The 25 Ultimate Survival Stories – You Won’t Believe How They Made it Out Alive!

Never underestimate the power of an individual’s will to live.

You know the stories – man gets stranded out in the wilderness, low on food and water, deadly predators everywhere and hundreds of miles away from civilization. The individual is faced with the decision: either fend for themselves until they can reach help or give up. The following are the stories of those who didn’t give up – those who didn’t go quietly into the night. Many shouldn’t be alive today. But then again, many of the individuals featured in this post are far from ordinary.

Aron Ralston

You likely already know of Ralston’s story from the Academy Award-nominated 2010 film 127 Hours. To recap, Ralston was hiking in Utah when his arm was pinned down by a boulder. After five days, he cut his arm off with a pocket knife to escape the boulder and was discovered by hikers down the canyon, who called for emergency medical help.

76 Days at Sea

Steve Callahan was an avid solo sailor. But when a whale sunk his boat in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, all he had was an inflatable raft and limited supplies. He lasted for 76 days and drifted more than 1,800 miles before he was rescued near the Bahamas.

Drugged and Dumped

In 2006, Ricky Megee was carjacked and left for dead in the middle of the Australian Outback. Eating small creatures and bugs in the desert and drinking water from a dam, he lasted 70 days until he was rescued. The thieves and his car, however, were never found.

 The 1996 Everest Disaster

The 1996 Mt. Everest disaster nearly claimed 13 lives, but Dr. Beck Weathers said “not so fast.” Caught in a horrible storm descending the world’s tallest mountain, Weathers spent the night outside, something that would surely kill him in such conditions. Miraculously, he awoke the next day, walked down to base camp and was medically evacuated from the mountain. He lost limbs, toes, and part of his nose from frostbite, but he’s still alive.