I Shouldn't Be Alive — Specials

Apr 20061h

Jennifer and Jim Stolpa ended up lost in the snow miles from help. They survived for days alone and without help. Could YOU? In the coldest Colorado winter for a decade, survival expert Les Stroud shows what you can do to survive if you are trapped in a blizzard without any special gear. He strips his truck and turns a car seat into a makeshift pair of snow boots to battle his way through the Rocky Mountains. He shows you how to make a signal fire from an old tire and a car battery, then treks off through 80 mph winds and knee-deep powdery snow in temperatures of minus 86 degrees F wearing nothing more than an old overcoat and pants — just like the Stolpas had during their ordeal. Navigating his way eastward with only a watch, building a shelter from dead trees and starting a fire with baby supplies, Les shows how to get through a deadly winter night. Later in the program, he visits a military training lab to show you what happens when he exposes himself, unprotected, to extreme cold. Shivering in 41 degrees below zero — and worried about frostbite, Les experiences the ravages of hypothermia and watches as his ability to perform simple manual tasks deteriorates out of control.

Apr 20061h

If lost in the rain forest, could you beat the elements and avoid death? Would YOU know what to do? When adventurers Kevin Gale, Yossi Ghinsberg and Markus Stamm followed jungle guide Karl Ruprechter into the Amazonian rain forest, they were expecting adventure, not a life and death struggle that only two of them would survive. Based on their story, former Green Beret and special forces veteran Capt. Myke Hawke shows how you can make it out of the Amazon alive. He wrestles anacondas for food, and demonstrates how to find safe water, build shelters, spot poisons, and navigate your way out of the jungle to safety.

Apr 20061h

When Greg Rasmussen crashed his plane on the African savanna, he was at the mercy of boiling skies and savage wild animals. He survived ... would YOU? Safari guide Phil West imparts the secrets of survival on the African savanna. At age 30, Phil is already one of Africa's most respected trackers and guides. Trekking through hazardous bush terrain in northern Kenya, Phil gets up close and personal with lions, cobras, rhinos and elephants. He shows how to survive — and avoid — such encounters. Here on the savanna, the weather is just as terrifying as the wildlife. If you make the wrong decisions, dehydration can kill you within hours. Phil reveals the professional tracker's tricks for finding water, food and shelter in this fearsome terrain — and how to keep your nerve when confronted with the terrors of the African night.

Apr 20061h

Adrift in the open ocean could you beat the elements and avoid death? Would YOU know what to do? Ross McFadyen spent 12 years as a survival instructor for the U.S. Air Force. He's been in every conceivable sea survival situation. In this episode, Ross jumps overboard from a sailboat, gets stranded in a life raft, and shows you how to defend yourself against sharks. He advises that you should prepare ahead of time, stay positive, and make the most of the environment around you. While you can't predict what crazy disasters will happen to you if you go to sea, you sure can have a better chance of survival with Ross McFadyen's knowledge.