Support the Podcast
Contacts
Info
Are you drawn to thrilling survival stories where characters overcome impossible odds? The Crux: True Survival Stories is your podcast. Join us for gripping tales of resilience and invaluable insights...
show more
Are you drawn to thrilling survival stories where characters overcome impossible odds? The Crux: True Survival Stories is your podcast. Join us for gripping tales of resilience and invaluable insights into wilderness survival and the mindset needed to overcome adversity. Hosted by two practicing physician assistants, Kaycee McIntosh and Julie Henningsen, both passionate about wilderness and medicine. Our podcast is fueled by real-life stories and the pivotal moments that determine life or death outcomes. Tune in for captivating narratives that entertain and educate. Airing every Monday! Our bonus "Disaster Strikes" series episodes air every other Thursday.
show less
Support the Podcast
Episodes & Posts
Episodes
Posts
AI-generated content
Transcribed
7 SEP 2026 · A 15-year-old hiker set out on an ambitious three-day backpacking trip through Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains, planning to summit four 14ers. He successfully climbed Challenger Point and Kit Carson Peak. Then his route took him into terrain he apparently did not realize was a technical mountaineering route.Halfway down the steep, snow-covered Outward Bound Couloir, his backpack began sliding away. He went after it—and fell roughly 200 feet.In this episode of The Crux: True Survival Stories, Kaycee and Julie retrace what brought the teenager into the couloir, the limitations of relying on Google Maps in the backcountry, and the search-and-rescue operation that followed. It’s a story about route finding, steep-snow travel, a split-second decision, and what happens when an ambitious wilderness trip suddenly becomes a survival situation.Timestamps00:00 — A Teenager, a 14er and a Snow Couloir.
00:27 — Trouble in the Outward Bound Couloir
02:47 — The 15-Year-Old Behind the Rescue
05:21 — Climbing Toward Challenger Point
09:10 — Route Finding on Kit Carson Peak
11:44 — Crossing the Mountains Without a Trail
13:39 — When Google Maps Meets the Backcountry
15:01 — Inside the Outward Bound Couloir
18:03 — The Backpack Slides—and He Goes After It
22:16 — Injured at 13,000 Feet: Calling 911
23:22 — Search and Rescue Heads Into the Mountains
26:00 — The 200-Foot Technical Lower
28:02 — What He Did Right—and What We Can Learn
34:35 — Closing Thoughts
Primary incident reporting
- Alamosa News — “Alamosa SAR aid in rescue of teen” — July 29, 2026. Reports the July 20 rescue, the 15-year-old hiker, approximately 200-foot slide, injuries, transfer of incident command to Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue, and helicopter/SAR response.
https://www.alamosanews.com/article/1562%2Calamosa-sar-aid-in-rescue-of-teen?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- OutThere Colorado / Denver Gazette — “Teen slides 200 feet down couloir snowfield while attempting to retrieve dropped gear” — July 27, 2026. Covers the three-day backpacking trip, dropped backpack, Outward Bound Couloir location and rescue.
https://www.denvergazette.com/outtherecolorado/2026/07/27/teen-slides-200-feet-down-couloir-snowfield-while-attempting-to-retrieve-dropped-gear/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Route / mountain references
- 14ers.com — Kit Carson Peak: Outward Bound Couloir — Detailed route description and technical information for the snow-only Class 3 route, including approach and terrain.
https://www.14ers.com/route.php?route=kitc6&utm_source=chatgpt.com
- 14ers.com — Kit Carson Peak via Challenger Point — Standard-route information, including Kit Carson Avenue, elevation, route-finding difficulty and the approach from Challenger Point.
https://www.14ers.com/route.php?route=kitc2&utm_source=chatgpt.com
- 14ers.com — Kit Carson Peak Conditions — July 2026 condition reporting for the standard route, useful for contemporaneous mountain conditions around the time of the incident.
https://ns1.14ers.com/php14ers/peakstatus_peak.php?peakparm=10023&utm_source=chatgpt.com
- Colorado Mountain Club — Kit Carson Peak and Challenger Point — Route overview for Kit Carson, Challenger Point and the Outward Bound Couloir in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness.
https://www.cmc.org/education-adventure/trips/routes-places/kit-carson-and-challenger-point?utm_source=chatgpt.com Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.
Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/
Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
This episode includes AI-generated content.
AI-generated content
Transcribed
31 AUG 2026 · When tourists found an abandoned bicycle on a remote track in Australia's Great Sandy Desert, it triggered one of the strangest missing person searches in outback history — police, aircraft, and Aboriginal trackers combing the Kimberley for a man who had vanished without telling anyone where he was going. Twelve days in, the search was called off and his family was told he was almost certainly dead, so they hired a private American wilderness rescue team led by a man who insisted on being called Gunslinger. What none of them knew was that he had walked into the desert deliberately, on a spiritual quest, and had no idea anyone was searching for him at all. Forty-three days of starvation, dehydration and roughly 250 miles on foot later, a helicopter found him alive — and set off a fight that reached the Premier of Western Australia, while the man who led the rescue turned out to have invented his entire past. Twenty-five years on, one of the trackers who searched for him asked him for a single word, and what he said instead is still an uncomfortable part of this story.
Timestamps:
00:00 Podcast Intro Setup
00:30 Mud Water In The Desert
02:22 Abandoned Bike Mystery
03:18 No One Knew The Plan
06:36 Spiritual Quest Revealed
07:34 Search Begins With Trackers
09:27 Media Frenzy And Survival Math
10:28 Search Called Off Parents React
11:57 Gunslinger Arrives Private Team
15:06 Fresh Tracks And Desert Ordeal
18:52 Help Sign And Found Alive
21:49 News Crew Rescue Controversy
25:10 Hospital Risks Refeeding
27:22 Costs Rumors And Apology
30:04 Gunslinger Exposed As Fraud
33:27 The Tracker Story And Apology
35:26 Final Reflections And Outro
REFERENCES
- Parke, Erin. Expanse: Nowhere Man. ABC listen, 2025.
- Parke, Erin. "Finding Robert Bogucki, the man who disappeared on purpose." ABC News, 6 July 2025.
- Sweeney, Lucy, and Erin Parke. "The strange story of Garrison 'Gunslinger' St Clair, the American sent to find Robert Bogucki." ABC News, 23 August 2025.
- Lowth, Adrienne. "Channel Nine under fire over Bogucki actions." ABC Radio PM, 24 August 1999.
- Media Watch. ABC Television, 30 August 1999.
- "American found after outback odyssey." BBC News, 23 August 1999.
- Associated Press. "Wanderer May Have To Foot Bill." CBS News, 26 August 1999.
- Morgan, Curtis. "Daring rescuer dogged by a questionable past." Miami Herald, 21 May 2000.
- Orr, Stephen. The Fierce Country. Wakefield Press, 2018.
- Adshead, Gary. "Finding Bogucki: The fallout, the stuff-ups and a tinderbox of tension." The Age, 3 September 2023.
- "Calvert Scientific Exploring Expedition (1896)." Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.
Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/
Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
This episode includes AI-generated content.
AI-generated content
Transcribed
27 AUG 2026 · In July 1967, only 213 people had ever stood on the summit of Denali. When an inexperienced climbing team was denied a permit, the National Park Service made an unusual decision: merge them with a stronger team of strangers and send all twelve climbers up the mountain together. At first, everything goes according to plan. But as two powerful weather systems begin converging over Alaska, a series of decisions—some debated to this day—leave climbers high on North America's tallest peak just as one of the most violent mountain storms ever recorded arrives.Were the climbers warned? Why did they continue toward the summit after spending a night exposed above 19,000 feet? And could anyone have survived what happened next?In this Disaster Strikes episode, we examine the 1967 Denali Disaster, the controversy that followed, and the lessons that forever changed mountaineering on North America's highest mountain.
