Survivorman Season 1, Episode 5: Canadian Arctic

Canadian Boreal Forest

The Boreal forest of Northern Canada is a vast tract of wilderness stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. It is home to moose and beaver, crisscrossed by rivers and lakes and frost-free for only about three months of the year. Les intentionally tips his canoe in mid-stream and crawls from the icy waters onto shore where he does a quick inventory of his supplies. A handful of cashews and beef jerky, a solitary match, a multi-tool and 50 lbs of camera equipment to document the next seven days in the bush.

42 min

Arizona Desert

The Sonora Desert in the South-Western United States covers an area of approximately 120,000 square miles. It is an arid, seemingly barren environment with scorching daytime highs and freezing overnight lows. Riding a dirt bike out into the official middle of nowhere, Les simulates a break-down scenario. He empties out the contents of his pack - half a gallon of water, a snack bar and his multi-tool-7 more days!

42 min

Costa Rica

A Costa Rican getaway - as far removed from everyday living as you can imagine: lush rainforests and deserted tropical beaches. Marooned on Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, Les "Survivorman" Stroud has only a few items to aid him for the next 7 days: swimming goggles, 3 ballpoint pens, a multi-tool and the clothing on his back. On top of the keeping hydrated in the intense humidity and relentless heat, Les must cope with deadly snakes, enormous spiders, land-crabs and scorpions.

42 min

Georgian Swamp

The swamplands of Georgia's Altamaha River Basin are all that one would expect of a Primordial bog: dank, menacing, swimming with slithering creepy-crawlies and, of course, alligator-infested. This is the welcoming environment Les Stroud will be immersed in for seven sweaty days and bone-chilling nights.

42 min

Canadian Rockies

Les is airdropped onto a snow-covered peak in the Canadian Rockies courtesy of the Canadian Mountain Air Rescue Service. They'll come looking for him in seven days. Until then Les is entirely on his own, save for the grizzlies, cougars and wolves that also call this place home. To emulate a real-life survival scenario - in this case a heli-hiking expedition come to grief - Les has been provided with a few readily salvageable items, among them a broken camcorder and tripod. One man's trash is another man's treasure!

42 min

Utah Canyonlands

The spectacular red landscapes of Utah's canyonlands are as beautiful as they are inhospitable. Like outlaws of old who were known to eat their own horses out of desperation in this forlorn place, Stroud will cannibalize the mountain-bike he has ridden into the middle of nowhere. As well as these scavenged bike parts to aid him, he also has a multi-tool, a magnesium flint-stick and an old energy-bar - that he has a use for other than eating.

42 min

Plane Crash

In the remote winter-bound forests of Northern Ontario, a crashed plane lies in the snow beside a frozen lake. There is no one alive on board. But this plane didn't crash here - the decrepit old wreck has been airdropped from a helicopter to provide a temporary home for Survivorman. For a week Les will have to survive in this harsh snowy wilderness with only an axe, a multi-tool and a single blanket to aid him.

42 min

Lost at Sea

Living "off the land" takes on a new meaning as Les Stroud casts off for a week at sea. With no food and only a bare minimum of equipment, Stroud will be set adrift in an inflatable life raft off the coast of Belize. Battling hunger, thirst and the Caribbean heat, he must also keep his cameras dry to film the ordeal. To top it off - the life raft has a few bad leaks and needs constant bailing. It also leaks air and requires frequent re-inflation with a hand pump - Survivorman is in for a busy few days!

42 min

Behind the Scenes

Les presents clips and outtakes from the previous nine survival episodes.