Arctic Survival Stories

Arctic survival stories are my personal favorite, with more things that can kill you than any other type of terrain. This list not only includes stories from the Arctic Circle but also the continent of Antarctica.

Ada Blackjack – 2 Years on a frozen island

This native Alaskan was part of the crew that tried to lay claim to the Wrangel Islands in the name of Canada, and after a successful voyage, several of the crew stayed on the island with the arrangement they would be picked up later. The purpose was to show that Canadians had “lived” there, something that would bolster their country’s claim over it.

Since all this happened in 1921, survival rations weren’t exactly great and food quickly started to run out. Of the 5 people who stayed on the island, 1 died from illness and 3 others walked across the frozen sea to try and find a village on the coast, never to be heard from again. Ada was left on the island for 2 years, surviving by herself after the ill crew member died.

Ada Blackjack – The Full Survival Story

Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance

During an expedition to Antarctica, the ship known as the Endurance was caught between giant sheets of flowing ice, trapping it for weeks and eventually bursting the hull. The crew were forced to travel by foot and lifeboats across one of the most inhospitable places on earth.

The crew eventually made it to safety, or at least the ones lucky enough to survive did, and the extreme hardships they endured meant this story has gone down as one of the most well-known survival stories of all time.

Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance – The Full Survival Story

Douglas Mawson – Stranded 480km away from base

One of the most famous explorers of his day, Douglas Mawson was part of a team who set off to the section of Antarctica south of Australia to map the coastline. He was part of a 3 man team that traveled around on dog sleds in an attempt to cover several hundred miles of coastline.

When they were as far away from their base as they were going, one of his teammates fell through a snow bridge and into a seemingly bottomless crack in the ice, along with his sled and most of the team’s food and supplies. The trip back involved disease, starvation, and the death of another crew member and most of the dogs.

Douglas Mawson – The Full Survival Story

Bob Bartlett – A 700 mile walk across a frozen ocean

In 1914 Captain Bob Bartlett and his 24 crew members were caught in a giant ice sheet while sailing around the northern coast of Alaska. After getting caught up in the ice sheet and being dragged for many miles, the weight of the ice eventually crushed the ship and caused it to sink, forcing the crew to gather all they could and head to the nearest land.

The closest dry land was the Wrangel Islands, just over 80 miles away. Getting there wasn’t the hard part, but surviving until the seas thawed out enough to allow a rescue ship to sail that far north would be. The next few months were spent in a frozen hell, with few supplies and miles of ice to walk across in the attempt to get far enough south to find “something.”

Bob Bartlett – The Full Survival Story

The Crew of the USS Jeanette – Dragged for 21 months on a giant ice sheet

This 1879 expedition to the Arctic didn’t quite go as planned when their ship was frozen in place after running into thick pack ice. The sea froze around them and they found themselves becoming just another part of the enormous ice sheet floating across the ocean. After being dragged for 21 months they soon found themselves within reach of land, on the north Russian coast.

The trip to dry land was far from easy, with the crew having to split up into small groups so the life rafts they had could hold them. Some of them made land and died and some of them didn’t make land at all.

The Crew of the USS Jeanette – The Full Survival Story

Bob Gauchie – 58 days alone in the Canadian wilderness

In 1967 Pilot Bob Gauchie was making a routine flight through the Canadian wilderness between Cambridge and Yellowknife. During the flight a bad storm hit and he became horribly lost, and after visibility came back he found himself in the middle of nowhere.

Since fuel was dangerously low and he didn’t know when he’d get another chance to land, he made use of a large frozen lake and safely managed to touch down. Since he was so off course the rescue teams were all looking in the wrong place while he survived in his little plane in temperatures as low as -60C, with nothing but a box of frozen fish to eat.

Bob Gauchie -The Full Survival Story

Trans-Antarctica Expedition of 1989 – Funatsu Keizo

This expedition had the purpose of crossing the entire continent of Antarctica without the use of vehicles. Funatsu Keizo was part of the team attempting the journey and for the most part, everything went well. The group moved on sleds and had plenty of dogs and supplies to make it across.