00:00 Disaster Strikes Intro
00:48 Lost Above 19,000 Feet
02:12 A Team That Was Never Supposed to Exist
05:02 The Long Approach to Denali
08:04 A Storm Begins to Form
10:05 Two Summit Teams
12:07 A Dangerous Decision
14:35 The Last Radio Call
17:08 Waiting Out the Storm
20:18 The Search Begins
22:05 What Really Happened?
25:40 Lessons That Changed Denali Forever
28:20 Legacy of the Seven
References — The 1967 Denali DisasterPrimary & Contemporary SourcesAmerican Alpine Journal. “Mount McKinley Tragedy and Resulting Expedition.” American Alpine Journal, 1968.
https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12196811702/North-America-United-States-Alaska-Mount-McKinley-Tragedy-and-Resulting-ExpeditionAccidents in North American Mountaineering. “Alaska, Mt. McKinley.” American Alpine Club, 1968.
http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13196802200/Alaska-Mt-McKinleyBooks & Firsthand AccountsSnyder, Howard H. The Hall of the Mountain King: The True Story of a Tragic Climb. 1973.Wilcox, Joe. White Winds: America’s Most Tragic Climb.Tabor, James M. Forever on the Mountain: The Truth Behind One of Mountaineering’s Most Controversial and Mysterious Disasters.Hall, Andy. Denali’s Howl: The Deadliest Climbing Disaster on America’s Wildest Peak. 2014.Babcock, Jeffery. Should I Not Return. 2012.Additional Articles & SourcesNational Geographic. Interview with Andy Hall about the 1967 Mount McKinley disaster.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/140720-mountain-climbing-denali-mount-mckinley-alaska-national-parksOutside. “Life and Death on America’s Highest Peak.”
https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/books-media/life-and-death-americas-highest-peak/Anchorage Daily News. “A Poetic Turn on Denali Tragedy.” 2017.
https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/we-alaskans/2017/07/22/a-poetic-turn-on-denali-tragedy/ExplorersWeb. “McKinley 1967: Triumph and Tragedy, Part II.”
https://explorersweb.com/mckinley-1967-triumph-and-tragedy-part-ii/American Alpine Journal. “White Winds.” Book review.
http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198230200/White-WindsAmerican Alpine Journal. “Forever on the Mountain.” Book review.
http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200845600/Forever-on-the-Mountain Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.
Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/
Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
This episode includes AI-generated content.
AI-generated content
Transcribed
24 AUG 2026 · A summer tubing trip on Michigan’s Muskegon River was supposed to last just four hours. But when two women and a nine-year-old boy failed to return, a massive search and rescue operation began.Boats, helicopters, drones, K-9 teams and crews from four counties searched miles of river and dense Michigan wilderness for the three missing tubers. With few reliable clues and the search growing more urgent, investigators kept coming back to one strange detail—a pool tube caught in a pile of flood debris.This week on The Crux: True Survival Stories, a casual day on the river becomes a wilderness survival ordeal and a remarkable search for three missing people.
00:00 The Sound of Traffic, But No Road
00:30 Lost Surprisingly Close to Civilization
01:18 A Four-Hour Float on the Muskegon
02:16 The Flood That Changed the River
3:45 When Low Water Becomes Dangerous
05:06 A Spur-of-the-Moment River Trip
07:17 The Two-Minute Plan They Didn't Have
09:00 Everything Changes at a Log Jam
09:47 The Decision That Changed the Search
11:39 Why We Keep Moving When We're Lost
16:19 Three Days No One Can Account For
17:33 What They Were Up Against
19:52 When the Water Runs Out
22:19 What You'd Want in Your Survival Kit
23:24 Bark, Ants and the Question of Food
25:35 A Smashed Window Sends a Bad Signal
26:51 The Search Explodes
28:07 Drones, Dogs and a Forest They Can't See
29:23 The Problem With Finding Their Tubes
30:16 Why Lost People Walk in Circles
32:43 Three Days Barefoot
