The BEST episodes of Ultimate Survival Alaska

Every episode of Ultimate Survival Alaska ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Ultimate Survival Alaska!

They are some the toughest, most extreme survivalists that Alaska has to offer. Going head to head, eight men of a rare breed are about to take the ultimate test of survival in Arctic conditions that only National Geographic could inspire. Dropped in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness by bush plane, with only their raw, mountain-man ingenuity, they’ll navigate through treacherous glaciated river valleys, barren ridgelines, and high mountain peaks, battling hunger, hostile predators, and perilous weather conditions along the way. Like the original National Geographic explorers, for those who succeed there is no grand prize, just the well-fought pride of having conquered the grueling challenges that Mother Nature can throw at them. It's an epic competition series where the only prize is survival.

Last Updated: 1/6/2024Network: National GeographicStatus: Ended
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Deep Dark Woods
star
8.92
12 votes

#1 - Deep Dark Woods

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/23/2014

After nine grueling legs, the teams enter this leg battered, bruised and worn down. But they're in luck — leg 10 takes the three remaining teams to Kodiak Island, a lush temperate rainforest full of hunting opportunities. The Military and Mountaineer teams use this opportunity to stock up on protein. The Endurance athletes aim to prove they're not out of the competition yet. But when attempting a treacherous lake crossing, Dallas slips into freezing cold water.

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Guts & Glory
star
8.86
14 votes

#2 - Guts & Glory

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/7/2014

With seven legs of the competition under their belts, take a look back at the extreme challenges the survivalists have endured and take a peek at the brutal adventures still to come. Get to know the teams again and witness their ups and downs throughout the battle to become Alaska's ultimate survivor.

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Fight to the Finish
star
8.82
11 votes

#3 - Fight to the Finish

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/9/2014

With the final hours of the competition running off the clock, the three remaining teams risk it all for the glory of being crowned champion. It's a cutthroat battle to the top of Mount Augustine — a 4,000-foot active volcano in the middle of the open ocean. To reach it, the teams race across 35 miles of punishing white water rapids and unforgiving seas. In the end, the first team to reach the summit of the volcano is crowned Ultimate Alaskan Survivors.

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Vice Grip
star
8.56
18 votes

#4 - Vice Grip

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/26/2014

The teams cross a steep ridge to the crumbling Strandline Canyon, then trek 40 miles to the landing zone. The Military Team's strategy is to charge straight down the glacial drainage basin. Before they know it, they're up to their knees in quicksand. The Mountaineers follow the same flatland strategy, and Marty and Tyler are soon stuck in the quicksand. Endurance Team heads straight for the canyon and hopes to follow the winding valley to the landing zone, but a furious river blocks their path.

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Devil’s Due
star
8.43
7 votes

#5 - Devil’s Due

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/25/2015

Riding on the historic Alaskan Railroad, the teams are inserted into a remote river valley. To reach extraction, the adventurers traverse mountains, canyons, glaciers and an iceberg-filled lake.

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The Last Battle
star
8.33
15 votes

#6 - The Last Battle

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 3/2/2014

On the final leg, the teams face their toughest challenge yet — a race across an icy glacier, down a whitewater river and across the open ocean to the Mount Augustine volcano. The trek begins high atop the Aleutian Mountains, where the competitors harness up and charge across a crevasse-laden glacier. With all three teams facing daunting obstacles, it's anyone's game going into next week's exciting conclusion.

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Long Way Down
star
8.31
13 votes

#7 - Long Way Down

Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/8/2015

Eleven legs in, the competitors are starting to feel the pain as Alaska pushes them over the edge. The four teams are dropped below a steep peak high in the Alaska Range, and as they climb to find the insertion flag, the elevation takes its toll. Once they reach the flag, they find that they must descend 2,000 feet to the Triumvirate Glacier, then battle 24 miles of ice fields, frigid rivers and rugged terrain to reach the LZ at Beluga Lake.

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Bear Kingdom
star
8.27
15 votes

#8 - Bear Kingdom

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 2/16/2014

The teams head out on Afognak Island, which is ruled by Kodiak bears, one of the largest bears on Earth. The teams will cross 31 miles of treacherous, bear-packed wilderness to reach the extraction point at the northernmost tip of the island. All three teams are running into bears at every turn. As the Endurance team stops to fish, Sean is left staring into the jaws of a charging brown bear. Between lost maps and wrong turns, the survivalists are just trying to get out of bear country alive.

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River of Fury
star
8.19
16 votes

#9 - River of Fury

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/12/2014

The teams will navigate 50 miles of turbulent rivers, battle through a deadly stretch of whitewater rapids known as Hell's Gate and bushwhack through thick brush to reach the extraction point. Armed with their pack rafts, the Endurance athletes hit a mass of fallen trees in water so dangerous that one team member goes under, and the Military Team unknowingly takes a break in an area filled with bear. Across the valley, the Mountaineers have a different strategy.

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Savage Beasts
star
8.17
23 votes

#10 - Savage Beasts

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 12/22/2013

The men pick their route: some take the higher land, some follow the river. Expert climber Willi Prittie leads Brent Sass and Tyler Johnson into the mountains. The bearing they're traveling reaches elevations over 4,000 feet. Veteran mountain man Marty Raney is leading his son Matt and survival expert Austin Manelick through the river valley. Brothers Dallas and Tyrell Seavey navigate along the ridgeline, crossing land with little cover. These born racers are resolute to be the first to arrive.

