I am starting to feel the effects, you know?
And we're barely getting started.
♪ ♪
Holy [bleep], I got a rabbit. [bleep] yeah!
[laughs]
Oh, yeah, buddy. Thank you.
Oh, thank God-- Oh!
It worked. I got you, buddy.
I got you, bud.
[panting] Oh, hey.
Hey, bud. [sniffles]
Oh.
It's a hare.
Yes.
Oh. [chuckles]
♪ ♪
He's got some weight to him. Hope he's not all belly.
Yes!
There's another one. Holy [bleep], I got two.
Oh, man!
♪ ♪
Look at that.
I'm out here trying to last 100 days
in a harsh environment, and I've got a long way to go.
But I'm off to a good start out here, friends.
Let's try to keep it that way.
[low tense music]
♪ ♪
♪
[bird cries]
- For more on this build, and to see if I die
in the Arctic, tune in this Thursday night
to "Alone" on History Channel.
Or maybe I'll get mauled by a bear.
Tune in this Thursday night, only on "Alone"--No.
Tune in every Thursday night for "Alone" on History Channel.
How is that, is that a better view?
No, I'm in the dark-- No, I'm in the sun.
Welcome back. I'm Shawn Helton,
AKA, "Shawn With the Wild." AKA, bushcraft ninja.
AKA, Thor of the woods. AKA--I don't know.
I don't really have any more.
[mallet thumps]
[sniffles]
[bird cries]
Right now, I feel great.
I haven't seen any sign
or heard any sign of the bears lately,
so I've been able to work on building a shelter.
I'm not going really fast, but I'm making progress.
What I'll try to do today is get some food quickly,
skip out on the shelter building,
just do a little relaxing.
[upbeat dramatic music]
♪ ♪
What is that?
[exhales sharply] What?
No. Yes.
Holy [bleep], that's an old boat.
[laughs]
[hollow clanking]
[grunts] This journey just keeps getting
more and more absurd.
All right, I'm just gonna go for it.
♪ ♪
♪
[exhales sharply]
Nice workout.
You know, maybe I can raise it up with some rocks
and build a fire under the metal.
You got yourself a sauna or a hot tub.
How nice would that be, to be out here in the freezing cold,
and have yourself a little-- little spa treatment.
[guffaws] That's crazy.
[driving tense music]
First, I gotta get some water, bring it back up here.
♪ ♪
It's a crazy day to be trying to go and taking a bath,
but nobody can argue with a nice, hot bath.
♪ ♪
This is the low side, so I should draw air from here
and ventilate out the high side over there.
Never thought I'd be starting a fire under a boat.
Oh, she's a-popping. Heat that water up, baby.
♪ ♪
Nice and toasty. [laughs]
♪ ♪
Ooh, it's like a sauna in here.
♪ ♪
[water splashing]
[exhales slowly] It's hot.
Ah.
[laughing softly]
We can't forget this little piece.
Northwest Territory, who?
Arctic Circle, what?
I'm out here in a hot tub full of green tea.
Come on, man.
[guffaws]
♪ ♪
Keep my junk covered up with junipers.
[laughs]
I told my wife I wouldn't get naked on TV.
Technically, this is not naked.
Think if I was back at home right now,
I'd be doing the grind at work,
day to day, nine to five.
Everything's hustling in my world.
Kids coming and going. Don't get me wrong,
I love them to pieces, but, you know,
there's people in and out of the house all the time.
Really no such thing as solitude.
♪ ♪
[grunts]
This journey, this adventure, this was for me.
That's my reward.
♪ ♪
Feels amazing!
Whoo!
Look at that. I'm pruning.
♪ ♪
[groans]
Man, if I can make it to the end,
that would be so cool.
[light dramatic music]
♪ ♪
[sighs]
All right, all right.
[exhales]
Man, that whole experience was amazing.
[grunts]
I'm gonna get us some water on.
All right, Shawn.