33:34 One Detail Doesn't Make Sense
37:49 Following a Trail Through the Green Wall
40:16 “Command, We Got Visuals”
43:03 What Could Have Prevented All of This
45:20 The Clue That Changed Everything
References
WWMT — “Missing Tubers Found Alive After Three-Day Search on Muskegon River, Troopers Say”
https://wwmt.com/news/local/missing-tubers-muskegon-river-found-alive-women-child-search-investigation-state-police-grant-newaygo-county-west-michiganWWMT — “BODYCAM: Rescue Teams Find Missing Muskegon River Tubers After Three-Day Search”
https://wwmt.com/news/local/missing-tubers-muskegon-river-michigan-search-rescue-two-women-child-three-days-department-natural-resources-state-police-officers-newaygo-county-west-michiganWWMT — “Family Member of Tubers Rescued After Three Days Describes Their Struggle to Survive”
https://wwmt.com/news/local/he-ate-bark-ants-family-rescued-tubers-describe-their-struggle-survive-jazmin-hock-sarah-vida-kayden-kovalcik-muskegon-river-three-days-msp-policeWWMT — “The Clues That Led Michigan DNR Officers to Finding a Missing Family on the Muskegon River”
https://wwmt.com/news/local/clues-search-rescue-muskegon-newaygo-dnr-conservation-officer-michigan-family-three-people-river-missing-august-2026-found-alive-wwmtWOOD TV8 — “‘Beat the Odds’: Family Celebrates After Missing Tubers Found Near Muskegon River”
https://www.woodtv.com/news/muskegon-county/family-speaks-after-missing-tubers-found-near-muskegon-river/NewsNation — “Bodycam Footage Shows Rescue of Tubers Missing Three Days in Michigan”
https://www.newsnationnow.com/missing/missing-michigan-tubers-rescue-video/NBC News — “River Tubers’ 4-Hour Tour Turned Into 3 Days of Survival in Remote Michigan Woods”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/river-tubers-4-hour-tour-turned-3-days-survival-remote-michigan-woods-rcna592038Fox News — “Video Shows Michigan K-9 Unit Rescuing Family Lost on Muskegon River”
https://www.foxnews.com/us/michigan-rescuers-find-family-stranded-3-days-after-tubing-trip-dramatic-videoFOX 9 — “Missing Michigan Tubers Survived Off Bark and Flowers for 72 Hours”
https://www.fox9.com/news/missing-tubers-muskegon-river-michigan-found-video9&10 News — “Muskegon River Reaches Major Flood Stage, Prompting Newaygo County Evacuations”
https://www.9and10news.com/2026/04/16/muskegon-river-reaches-major-flood-stage-prompting-newaygo-county-evacuations/WZZM13 — “The Muskegon and Grand Rivers Finally Begin to Recede After Major Flooding”
https://www.wzzm13.com/article/weather/river-levels-drop-after-record-flooding-for-some/69-5c97cd32-9ee3-4645-a361-6487afa11a93FOX 17 — “Record-Setting Flooding Expected Along Muskegon River”
https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/michigan/newaygo/record-setting-flooding-expected-along-muskegon-river Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.
Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/
Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
This episode includes AI-generated content.
AI-generated content
Transcribed
17 AUG 2026 · At 6 AM on June 4, 1989, a wave the skipper estimated at sixty feet flipped the trimaran Rose-Noëlle upside down off New Zealand’s East Cape, trapping four men — a self-taught sailor sleeping aboard everything he owned, a builder on his first trip abroad, a young outdoorsman, and a cook who had never sailed — in an air pocket the width of a 54-inch mattress. Their distress beacon blinked for nine days into an empty sky, the search concentrated hundreds of miles away, and New Zealand’s Water Safety Council listed all four as drowned. For 119 days they rationed salvaged soft drink and slowly ripening kiwifruit, rigged a rainwater catchment, and speared fish drawn to the barnacle reef their own wreck was becoming, while unusual winds carried them in a wide loop back toward home. Then they washed ashore on Great Barrier Island, cleaned themselves up, and walked into a country whose investigators suspected a drug run. The evidence that finally backed up their story may be the strangest witness in survival history.
