A Rescue Gone Wrong

After five years of gripping and educational survival tales, Out Alive is going on indefinite hiatus. Thank you to for listening and for your continued support. For more survival content, you can visit us at backpacker.com. Be safe out there. 

While every SAR unit faces different circumstances based on terrain, weather, and how they work with their local law enforcement, it’s the unseen obstacles like time away from family, paperwork, and the emotional toll that underpin SAR operations across the country. Go behind the ... Show More

In the world of backcountry search and rescue, some environments require proficiency beyond the standard tactics. Yosemite Valley, where rock climbers come to test their mettle against the park’s towering granite walls, is one of those places. For many search and rescue workers, ... Show More

Joe Lentini is an elite mountain rescuer in New Hampshire. He regularly faces high-stakes decisions and dilemmas. But in 1982, during one treacherous mission to find two missing teenagers, disaster strikes Joe’s own team. What should he do now that one of his own is in the line o ... Show More

Rescue workers search for the camera crew trapped inside Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o crater, but they’re forced to abandon their efforts when an incoming storm makes conditions too hazardous. Cameramen Chris Duddy and Mike Benson struggle to survive a night inside the volcano. When daylig ... Show More

The blow-up of the 1949 Mann Gulch Wildfire had tragic consequences for a team of wildland firefighters. The event catalyzed a new era in fire safety, and wildland firefighting techniques that continue to this day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi ... Show More

Most don’t make it to the finish. Some don’t survive. Two months into a monumental sailing race, Pete Goss is beset by the worst storm he’s ever faced. And then… a distress call comes in. A fellow skipper is sinking and needs urgent help. Suddenly, Pete’s battle to stay alive bec ... Show More

Two friends went on a ski trip that went incredibly, horribly wrong. Almost a decade later, they came to StoryCorps to finally talk about it.Leave us a voicemail at 702-706-TALK, or email us at podcast@storycorps.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and us ... Show More

We speak with the Chief of the Dominion Volunteer Fire Department about a dramatic rescue Sunday evening at a seaside cliff that's been a problem area. 

As the search for the missing climbers enters its second day, rescuers redouble their efforts to find the lost students and their adult guides. But the vastness of the search area presents major challenges. Rescue workers and parents face the awful reality that the missing climbe ... Show More

Over half a million people commute to London every day. They travel at the same time, on the same train, with the same familiar faces in the carriage. Rarely does anyone think for a moment that they might not arrive at their destination. Tony Jasper was no different. Until, on on ... Show More