[zipper unzips]
♪ ♪
The heck is my fire steel?
[grunts]
[zipper zipping] [groans]
[sniffles]
♪ ♪
My pants.
Come on, come on.
♪ ♪
Let's drag everything out, it's gotta be there.
Gotta be there. Gotta--Gotta be there.
Just got to.
[fabric rustling]
♪ ♪
Gotta be here, gotta be here.
♪ ♪
[screams]
- [sniffles and sighs]
Come on.
Come on, God.
Please let me find this fire steel.
Come on.
[fabric flapping]
[exhales]
I know I just had it.
God, come on.
[sighs deeply]
♪ ♪
Okay, so... [laughs]
I got a bit of a problem.
[sighs]
Somewhere out there on that trail I've lost my fire steel.
♪ ♪
[sighs]
♪ ♪
That's such a hike, I'm so tired.
So tired. I gotta find it, though.
I gotta find it, so I'm gonna have to go.
[sniffles and exhales]
♪ ♪
Go back and rehike that whole trail
and hope I can find it.
Oh, man.
Okay.
[grunts] Come on!
[sighs]
♪ ♪
Come on, let's look for it.
Not having fire in the middle of the Arctic
is a serious situation.
Where is it?
Can't be out here without a damn fire steel.
That's your means of cooking,
and that's your means of keeping the predators away.
This can't be it. This can't be all of it.
This can't be the end.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
[bleep] never gonna find it.
♪ ♪
[yelling]
♪ ♪
[groans]
[breathes deeply]
[sniffling]
[grunts] Fire's everything out here.
♪ ♪
It's not only a means of cooking your food,
it's the only warmth you have.
There's no surviving the winter without a fire.
You'll die out here.
♪ ♪
Just don't have the energy to pursue friction fire.
♪ ♪
I've been struggling to start a fire anyway with a ferro rod
because everything was damp.
[light suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
[sniffles and sighs]
I know what has to be done.
[sighs]
♪ ♪
[device beeps]
♪ ♪
Hello, this is Shawn, and I'm officially tapping.
[melancholy music]
[sniffling] I had everything.
I had all the pieces to the puzzle.
♪ ♪
I could do it.
[breath catches]
I just can't do it without fire.
♪ ♪
[groaning and sighing]
The hardest part of it is...
♪ ♪
It's having to go back home knowing that
you've failed your family.
♪ ♪
I'm sorry.
[sobbing]
♪ ♪
[groans]
♪
[sighs deeply]
♪ ♪
Sorry, guys.
I can't survive out here without a fire.
[sniffles and sighs]
I do have experience making friction fire.
Um, even in optimal conditions, I'm not--
I'm not the best at it.
And then to keep up that kind of--
keep up that kind of energy level and pace
over the next 90 days...
It's just unrealistic.
And there's no need prolonging the inevitable.
[sighs] So I guess I'm done.
♪
Being on "Alone" was my dream.
It consumed me for three or four years,
and I was able to achieve that dream.
But I wanted to tell a longer story.
I wanted to feel complete.
All these things are causing these emotions.
Everything that you've worked towards and put into
into get here, is all gone.
Honestly, I don't really know what to do with myself now.
I realized that when you think you've got everything,
and you have everything figured out,
how quickly it all can just go away just by making a mistake.
♪ ♪
I'm your host, Colby Donaldson,
here with the participants of tonight's episode,
Shawn, Joe, Kielyn, and Roland.
We are ready to talk about everything we just saw.
As a fan of the show,
and having watched since season one,
it's really obvious that "Alone"
has a very high respect and regard
in the survival community.
Roland, tell me about that.
What is it that makes this series so special?
- This is the Super Bowl
of the survival world.
- How you doin', Roland?
- Hey, I'm on top of the world, man.
To be chosen for "Alone"
is beyond all ten of our wildest dreams,
and it is absolutely 100% authentic.
You stick a man or a woman out there
with nothing to eat, it's for real.
This is big-time.