Time Stamps:
00:00 Podcast Intro
00:30 Calm Before Capsize
02:20 Meet The Crew
07:19 Storm Decisions
10:08 Rogue Wave Hits
12:34 Life Inside Hull
13:55 Beacon Hope Fades
16:37 Rescue System Failure
18:19 Water Food Survival
21:33 Tension And Psychology
24:22 Drift Back To Land
27:19 Suspicion And Proof
33:04 Aftermath And Legacy
35:47 Closing Credits
References:
- Nalepka, J., and Hellriegel, R., “South Pacific Adventure Turns Into a Nightmare”
- United Press International, “Castaway skipper dismisses skeptics,” October 3, 1989.
- United Press International, “Investigators question sailors’ account of shipwreck,” October 3, 1989.
- Phare, J., “Lost at sea: The Rose-Noelle story,” NZ Herald / Herald on Sunday (20th-anniversary feature, 2009; republished 2020).
- Glennie, J., with Phare, J., The Spirit of Rose-Noëlle: 119 Days Adrift, a Survival Story (Viking/Penguin NZ, 1990; US edition Fawcett Crest, 1992).
- Nalepka, J., with Callahan, S., Capsized: The True Story of Four Men Adrift for 119 Days (HarperCollins, 1993; revised edition 2013).
- Glennie, J., “119 days lost at sea,” Yachting & Boating World (ybw.com), 2015
- “The Rose Noelle inquiry,” Te Ara — The Encyclopedia of New Zealand (video clip)
- Ministry of Transport (NZ), Marine Transport Division, Preliminary Inquiry into the Loss of the Trimaran Rose-Noëlle, November 1989 —
- “1989 — key events,” NZHistory (Ministry for Culture and Heritage)
- “The Rose Noelle: 25 years on, a wife’s true story,” New Zealand Woman’s Weekly (via Now To Love), 2014
- Back From the Dead: The Saga of the Rose-Noëlle, dir. Mark Beesley, TVNZ, 1996
- Wikipedia, “Rose-Noëlle” Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.
Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/
Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
This episode includes AI-generated content.
Transcribed
13 AUG 2026 · John Allen Chau spent years preparing for one mission: reach the Sentinelese — the world's most isolated tribe, on an island India has forbidden outsiders from entering since 1956 — and share the Christian gospel with them. He trained as a missionary, learned linguistics, made four prep trips to the Andaman Islands, and bribed local fishermen to ferry him close enough to kayak the rest of the way. Over three days, he approached the island multiple times — was shot at, fled, and came back. His 13-page journal, handed to the fishermen before his final swim to shore, documents every encounter in his own words. What happened after he walked up that beach, nobody knows — and nobody ever will. 00:00 Welcome to Disaster Strikes
00:45 A Forbidden Shore
02:29 Why This Story Matters
03:19 North Sentinel Island
09:00 Isolation and Disease Risk
11:24 Who Are the Sentinelese
14:50 John Chau Background
18:14 Mission Planning and Motives
21:05 First Contact Attempts
23:46 Final Swim and Unknowns
25:54 Aftermath and Polarized Reactions
27:42 Legal Fallout and Reflections
29:56 A Modern Parallel Case
31:49 2025 Danger Tourist
32:55 Closing Thoughts and Outro Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreaon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/ Get schooled by Julie in outdoor wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/ Key references-
- John Allen Chau personal journal, 13 pages, November 2018 — shared with The Washington Postby Lynda Adams-Chau
- Dependra Pathak, Director General of Police, Andaman and Nicobar Islands — official press release, November 21, 2018
- The Washington Post— Joanna Slater and Niha Masih, November–December 2018
- Outside Magazine— "The Last Days of John Allen Chau," Daniel Grushkin, January 2026
- Smithsonian Magazine— "Inside the Story of John Allen Chau's Ill-Fated Trip to a Remote Island," December 2018
- Time Magazine— "Journal Reveals Last Days of Man Killed By Isolated Tribe," November 2018
- CNN— "North Sentinel Island: US missionary's diary reveals last days," November 2018
- ABC News— "John Allen Chau detailed efforts to convert islanders," November 2018
- Slate— "Why missionary John Allen Chau's death is so unsettling to Christians," December 2018
- The Guardian / The Observer— Patrick Chau interview, February 2019
- National Geographic— "Meet the first woman to contact the Sentinelese"
- Survival International — statements on Sentinelese disease vulnerability, November–December 2018
- Nature(Humanities and Social Sciences Communications) — "Sentinelese contacts: anthropologically revisiting…," November 2024
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, 1956 — Government of India
- Wikipedia — "John Allen Chau" (citing Outside, Washington Post, Indian police records)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.
Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/
Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
Transcribed
10 AUG 2026 · Trauma surgeon Martin Takac came to Alaska to climb Denali, the highest mountain in North America. He reached the summit. The hardest part, it seemed, was behind him. Then, on the descent, the ground disappeared. A hidden snow bridge collapsed beneath Martin, dropping him deep into a crevasse on the Kahiltna Glacier. He survived the fall—but his body became wedged so tightly inside the narrowing walls of blue ice that rescuers couldn't simply pull him back out. What followed was an extraordinary 15-hour crevasse rescue involving Denali guides, National Park Service mountaineering rangers, volunteers, a helicopter pilot, and eventually a piece of equipment no one would normally expect to see on a glacier. Meanwhile, Martin was trapped almost completely motionless as the cold slowly pushed his body into profound hypothermia. In this episode of The Crux: True Survival Stories, we follow the rescue hour by hour and explore hidden crevasses, snow bridges, glacier travel, severe hypothermia, and the decisions that can separate an ordinary descent from a fight for survival. 00:00 — Podcast Cold Open
00:28 — Trapped in Blue Ice
01:43 — Meet Martin Takac
02:46 — Finding the Edge
04:32 — How Far Can You Go?
06:24 — The Seven Summits
07:47 — Why Denali Is Different
09:44 — The Descent
10:22 — A Calculated Risk
11:48 — One Last Decision
12:51 — What Lies Beneath the Glacier
14:12 — One Careful Step
16:51 — A Man Disappears
18:23 — The Rope Won’t Move
19:33 — The Trap Inside the Crevasse
19:57 — Sixty Feet Down
21:35 — The Rescue Begins
22:34 — The Cold Takes Over
24:58 — Into the Blue
26:39 — Running Out of Options
29:31 — The Perfect Disguise
31:47 — Time Becomes the Enemy
33:17 — One Last Idea
34:57 — Back Into the Light
35:55 — How Is He Still Alive?
39:06 — What the Glacier Left Behind References National Park Service. “Two Climbers Rescued from the Kahiltna Glacier.” June 5, 2017.
https://www.nps.gov/dena/two-climbers-rescued-from-the-kahiltna-glacier.htm Anchorage Daily News. “Inside the Dramatic, 14-Hour Rescue That Freed a Climber From a Deep Crevasse on Denali.” June 6, 2017.
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2017/06/06/the-story-behind-the-dramatic-14-hour-rescue-that-freed-a-slovakian-climber-from-a-deep-crevasse-on-denali/ Anchorage Daily News. “Denali Climber Who Survived 15 Hours in Crevasse Says He Is Grateful for a New Life.” June 20, 2017.
https://www.adn.com/opinions/2017/06/20/denali-climber-who-survived-15-hours-in-crevasse-says-he-is-grateful-for-a-new-life/ CBS News / Associated Press. “High Drama: 15-Hour Rescue From North America’s Tallest Mountain, Alaska’s Denali.” June 7, 2017.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/15-hour-rescue-north-americas-tallest-mountain-alaskas-denali/ CBC News. “‘Not for the Claustrophobic’: Climber Falls Down Narrow Crevasse on Alaskan Glacier, Rescuers Chip Him Out.” June 8, 2017.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/denali-crevasse-climber-rescue-alaska-1.4149936 Mountain Trip. “June 2 West Buttress Team — Guides Perform Crevasse Rescue on Unroped, Private Climber.” June 6, 2017.
https://mountaintrip.com/trip-reports/new-audio-recording-396/ Unofficial Networks. “Colorado Guides Receive National Bravery Award for Saving Climber’s Life on Denali.” September 16, 2022.