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Vertical Hell
star
8.11
27 votes

#11 - Vertical Hell

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 7/21/2013

On the last leg of the 3,000-mile journey across Alaska, the explorers battle a brutal winter snowstorm as they climb a 5,000 foot mountain in the Juneau ice field.

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Arctic Battleground
star
8.03
32 votes

#12 - Arctic Battleground

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 12/15/2013

The survivalists are in Dallas' territory: dog mushing. Dallas and the rest of the Endurance athletes are the first to arrive and harness their team of dogs. Not familiar with dog mushing and not wanting to waste any time, the Military team skips the dogs altogether and walks. The mission? Race across a 30-mile stretch of treacherous glacier, plunge down a 2,000-foot gully and battle 15 miles of whitewater rapids to the extraction point in Berners Bay.

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Climb From Hell
star
7.89
19 votes

#13 - Climb From Hell

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/5/2014

The teams trek 30 miles up and over the snow-covered Tordrillo Mountains to reach the landing zone on the banks of Frustration Lake. The Military team sticks to lower elevations, but ends up staring a huge canyon straight in the face. The Endurance team's strategy of hiking up and over backfires when they run into a wall of ice. The Mountaineers are also climbing straight up, counting on their rock-climbing experience to get to the extraction point.

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Back for Blood
star
7.89
18 votes

#14 - Back for Blood

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/4/2015

In the first leg of the 13-leg competition, four teams battle their way to the summit of Mount Gerdine. To get there, they must cross a rapidly thawing lake, traverse a crevasse-filled glacier and claw their way up walls of crumbing ice. On the second leg of the competition, teams are dropped near the top of a towering mountain peak and provided with skis, snowboards and climbing rope. The mission is clear: Descend the mountain in any way possible.

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Belly of the Beast
star
7.81
32 votes

#15 - Belly of the Beast

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/9/2013

The explorers brave the dangers of Alaska's "Bear Highway" only to find themselves stranded and fighting to survive Mother Nature's fury on the shores of Katmai Bay.

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Crash Course
star
7.77
13 votes

#16 - Crash Course

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/11/2015

On leg three, teams descend 2,000 feet of snowy ridges, bush-covered slopes and spongy swamps to reach the LZ (landing zone) at Talachulitna Lake. At the insertion flag, the adventurers find a cache of dogsleds, skis, snowshoes and packrafts.

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Final Gauntlet
star
7.75
8 votes

#17 - Final Gauntlet

Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/22/2015

Beaten down after weeks in the Alaskan backcountry, the competitors brace for one last battle involving treacherous glaciers, volatile rivers and perilous mountains. Dropped in a glacial river valley, the four teams charge toward the final insertion flag, where they find a cache of mountain bikes.

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Desolation Island
star
7.74
31 votes

#18 - Desolation Island

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/16/2013

Facing the brink of collapse, the eight starving explorers set out with one mission: harvest as much food as possible from the barren landscape of Nunivak Island.

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Ice Cold Gamble
star
7.70
30 votes

#19 - Ice Cold Gamble

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/7/2013

On day 32 of the expedition, the explorers traverse the Nizina River Valley, a vast expanse of land known for its lush wildlife, hungry grizzlies and homesteaders living hundreds of miles from civilization.

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Knockout Punch
star
7.57
7 votes

#20 - Knockout Punch

Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 3/15/2015

With just two legs to go, the pressure’s on to snag one of the few remaining wins. At the insertion flag, the teams find a cache of inner tubes, planks and ropes to design and build handmade rafts durable enough to survive the roughest whitewater they’ve faced yet.

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Over the Falls
star
7.57
21 votes

#21 - Over the Falls

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/29/2013

Mission: Bushwhack through 45 miles of dense forest at Tongass National Forest, plunge down steep, 70-foot waterfalls and battle the violent open ocean waters at Steven's Passage. With the Woodsmen and Military teams forging forward, the Endurance athletes are eager to build an early lead. After finding a quick route through the Tongass National Forest, they must rappel down the waterfall and Dallas nearly slips off his rope.

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Sink or Swim
star
7.55
38 votes

#22 - Sink or Swim

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/2/2013

The eight explorers are on the fourth leg of their expedition and are struggling to stay afloat on the Talachulitna River. With currents rushing at dangerous speeds, it's no easy feat to navigate the frigid waters. Expert climber Willi Prittie teams up with Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey and his brother Tyrell to find a much-needed food source. Meanwhile, mountain man Marty Raney and his son Matt enter the river further downstream hoping to minimize their time on the water.

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Arctic Hell
star
7.52
62 votes

#23 - Arctic Hell

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/12/2013

The men pick their route: some take the higher land, some follow the river. Expert climber Willi Prittie leads Brent Sass and Tyler Johnson into the mountains. The bearing they're traveling reaches elevations over 4,000 feet. Veteran mountain man Marty Raney is leading his son Matt and survival expert Austin Manelick through the river valley. Brothers Dallas and Tyrell Seavey navigate along the ridgeline, crossing land with little cover. These born racers are resolute to be the first to arrive.

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Desperate Measures
star
7.50
32 votes

#24 - Desperate Measures

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/30/2013

In the frigid waters of the Prince William Sound, eight explorers battle a minefield of icebergs, glaciers, massive waves and powerful tides.

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Going Rogue
star
7.50
12 votes

#25 - Going Rogue

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/12/2015

In leg six, the teams are inserted into the heart of Alaskan gold country. Slashing through a thorny gantlet of devil’s club, they charge for the insertion flag. After reading their maps, some head for the high ground to escape the dungeon of thorns, while others bushwhack directly through the forest.

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