- Love it. Kielyn, let's talk about
launch day.
What kind of emotions are going through you
as you're launching, as you're preparing
for this adventure?
- Yeah, it was just a lot of excitement
just to get things going and start to
implement your plans
that you had been making for, you know, months beforehand.
As soon as that helicopter dropped me off,
it was just silence.
There was a big, uh,
feeling of relief
that it was starting so it was like
now the game is on.
[laughs]
That's it.
The bugs are out.
And I'm alone.
[chuckling]
- So Shawn, when you land at your spot
and the chopper takes off, drops you off,
and you truly, suddenly are alone,
take us through those first few moments.
- You kinda have it hyped up in your head
of what it's gonna be like,
and it's a pretty surreal moment
when the helicopter takes off
and you know it's not comin' back.
You know it's it and it's time to go.
- As soon as you find that hard case
that your equipment's in,
you realize that there are some scratches
on the outside of that.
Somebody had already discovered your camera equipment
before you did.
- Okay, so right back here behind me
about...30 yards or so
is where the...
bear's already tried to get into my camera case
before I even got here.
- What was that like, you know, having proof
that there are predators out there with you
that quickly into the experience?
- I wasn't expecting any kind of encounter
with a bear immediately,
so I had to start thinking in my head, you know,
if I do have this encounter,
you know, and I'm able to get a shot off,
for this kind of meat right in the beginning
would be huge, but then I also have no way
to procure that meat either, so...
I kind of had to step back and be like,
you know, I might just have to let it go
if I do see it, because I'm not really ready
to kinda take on that kinda responsibility yet.
- Okay, Joe, I gotta talk to you about, uh,
the squirrel--
one of the most accurate stone-throwing shots
I've ever seen. Then you decide
to chase a bear. What was sort of the logic, uh,
goin' after that bear?
- In my day job, I've actually done a fair bit
of bear hazing, or aversive conditioning,
where we actually go scare bears out of campgrounds
and picnic areas sometimes if they're, uh,
starting to behave badly.
So I'm fairly accustomed to chasing off black bears.
All right, I'm gonna go toward the bear.
I really felt the best course of action
was for me to go, uh,
try to give that bear a scare.
It wasn't going to serve me in any way
to have a bear in my camp.
- Roland, didn't take long for you to have an encounter
with a wolverine. Tell me about that one.
- Yeah, the wolverine was...
wham, right in my face.
I moved my hand down to have it on my axe,
and then, of course, he saw that movement,
pegged me, and went away.
That was a very exciting day, absolutely.
- Joe, looking back on that first ten days,
any mistakes that you made
that come to mind?
- I don't think I made any mistakes on the first ten days.
First ten days were really awesome for me.
- Kielyn, you feel the same way?
And I don't mean they could be big mistakes,
but goin' back, if you had to do it over again,
maybe something you woulda changed up in the early part
that you adapted to or learned
that maybe you changed
as the experience went on.
- I think like Joe I was really happy
with the first ten days.
You know, I knew my priorities
and stayed adaptable as well.
When I didn't get a spot for
you know, my gill net, then I just went right into
snaring rabbits and, you know,
I was successful at that.
So I think, you know, I was prioritizing
and it was always changing, so...
yeah, I was happy.
- Well, when we come back, we're gonna talk to Shawrst,
tell me what it takes to survive
something like this experience.
- Most people have no idea
what it's like not to eat.
We are so blessed in this country
with however many meals a day you want.
And it's--it's not like that when you leave.
That was a good piece of root right there.
Nice, thick outer shell,
and that's the part ya eat.
It came right off, that woody stem.
[soft, dramatic music]
Breakfast finished.
And even for me that has experience,
or any of us that has experience like that,
to be dumped with nothin'--
you got your ten items and some clothes,
and that is it--
it's just a burden on the mind and the body.
- I've heard of something called "drop shock,"
you know, basically where you get dropped off
and all of a sudden, you forget everything
you were planning or going to do.