https://unofficialnetworks.com/2022/09/16/mountain-trip-bravery-award-denali/ WesternSlopeNow (KREX). “Colorado Guides Recognized for Saving Climber’s Life.” September 2022.
https://www.westernslopenow.com/news/colorado-guides-recognized-for-saving-climbers-life/ Noviny.sk (TV JOJ). “Aljaska: Slovenský Horolezec Spadol do Úzkej Trhliny v Ľade.” June 7, 2017.
https://www.noviny.sk/zahranicie/229582-aljaska-slovensky-horolezec-spadol-do-uzkej-trhliny-v-lade U.S. Geological Survey. “Geology of Denali National Park and Preserve.”
https://www.usgs.gov/geology-and-ecology-of-national-parks/geology-denali-national-park-and-preserve
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.
Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/
Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
Transcribed
7 AUG 2026 · This week, hosts Kaycee McIntosh and Julie Henningsen sit down with Megan Hine—expedition leader, wilderness survival expert, television survival consultant, and the survival consultant for Netflix's The Last House. Drawing on decades of experience leading expeditions in some of the world's harshest environments, Megan explains why survival is often more about psychology than gear, how fear can become a powerful ally, and the habits that consistently separate survivors from those who don't make it. The conversation explores Megan's fascinating career, the science behind resilience, practical techniques for staying calm under pressure, and memorable stories from the field—including a tense nighttime encounter with lions in the Namib Desert. She also shares practical preparedness advice, debunks common survival myths, and explains how everyday people can build resilience long before an emergency ever occurs. Learn more about Megan Hine at http://meganhine.com Check out The Last House on Netflix, the release date is 8/9/26! Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Meet Megan Hine 03:15 From outdoor guide to survival consultant 10:00 Working on Netflix's The Last House 18:30 Why psychology matters more than survival skills 27:00 What separates survivors from everyone else 35:30 Fear, resilience, and building mental toughness 46:00 Managing stress with the STOP method 55:00 Real-world survival lessons from the field 1:04:00 The lion encounter in Namibia 1:15:00 Common survival myths and medical mistakes 1:27:00 Practical advice everyone can use 1:33:00 Where to watch The Last House
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.
Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/
Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
Transcribed
3 AUG 2026 · January 2026. A blizzard is raging on Ben Nevis, the tallest peak in the Scottish Highlands — gale-force winds, sub-zero temperatures, and visibility of about one meter—when a climber becomes separated from his two friends near the summit, without crampons, a map, or a compass. What happens to him next comes down to solid blocks of ice, a bent walking pole, and a group of British and Dutch marines who chose that exact day, in that exact weather, to climb the highest mountain in Britain. Julie and Kaycee unravel how a body shuts down in extreme cold, why the rescue nearly stalled on the iced upper slopes, and what the marines built from the equipment on their backs when walking him down stopped being an option. And at the center of it all: a man whose name has never been made public—and a margin of survival measured in a single meter of white air. 00:44 Show Intro And Setup
01:09 Whiteout Near The Summit
03:35 Ben Nevis The Mountain Trap
07:06 Three Friends Enter The Storm
11:10 Marines Training In Blizzard
13:51 One Meter Discovery
18:35 Improvised Litter Rescue
26:09 Rewarming Below Snow Line
29:10 The Crux And Takeaways
29:54 Closing And Sign Off Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/ Get schooled by Julie in outdoor wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/ References:
- Royal Navy (official news release), “Marines save life of stranded climber on Ben Nevis,” January 30, 2026. royalnavy.mod.uk
- STV News, “Marines on training exercise save climber stranded in blizzard on Ben Nevis,” January 30, 2026.
- DutchNews.nl (citing the Dutch Defence Ministry), “Dutch reservists save man stuck on Scottish mountain,” January 28, 2026.
- The Scotsman, “Marines save life of stranded climber on Ben Nevis,” January 30, 2026.
- Forces News, “Ben Nevis climber 'would not have survived' had it not been for Royal and Dutch marines,” January 30, 2026.
