Original subtitles

[ Sighs ]

Just like that, you're alone.

This is the Arctic, folks.

♪♪

Holy [bleep]

Oh, my God, there's a lynx.

It's looking right at me.

Seems like snow is here early.

It's hard to see.

Oh! I think I broke it.

Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

To go out before I even get a chance, that hurts immensely.

♪♪

In Elong's coldest location ever, 10 participants fight to survive the Arctic.

The Arctic is one of the most physically-demanding places on Earth.

So freaking cold right now.

Battling sub-zero temperatures...

This climate's harsh, it's extreme, it's mean, it's got teeth.

Get caught out here in a whiteout, you're in trouble.

...vicious predators... Heard something big moving back there.

Me against the wolverine right now.

...and isolation.

There's nothing to fill that void.

It's just you left alone with your thoughts.

...how long will they endure?

Hose is on fire.

I'm scared, but I don't want to die.

This is the most unforgiving landscape I've ever seen.

The last one standing wins.

This environment will strip away everything and anything you thought you had.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Gonna stop snowing, that's good.

That sun feels great.

That's good, it might be very quick coming through.

Back to work.

I should probably go get that monster before it snows again.

So... Yeah, shelter's almost done.

Relatively simple.

Trying to build my own bear den for the most part.

Just something that's super warm.

I don't want to wait till winter to get all this [bleep] done.

All right, so what I've done is, uh, I'm gonna use some of

this sphagnum moss as a good insulating layer on my shelter.

This stuff comes out in huge carpets, and I've just been using my axe.

You can see how big this is.

This is the Arctic hide, as I like to call it.

There's the spot.

Seems like it's a lot of work, and it is, but, you know,

as much as I'd love to be home right now, kissing my wife and hanging with my boys...

This is what, uh, has to be done.

I've served in the military, I've lived all around the world,

and I run a wilderness survival and primitive living school.

The Arctic is gonna be the toughest location ever,

but to be 100% honest, I don't have a weak skill.

If I felt I had something that I don't know that much about, I wouldn't be here.

People might call it arrogance,

but people call it arrogance when they lack confidence.

You go first. The biggest thing I'm gonna miss will be my family.

They really have made me grow as a husband, as a father.

They are my life source.

I love you guys.

The reason why I'm doing this is just last year, I had a massive heart attack.

The heart attack I had is known as the Widowmaker.

99% of the time, it's the final chapter.

And as a heart attack survivor, you can lay down and die in the corner,

or you can stand up and fight for what you want to do and what you believe in.

This is my fight.

All right.

That looks pretty good.

My survival plan is very simple.

I need fish. I need a large game.

I need long-term food resources.

All right.

So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna make a rabbit stick, or a primitive throwing stick.

I found this piece of pine, which is kind of in a natural shape already.

You can see it's almost like a boomerang or a whale's tail if it came out to here.

But I just want that tool that I can reach, grab, employ,

and hopefully get a meal.

Everything we do in life, there's pressure to succeed.

And for me, I'm a very success-driven person.

Having a heart attack and trying to achieve a

certain level of excellence, that's a huge goal,

but I don't really feel like I can't do because of the heart attack.

It's something that I think is actually making me stronger.

All right.

I think she...

is good.

I'm gonna give it a few test throws.

Let's see what she does.

Oh, she spins like a boot.

Test flight of ptarmigan, squirrel, 3,000, go-getter, eater thingy.

Oh!

That's a throw.

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Moose call.

Let's get out there and try to get some food.

So today, I'm setting up several promising snares.

See how all that goes.

You can see that she'll set up just hanging on by a nub there and a nub there

on opposite sides of the stick so that no matter which way he's running,

it pulls it off of its little nub before he has a chance to escape.

Winter's gonna come really quickly.

You don't want to start deteriorating

right before it goes into December and the Arctic.

I'm not gonna win a starving contest.

I'm the thinnest guy here.

So if I can't provide the food,

I'm not gonna out-sit people that weigh 30 pounds more than me.

And that's my fear, because I think that's

the only thing that'll take me out of here.

Hopefully it's just a matter of time now.

My winter home.

Say, "Hi, Mama! I'm on the roof!

" Growing up on a farm got me prepared for time alone.

Whoa!

Whoa, big tree!

I've spent a lot of time living in the forest

with native reindeer herders in Siberia.

During those 5 years with them,

I gained a lot of skills necessary for this experience.

I think that probably is my big advantage.

I'm definitely a jack of all trades-- fishing, trapping, and hunting.

I'm good enough at everything to win.