Did any of you ever experience that out there?
- I believe everybody would experience
drop shock, absolutely.
'Cause that's when it... comes down, you know.
Now we're gonna do this.
And your plan starts fallin' apart from there.
- Well, Shawn, you look like you were having' a great time
out there. I mean, you even ended up
with a hot tub.
You found all sorts of stuff out there.
In fact, we have some never-before-seen footage
of some of those items,
one of which I don't think anyone expected.
Let's take a look.
- Oh, man, oh--boom!
Ha ha ha ha ha!
That's a game-changer right there.
See what other kinda goodies we got around here.
Ha ha ha.
No way! [laughing]
What?
Check that out.
Mm. I'ma droppin' them squirrels now.
Puh-puh-puh!
That's insane!
Get offa my lawn!
Look at that.
[suspenseful music]
No holes!
I'm keepin' that bad boy.
Ha ha ha!
Look at that!
Love it!
- Shawn, tell me about finding all of those things
out there. - Okay, so that's one of
the things I kinda pride myself on
is bein' able to make use
of kind of left behind resources.
And I was able to find a lotta stuff like that
and several other items-- they would have
came in really handy for me.
I started thinking to myself that, you know,
you've got a fair shot here to win this thing
with all these 'cause, like, I can guarantee
that nobody else was havin' such luck.
You know, and at that point, that may have been
when I started gettin' a little bit too comfortable
and a little bit complacent.
- When you lost your ferro rod,
we saw you go back and look for it for a few hours.
Um...tell me about,
you know, the potential of viewers saying
well, once he lost it, why didn't he, you know,
try to make a bow drill,
or why didn't he give it one more night,
go back out and look for the fire steel the next day?
Answer those questions for me.
- In the end there, you know,
there were several factors that led me
to believe that, you know,
it just wouldn't be a outcome if I didn't have a fire.
I had the negative-60 degree bag.
I could have made it on that.
I could have forged on berries.
But the fire really was all that was
keeping the predators off of me.
- Yeah. Well, I know you wanted
to be a part of "Alone," for many years.
You've been watching from the outset.
Did the experience live up to your expectations,
in spite of the fact that you were out fairly early?
- Oh, yeah, it was 100%, you know,
everything that I wanted it to be.
And, you know, just gettin' there for me was a big deal.
Of course, I would have loved to have stayed
a little bit longer.
But I've always been a fan, and that's one of the things
I kinda worried about in the beginning
was that, you know, if I had a bad experience
that I would kinda fall out of love with the show,
and that just really didn't happen, you know?
I would--a lot of people in the past
will say they don't wanna go back and do it again,
and I was immediately wanting to go back in
as soon as I came out.
- I just wanted to say that, uh,
you know, whether it was 10 days or 100 days,
that you should definitely be proud of yourself.
You know, there's millions of people at home watching
that, you know, wouldn't even dream of trying to do this.
And we wish we could have seen more of you out there for sure.
You were a fan favorite. - Well, thank you.
- Well, gang, that's it for "Alone: Tales from the Arctic."
I'd like to thank Shawn, Joe,
Kielyn, and Roland
for joining me today.
Make sure you tune in after each of the episodes.
We'll be right here talking with the participants.
And now, as we promised,
a sneak peek at the rest of season seven
of "Alone: Million Dollar Challenge."
We'll see you next week.
[dramatic chords]
- A hundred days for a million dollars
definitely is a game-changer.
- That wolverine is after my fish.
- This is gonna be the ultimate survival test in the world.
- [whispers] Oh, my God, a white wolf.
This is the Arctic.
It's extreme,
and we are all taking our own lives
into our hands.
- You're gonna have to do things
you would never dream of doing.
- [whispers] There's a black bear.
I could try and get one.
- Winter is coming, and winter is harsh.
Brr!
- I can't see anything.
- It doesn't care if you're here or not.
- No, no, no, no. This is not [bleep] happening!
[dramatic chords]