- GB News, “Marines save life of stranded climber on Ben Nevis in arctic-like conditions,” January 31, 2026.
- Yahoo News / AOL (reporting Royal Navy footage), “Climber found curled up on Ben Nevis in -20C blizzard rescued by Royal Marines during training exercise,” January 2026.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.
Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/
Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
Transcribed
30 JUL 2026 · Hendrik "Hendri" Coetzee was one of the most decorated whitewater explorers in the history of African river kayaking — a South African who had paddled the length of the Nile, soloed some of the continent's most dangerous water, and built a life in places most people only read about. In late 2010, he led two world-class American kayakers on an ambitious first descent of the Lukuga River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a remote stretch of water known among local communities for something far more dangerous than its rapids. On the morning of December 7th, on a quiet, flat section of river, everything ended in seconds. This episode tells Hendri's full story — who he was, what drove him, and what his teammates witnessed that morning — drawing entirely on verified accounts, his own writing, and the documentary record left behind by the people who were there.
00:00 Disaster Strikes Intro
00:45 Congo River Cold Open
02:40 Meet Hend Kotze
03:48 Early Life And Fear
05:12 Finding The Rivers
06:00 Nile Source To Sea
09:02 Solo Murchison Run
11:18 Risk And Depression
13:33 Final Congo Expedition
17:02 Into The Laga River
18:35 Crocodile Attack
21:43 Aftermath And Rescue
23:43 Memorial And Legacy
26:25 Lessons And Closing Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreaon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/ Get schooled by Julie in outdoor wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/ REFERENCES Coetzee, H. Living the Best Day Ever. Hendri Coetzee Trust (posthumous). Stookesberry, B. & Korbulic, C. Kadoma. Documentary film, 2011. National Geographic. Man-Eater of the Congo. Documentary, 2013. Korbulic, C. Eyewitness account. Associated Press, December 2010. Stookesberry, B. Expedition dispatches. Outside Magazine, November–December 2010. "On the Death of Hendri Coetzee." Outside Online, December 2010. "Famed Outdoorsman Hendrik Coetzee in Croc Attack." CBS News, December 9, 2010. "Kayakers Recount Deadly Congo Crocodile Attack." CBS News, December 2010. "Devastated American Kayakers Survive Congo Croc Attack." ABC News, December 10, 2010. "Death on the Congo: Stookesberry Team Member Hendri Coetzee Killed by Croc." Paddling Life, December 2010. "Hendri Coetzee." Wikipedia (citing primary sources). Donnelly, C. (International Rescue Committee). Quoted in ABC News, December 2010. Coetzee, H. Blog: The Great White Explorer. Eddie Bauer First Ascent, 2010. "Hendri Coetzee — Pushing the Limits on the Waterways of Africa." Off the Beaten Track / London to Cape, January 2016. Stookesberry, B. & Korbulic, C. NBC Today show interview, January 2011.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.
Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/
Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
Join “The Crux True Survival Stories” Supporters Club
Start supporting this podcast and become part of their community.
Are you drawn to thrilling survival stories where characters overcome impossible odds? The Crux: True Survival Stories is your podcast. Join us for gripping tales of resilience and invaluable insights...
show more
Are you drawn to thrilling survival stories where characters overcome impossible odds? The Crux: True Survival Stories is your podcast. Join us for gripping tales of resilience and invaluable insights into wilderness survival and the mindset needed to overcome adversity. Hosted by two practicing physician assistants, Kaycee McIntosh and Julie Henningsen, both passionate about wilderness and medicine. Our podcast is fueled by real-life stories and the pivotal moments that determine life or death outcomes. Tune in for captivating narratives that entertain and educate. Airing every Monday! Our bonus "Disaster Strikes" series episodes air every other Thursday.
show less
Information
| Author | The Crux True Survival Stories |
| Organization | Julie Henningsen |
| Categories | Documentary , Society & Culture , History |
| Website | www.spreaker.com |
| thecruxsurvival@gmail.com |
Copyright 2026 - Spreaker Inc. an iHeartMedia Company
