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Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment

Premieres: Australasia on Dec 23 at 9:30 pm

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NINE STRANGERS TAKE ON THE TRIALS AND CHALLENGES OF THE ALASKAN WILDERNESS IN OUT OF THE WILD: THE ALASKA EXPERIMENT

It is the brink of winter in Alaska. Nine daring individuals have volunteered to abandon the comforts of home and take on the Alaskan wilderness in a test of will power, physical endurance, and mental strength. Follow this group of strangers as they brave one of the harshest environments in the world and attempt to find their way back to civilization with nothing more than the clothes on their back and a few essentials, in OUT OF THE WILD: THE ALASKA EXPERIMENT

Meet school bus driver Trish Bulinsky, horse trainer Jake Nodar, police officer and lifeguard Dan Rac, lawyer Carolyn Yamazaki, customer service representative Fredric Birt, fishing outfitter Joe Harner, body piercer Penny Jo Johnson, assistant director of housing John Ulmer, and personal trainer Kimberly Wise. These nine strangers have volunteered to put their lives on hold to take on the opportunity and challenge of a lifetime. After a three-day crash course in basic survival skills, including how to shoot a gun, skin an animal and start a fire without matches, they will be flown to Ttsusena Lake in the rugged Alaskan interior. Their goal: to make it back to civilisation... alive.

The first leg of their journey will see them travel sixty of the harshest miles on the planet while battling hunger, fatigue, and an unforgiving winter that will push them to the limit. With the first piece of a rudimentary map in hand, a compass, and a few basic tools, they must hike to civilisation before the harsh winter weather sets in.

Over the course of their month long journey, the volunteers will put their newfound skills to the test and must work together to hunt or trap their food, and build their own shelters to survive Alaska's frigid winter temperatures and whipping winds. Their only lifeline is a GPS beacon that they could activate if their lives were in danger or if they wanted to be evacuated.

This epic test of endurance will last almost an entire month and the brutality of life in the wild will tax each member physically as well as psychologically. This is not a contest. There is no million-dollar prize waiting for them at the end of the journey. The group has no idea how long it will take, or how far they must travel, to get OUT OF THE WILD.

Will they all make it back? Who will last to the end? Come along with them on this epic journey of survival and self-discovery in these episodes of OUT OF THE WILD: THE ALASKA EXPERIMENT:

Stranded in Alaska
The experiment begins when nine ordinary people are abandoned in Central Alaska with only a few essential supplies and a goal to make it back to civilisation. Alaska wastes no time testing their wilderness experience and severe hunger sets in.

 What Did I Sign Up for?
Alaska has claimed one victim but the group must press on. On the second leg of the journey, the team is faced with many challenges including a desperate search for food, a brutal snowstorm and a grizzly bear sighting.

Porcupine Stew
It's only been one week and the group is down to six. The remaining members are faced with a long arduous trek in whiteout conditions, but eventually they drop down in elevation and arrive at a small moss covered cabin tucked in a river valley.

Crash Landing
Food has been extremely difficult to come by thus far on the journey, and immediately the group recognizes that they are desperate for some fat and protein. Starving and weak, the remaining six team members fight for survival by hunting the second largest rodent in North America.

Bringing the Big Gun
The group has no idea how long it will be before they find civilisation, so they must continue moving forward. They are on the fourth leg of the journey and so far they have lost three team members to the harshness of life in the wilderness. Eventually the brutal conditions of the camp and the severe lack of food become far too much for even the strongest member of the team to handle.

Bear Hunt
Life for the volunteers in the vast backcountry of Alaska is tough. The long days of constant physical labour, freezing temperatures, and lack of food in Alaska has wreaked havoc on the team. Now, with some outside help, they're on the hunt for a bear.

Trophy Hunter
Alaska continues to challenge the group in ways they never dreamt possible and they are shedding pounds at an alarming rate. After failing in their first attempts at bear hunting, they remain determined to go back out and get the big catch.

Out of the Wild
It is the eighth and final leg of the group's long journey. Winter has settled in for good and the temperatures have ceased to climb above freezing. With no idea how much further they must travel to find civilisation, the group is struggling to put one foot in front of the other.