Hopefully I can call in a moose 'cause it'll be mating season for moose.

I'm leaving behind my wife and kids, and I'm gonna definitely miss them all terribly.

But $500,000, you just can't pass that opportunity up,

especially when you have the experience that I have.

And if you can manage to win,

that money is gonna provide you a lot more time with

your family than your 3 months or 6 months you lost.

Just exploring my land a little more. And this has to be explained. So at least there's some semblance of justice. But look at

this. That's my only patch of green. That's where I live. Now look. Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, as far as you can see.

Makes me angry. I'm like, man, put me in the Arctic right before winter is one

thing. Put me in the Arctic in a place that's been decimated by fire. Not cool.

You gotta at least point out what a rough spot I have. Can't imagine the worse ones.

How am I supposed to live here?

[MUSIC]

Um.

Um.

I could use a little, I could use a little more sleep. I am not a morning person. I haven't been a morning person my whole

entire life. Like, as a kid I would sleep in on Christmas. Okay, that's how much of a not morning person I am. Seriously.

Out here, I don't have any schedule. I can sleep into whenever I want. The world

we live in is so full of schedules and routines and rots. But out here, nah.

So I found a few pieces of alder. And I'm gonna make a couple pie

deadfalls for the mice and go set it up in that mushroom patch.

I'm gonna use these V's as the upright and cut them off here to survive in the Arctic.

I need to feel like I don't know what my wall is. I don't know if humans actually have a wall. I think that's something that we make up. To say it's okay,

to give up, to not reach your goals, to not be all of who you are. I don't think I have a wall. And if I've got some struggles, I can climb over that thing.

There we go.

And the wind. Oh, I just cut myself.

It's not good.

I need to stop the bleeding. This is freaking crazy. Where's the gauze?

Man.

I'm so bitter right now.

Cut myself.

I've been so freaking careful. This is ridiculous.

I don't want to go home.

Oh my God.

I'm not tapping out.

I can do this.

I have to make sure that this is clean in there.

It's freaking deep though.

Not getting this thing infected.

Any kind of wound or cut out here is so dangerous.

I'm going to put it inside this mitt.

Keep my hand warm.

I am so not prepared right now for a big wound. I have so much work to do.

God.

I can't believe it.

I just so don't want this cut to send me home.

What do you say, Mr. Seagull?

Hm.

Come to think of it, interesting.

That seagull goes and sits on that rock over there.

At this time of day.

Where'd he go?

He comes over here and sits on that rock over there.

Where'd he go? Comes over here.

Sits on that rock.

Thank you Fred Seagull. I shall try that fishing spot.

I love my crazy life.

I'm a search and rescue canine handler.

And I've been a bow hunter since I was 14.

I spend a lot of time researching the animals

that I hunt, understanding their activities.

And in order to stay out here for a longer period of

time, I think that hunting is going to be crucial.

The X that you can see indicates a canine.

I am 100% confident that I'm going to win.

I've always thought that most of our limits that we put on ourselves are self-imposed.

And once you get past those, you can accomplish anything that you put your mind to.

I feel at home in the outdoors. I have the skills and

the mindset needed to be successful in this endeavor.

Is there anything better than chilling by a fire?

I'm leaving my wife and my youngest son, but

I'm one that believes that they're within me.

And so I'm bringing them with me.

In the last few months, my wife and I have been overwhelmed with urban life.

The money would allow us that freedom to get

away from the city and live a better life.

All this because a seagull landed there.

I think these first two weeks are going to be important

for long-term success for any of the participants.

So I'm trying to bring in some fish ASAP.

That was a terrible cast.

Everything that you do has a little equation

that you've got to figure out for success.

And once you crack the code and figure out the

equation for success, then it can be duplicated.

But in this situation, the chances for frustration over failures are high.

Come on, there's got to be one fish that would be hungry enough to take that fly.

Oh, I got a fish!

No freaking way!

Get it up!

I'm going to eat!

Yes!

There's my fish.

All right, time to get to work on this bad boy.

This is the most meaningful fish that I've ever caught.

I think struggle does make you stronger, both mentally and physically.

Just like a weightlifter lifts heavy weights to build

his muscles, these experiences strengthen our mind.

The more you break yourself down, the more you're going to gain.

Oh, wow. This worm bladder is full of little parasitic worms.

I saw one move.

I could be putting my health at risk, but I'm not going to win if I can't eat.

I'm going to cook it thoroughly.

Thank you, Mother Nature. Thank you, Canadian Arctic.

That's a grey jay.

You want that fish, don't you?

I will give you a piece. That'll be how I give back to the land.

