Amazing Survival Stories of Adventurous Travelers

Survival stories of life and death situations are not limited to workplace and home. They will surprise us in the mountains, at the beach or even while taking a hike in the wilderness. No matter what circumstance you get yourself into, events of survival can give you valuable insight. Survival is a psychological decision we make and can effect our capacity to endure the unexpected. Here are some of the most amazing survival stories of adventurous travelers around the world.

Amazing Survival Stories

Two Weeks In An Ice Cave

View from an ice cave on Ellesmere Island Canada | (c) Photo By Alexandra Kobalenko

In 1982 Phil Doole and Mark Inglis were up in the slopes of New Zealand’s highest mountain, Aoraki Mt. Cook, when a blizzard hit. They decided to built an ice cave and wait for the blizzard to pass. Little did they know that it would be after 13 days that help reached them. Both these men survived inside a cramped cave, which caused them to loose circulation in their legs that had to be amputated. This sure is one of the horrid survival stories but to be alive after 13 days is a miracle.

This journey sure has not stopped these men in their climbing careers. Both have gone on to summit  Mt. Cook. and in 2006 Mark Inglis became the first double amputee to conquer Mt Everest. He told the New Zealand Herald, “When you lose your legs when you’re 23…something like this is just a minor hiccup, just a bump in the journey, really”.

Three Months In The Outback

View of Australia's Outback | (c) Photo By Oz Camping

A farm manger, Mark Clifford thought he was seeing things when a skeleton appeared in front of his jeep in April 2006 while he was on a remote property in Australia’s Northern Territory. The skeleton was of a man named Ricky Megee who had been lost in the Outback for an incredible 10 weeks. How did he end up this way? Well he picked up some hitch hikers, and he was apparently drugged and left to die in the Outbacks (so the story says). While police and the public had doubts about the story, especially when it came to light that Megee had minor drug convictions, there was no question he was lost in the Outback. Mark Megee did survive for sometime by staying close to a dam and eating leeches, grasshoppers and frogs.

Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place

Canyon in Utah | (c) Photo By Connections

This is another from amazing survival stories. What choice does a man have when a 80 pound boulder falls on his arm and cannot escape? The only option Aron Ralston had on that day was to amputate his own arm with a blunt knife. It sure is something an average person would not imagine doing. After five days in a remote canyon in Utah with little food and water, he knew that it was unlikely that anyone would find him. In his book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, he describes how he manged to break free. He also had to slide down a 65 foot wall. This never stopped Aron Ralston, he continues to climb, including all of Colorado’s 55 peaks, which are higher than 14,000 feet.

Lost In The Amazon

Bolivian Amazon | (c) Photo By WWF

In 1981 four adventurous travelers led by Yossi Ghinsberg decided to explore the Amazon. So they set off to the Bolivian Amazon only to realize that they were not equipped for the journey as they should be. Eventually they became lost and the four broke off into pairs; never to be seen again. Ghinsberg and his friend Kevin were to float a raft downriver, but it caught on a rock and they were split up. For 19 days, Ghinsberg wandered helplessly in a brutal environment. To their luck, local men did find both men who were weak but alive.

Lost In The Pacific

Pacific Ocean | (c) Photo By FMSI

When American Tami Oldham Ashcraft and her British boyfriend Richard Sharp decided to sail on a 30-day trip in the Pacific Ocean, they had no idea what they bargained for. 19 days into their trip, they were caught in a category four hurricane and their dream turned into a nightmare. As the hurricane hit, Ashcraft, sheltering below decks, was knocked unconscious. When she woke up many hours later, Sharp was gone. She continues to sail and in 2000 published an account of her ordeal in the book, Red Sky in Mourning: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea.

These are some of the many hundreds of survival stories of adventurous travelers. we never know when our adventures are going to become a nightmare. Luckily for these brave men and women, they got a second chance in life. If you know of any survival stories of travelers, don’t forget to share on the comments section below.