On January 22, 2004, logger Greg Clark was boating off the southeastern coast of Alaska with his long-time sidekick, Brick, a black Labrador. At 12:23 p.m., Clark sent out a distress call, saying that his boat had struck rocks somewhere near Heceta Island. By the time help arrived, there was no sign of Clark or Brick. Searchers combed the area for three days, finding only an unused survival suit and pieces of boat wreckage.

One month later, Clark’s former friend Kevin Dau was out with his father off Heceta Island when he spotted what he first thought was a wolf. However, upon closer inspection, he recognized that it was Brick, who had somehow survived the icy waters and made his way to shore – where he endured sub-zero temperatures, treacherous terrain, and an almost complete lack of food. Kevin reported that when he called Brick’s name, he immediately dove into the frigid water and swam to the boat fast enough to cause a wake, despite being injured, malnourished, and sick from exposure.


Jan Baalsrud was an expatriate Norwegian Commando and all-round badass, who participated in covert operations to provide supplies for the Norwegian resistance during the WWII Nazi occupation. After being betrayed and ambushed by German soldiers, Baalsrud fought back, and managed to escape – despite having one of his toes blown off in the skirmish.

Lacking any supplies, and wearing light clothing and only one shoe, he trekked across the Norwegian mountain country, surviving an avalanche and suffering extreme frostbite before finally stumbling into a small village where locals took him in. 



Beck Weathers survived 18 hours in sub-zero temperatures in the so-called “death zone” of the mighty Mount Everest, before miraculously regaining his senses and crawling back to camp. Upon his return, he was found to have corneal lacerations, hypothermia, and a severe case of frostbite that would later result in the amputation of both of his hands. His experiences are narrated in Jon Krakauer’s bestseller, Into Thin Air, which tells the story of the ill-fated expedition that resulted in the deaths of eight people during the worst climbing season in the history of Everest.



A 45-year-old unnamed man from southern Sweden was found huddled in a sleeping bag in the back seat of his car, after being snowbound for 2 months on a remote forest road. Doctors were shocked to find that he had survived for so long without food, leading many to believe that his body must have adjusted to the low temperature; much like a bear, his body would have switched into a temporary state of dormancy. This amazing ability allowed him to survive longer than any other victim of a snowbound car on record

The Donner-Reed party was a group of American pioneers who, in 1846, set out for California by wagon train, only to be delayed by a series of unfortunate mishaps and navigational errors. These accidents forced them to spend the rest of that winter snowbound in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. As many in the party began to succumb to exposure, starvation, and sickness, some of the others resorted to eating the dead.
Only 48 of the original 87 members of the Donner-Reed party lived through the winter and made it to California. Their infamous tale has been told for generations since – a testament to the human will to survive.