There you go.

There you go.

Awesome.

Diary of a lumberjack.

Log 1,000.

Same location.

I find with every bit of wood that I cut,

I find with every bit of wood that I cut,

I find with every bit of wood that I cut,

a little hope and a little luck

that maybe when I go fishing tomorrow,

I'll catch a fish bigger than a buck.

I don't know anything that rhymes with luck. Oh, I do.

Hello.

It was all right.

I'm hungry today. I need to get my hunt on.

This is an awesome adventure.

It's great if you're doing this only for the money,

but for me personally, the journey is why I'm out here.

There's no resources and no one there to pat you

on the back and say it's going to be all better.

You have to draw from deep within inside.

My biggest frustration when it comes to getting food right now is fish.

Even though I'm struggling out here with fishing,

this doesn't break my confidence or break my forward momentum.

We used to have a saying in the Marine Corps,

"What's the first thing that dies in combat?

" It's typically your plan.

If you're planning alone, that same principle applies.

What's your first plan in alone? To get fish.

Well, when you're not, you've got to come up with a different plan.

I heard that.

All right.

I saw a little muskrat.

Just put an arrow into him.

I got a meal.

Awesome.

Thank you, little dude. I appreciate it.

I'm starving.

Cut around that tail.

A couple things you want to avoid on the muskrat.

You really got to clear the scent glands on it

and make sure that you're not going to pop any of those and spoil your meat.

The other thing you want to check is definitely all the vital organs.

Check the liver, make sure it's not spotted.

You want to look through the internals even.

If you have to, go through the intestines.

Make sure there's no worms or anything in the residual blood.

You want to make sure there's no worms.

If you have to, go through the intestines, make sure there's

no worms or anything in the residual poo that remains.

If you eat something that is tainted or has worms,

you're just going to put that inside your system.

It can definitely cause you some long-term problems.

Not a lot of meat, but...

some.

Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do.

This is Michelle from Channel 6 News.

I'm in here with a weather forecast for all you northerners

otherwise staying in the Arctic and primitive-style shelters.

I suggest that you make sure you have enough firewood

stored up, fresh water, and some berries on hand.

If you're like Michelle, who has not yet caught a single fish or land animal?

This is Michelle, Channel 6 News, out.

Today is day seven.

I'm starting to feel the hunger a little bit more today.

I haven't even seen a fish since I've been here.

I can't even begin to describe how frustrating that is for me.

So, I'm getting ready to go find a different area to fish in.

At home, I'm kind of the master fisherman.

I'd be devastated if I don't catch fish out here.

I already live remotely.

I come from a family of farming, rural, tough, gritty folk.

I grew up hunting and fishing and trapping.

I needed to know how to fish so that we had supper on the table.

I had to learn how to stalk deer so that I had food on the freaking table.

Everything that I have had to go through in my life prepared me for this.

The thing that's going to set me apart is just sheer determination.

I don't quit, and it's not something that somebody can go out and learn.

Barring me hurting myself seriously, I don't see what's going to take me out of it.

There you go.

Go on, chickies!

The biggest thing that I'll miss is, of course, my family.

But they're waiting for me on the other side.

Like, they're waiting for me to finish this.

At the end of it, somebody's going to win $500,000.

And I do want to win.

Winning this means total freedom.

I wouldn't have to worry about being hungry, being without a home.

That's all I need.

What the **** is that?

See it?

Huh.

What the hell?

Michelle's piece of land, there's no wildlife.

However, she's finding pieces of trash.

That is a 50-gallon drum.

That I could turn into something.

I can't survive on thin air out here.

Without food, I'm not going to last.

Every time I find something, I have to think

about it as, how can I use this to get me food?

Stink, stank, stunk.

I've got an idea for it.

Make a raft, and then go see where I can catch some fish.

I tipped it so it can drain out.

It looks like **** from the outside.

Story of my life.

Muskrat.

I'm having muskrat wings.

Let's dig in.

Alright.

Tastes good.

Have some meat.

I don't have any, like, dipping sauces or anything.

Sorry.

But I can tell you that...

no sauce is needed.

That's all she wrote, folks.

Time to cut some firewood.

It absolutely feels great to have some food inside my system,

some nourishment, and it's going to allow me to live on and carry on.

But once you eat that meat off of those bones,

it's time to get down to business, get to work.

God dang, man, what the heck.

My insides are tired.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[GRUNTS] [SIGHS] ****.

I'm going to turn this off.

[SIGHS]

I feel like there's something definitely wrong inside.

I just started having...

just, you know, the poos, if you will.