Everything was going well until one night Keizo left his tent to check on the dogs, but since he did this in the middle of a snow blizzard he quickly became lost and started walking in the wrong direction. Knowing he’d only become more lost he dug a small trench to try and escape the wind and waited for rescue. Even though he was only feet away from his tent he had no idea which way it was, and with the weather quickly becoming unbearable his chances of surviving until the morning quickly shrank.

Funatsu Keizo – The Full Survival Story

Bruce Gordon – 7 years living with a polar bear

Being the only survivor of a shipwreck, Bruce Gordon found himself stuck in the Arctic Circle with no land in sight, and a partially sunk ship to live in. After a polar bear wandered in, Bruce killed it with his knife only to find its cub strolling close behind. Feeling sorry for the baby bear he decided to look after it and even taught it how to catch fish for him.

Over the next 7 years, he lived with his pet polar bear in the wrecked ship until it floated close enough to land for them to make the walk. A very excited Bruce ran up the beach to the first village he had seen in years followed closely by Nancy, his quarter-ton polar bear friend.

Bruce Gordon – The Full Survival Story

The USS Bear and the Greely party

This whaling ship is yet another victim of being trapped in a giant sheet of ice, but since this happened in the 19th century, it goes without saying that supplies and equipment weren’t exactly the most amazing. The ship’s captain knew that rescue couldn’t reach them even if it knew where they were, as the seas were frozen solid for many miles around their ship.

The rescue attempt to save the crew was one of the biggest in US Coast Guard history at the time and was even ordered by the president himself. 3 members of the rescue party ended up walking more than 1500 miles around the Alaskan coastline pulling supply sleds in temperatures as low as –51 °C.

The USS Bear and the Greely party – The Full Survival Story

Marten Hartwell – Crashed in the Arctic with 2 broken ankles

This pilot was flying a few passengers between Cambridge in the northwest territories and Yellow Knife in Canada. During the flight bad weather caused him to crash and 2 of the 3 passengers he had with him died. He was left alone with a 14-year-old boy who was luckily a native of the Arctic Circle.

The crash caused both of Hartwell’s ankles to break and if it wasn’t for David Kootook he surely would have died sitting in the cockpit. The pair made a tent out of spare clothing and sleeping bags and Kootook gathered enough wood to keep a fire going, but sadly rescue came too late for this young hero and he died from starvation.

Marten Hartwell – The Full Survival Story

Egor Tarasov – 7 weeks alone in Siberian wilderness

Some people like their alone time in the wilderness, and Tarasov is one of these people. Working as a reindeer herder most of his life he became used to the harsh climate of his homeland and was well versed in how to survive there.

One day after becoming lost in thick mist on his boat, he found himself over 70 miles away from his home and decided to walk there with next to no food and without proper winter clothing. The journey meant he would be faced with wolves and only able to eat what he could find in the Siberian wilderness.

Egor Tarasov –The Full Survival Story

Pauloosie Keyootak – 8 days stranded in the Arctic

A native of far northern Canada, this politician, and his son decided to make a 185-mile trip north to another settlement on snowmobiles. They had plenty of supplies and knew the terrain well, but no matter how familiar you are with an area, if you can’t see then you can’t navigate.

Soon after the journey started the pair found themselves in the middle of a snowstorm and became horribly lost. Their destination was 185 miles north of where they started, but they were both found alive almost 100 miles south of where they began their journey.

Pauloosie Keyootak – The Full Survival Story

James and Jennifer Stolpa – A 50 mile walk to rescue his wife

After getting stuck in the wilderness with no way of calling for help and no one looking for them, the Stolpa family was forced to walk in waist-deep snow for miles looking for someone who could help them.

After walking nonstop for over a day with their young children in freezing conditions, the mother and children stayed in a shallow cave they found while the father made the lone trip through the frozen wilderness in the hope of finding something.

James and Jennifer Stolpa – The Full Survival Story