And it's just cramps and abdominal pain.

I'm not in a good place.

I'm not in a good place right now.

My insides are killing me.

They're absolutely killing me.

This is going to be a rough night.

[SIGHS]

A little bit of blood.

It's a bit sore, you know?

It's just sore.

But it looks like it's sealing nicely, which I'm really happy about.

That looks good.

Just like that.

OK.

Happy with that.

Happy.

Getting this bad cut on my hand, that could have been a downer,

but I know it's getting better, and I know this place

is going to make me dig deeper than I ever have.

Is it one-armed long or not bad, huh?

[LAUGHS]

I took my boot off for the first time today.

Can you see it steaming?

Yeah.

That's just my foot out of my boot.

My boot is also steaming.

It means my boots are wet.

That's a problem with these types of boots is your feet sweat in them,

and then they sweat, and then they get wet, and it's really hard to dry them out.

Probably due to being in the Arctic.

You guys remember when I found that barrel?

I've got an idea for it.

I might be able to tie my fishing lines on it.

We are looking at probably two weeks before we get dang cold.

I'm hoping that the best long-term food source is going to be fish,

but if I am not set up in the next two weeks, I could be risking death.

So it's pretty clear that I am not able to catch fish here from shore.

I've spent countless hours sitting here and

watching the water, and I haven't seen any movement.

I'm thinking, what if I build a boat out of this barrel to get hooks in the water,

and then maybe I can finally get fish with it.

So I think what I'm going to do

is, like I say, put those on either side.

Now these are for stabilizing it.

So it doesn't roll.

"Go to the Arctic," they said.

"It'll be fun," no one said.

"You'll enjoy your time," I thought.

Well, hopefully this idea works.

We'll see how she floats.

Oops!

What I'm going to do is, I'm going to take some of my fish hooks,

rig lines to it, and get it into deeper water.

I have high hopes of this working.

Swim fast, Susie.

Prepare to be launched.

Huzzah!

I expect you to float, you fat [bleep]

Get out there, you bitch.

Go catch me some fish.

This is it, this is it.

This is the moment.

Jeez.

It's...

2.20 in the morning.

And, um...

I'd say they're still turning.

For a while.

Feeling good.

There's nothing left in me.

Complete drain of all bodily fluids at this time.

We'll see.

Back home, I need to be the tough guy.

I need to be the one my kids can say, "It's dad, he's the superhero.

" But not being able to keep anything inside your body is a very serious thing.

I can't take my heart medication.

Without my heart medication, I can go down a path that leads to another heart attack.

And then it's really game over.

I dry-huved it in my shower last night.

My shower.

I don't have a shower.

My fire pit.

[bleep]

[grunting]

[coughing]

[coughing]

I'm in a lot of pain.

Every muzzle and joint is just... throbbing.

I feel like there's something inside of me that's just taking control.

My chest is sore.

My body aches all over.

The dry heaving.

It's just something that is completely not right.

I ignored the signs of my heart attack.

I felt chest pains all day.

And then that evening, all the way into the following morning,

eventually the pains took over and woke me up.

It was too late.

I'm trying to think of everything I can do to fix my gut.

It's like...

[bleep] I don't know.

[breathing heavily]

[sobbing] I tried.

I'm sorry, Eliza.

I'm sorry, boys.

I tried all I could.

[bleep] This is Donnie.

I'm officially tapping.

I'm gonna go home, and I'm gonna have to see my wife and kids

and tell them that what I promised them that I would do, I wasn't able to do it.

I can hear a boat.

I can hear a boat coming.

[sobbing] Hey, Donnie.

I know something's not right.

After my heart attack, I just-- I try and listen, and I know--

I know something's wrong.

I never thought I would put that phone in my hand

and make that call,

but I quickly realized it's not worth it.

My family needs me, and I need them.

In every situation, there's gonna be positives and

negatives, and you're gonna learn from both of 'em.

For me, I achieved a lot out here, and there's a lot of things I failed at,

and I'm realizing that it's okay to let the barriers down,

and it's okay to be human and ask somebody for help.

It shows that you have flaws, and you can be prepared, have all the survival skills,

the perfect shelter, you can be on top of your game,

but one small little thing on the insides, and it's game over.

I think if I would have stayed out there for another

day or two, we might not be having this conversation.

Yeah! It's pretty good for a day.

Definitely have something going on in my belly.

Definitely nauseous.

Definitely vomiting a little bit of blood.

This is the longest I have ever gone without food.

Yeah, baby, no!

Uh-oh.

I got a fire.

Holy [bleep]