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What if you were stranded on a mountain top,

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or survived a plane crash, or attacked

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by a bear in the dead of winter?

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These might sound like action movie plots, but

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for an unlucky few, these stories were

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all too real.

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Against the Odds is a podcast from Wondery

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that tells mind-blowing, edge-of-your-seat survival

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stories filled with adventure and bravery,

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perseverance and tragedy.

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And these vivid stories will transport you

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into the shoes of the heroes who survived to

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tell a Like the Alaska Bear

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Attack, a back country ski trip

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with three friends that turned into a living

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nightmare when they unknowingly skied over

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a bear's den and awoke the mother and

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her cub from hibernation.

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After one of them was attacked, bleeding

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out and hyperthermia were imminent,

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so his friends had to try their best to keep

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him alive while waiting for rescue and

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hoping the bear wouldn't come back.

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Every episode of Against the Odds reminds

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you about the unshakable human drive

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to survive and the inspiring bravery

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of the heroes who helped. You're about to hear

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a preview of Against the Odds. While

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you're listening, follow Against the Odds wherever

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you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free

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on the Amazon Music or Wondery app.

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Bart Pichule takes

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a deep breath, letting the

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freezing air burn his lungs.

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His legs ache from the effort of hiking

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uphill through deep snow. As

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he exhales, his breath clouds

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in front of him.

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And he can't help but smile.

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It's early afternoon on February 6, 2021,

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10 miles outside of Hanes, Alaska. Hanes

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is a small community located along

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Alaska's Inside Passage, a

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marine waterway that connects the state's southeastern

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coast to British Columbia and...

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Washington

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state. It's geographically isolated,

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to say the least. The primary

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way to get to Haynes is by boat. A

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ferry runs a couple times a week from Juneau,

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the state capital, about 90 miles away.

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Otherwise there's one road that winds over

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a rugged mountain

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pass into a remote corner of

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Canada. Haynes calls itself

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the adventure capital of Alaska.

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It draws intrepid souls who are happy

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to the perks of big city life

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for its remoteness and stunning

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beauty.

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For Bart, a tall

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38-year-old from Poland, it's

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heaven. His first

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glimpse of Haynes was from a snowboarding

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video he saw as a teenager. Instantly,

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he fell in love. The icy blue

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waters, the soaring eagles, the

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snow-covered mountains. All

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of it drew him. him.

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When he announced that one day he would move there,

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his friends and family scoffed.

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But in 2013, at the age of 30, that's

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exactly what he did. And it's

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been everything he dreamed it would

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be. He's happiest where

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he is right now, in unspoiled

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backcountry, far from civilization,

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surrounded by towering hemlock and

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spruce trees, traversing over

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pristine snow. Ahead

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of him, his friend

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Jeff Moskowitz trudges

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up the incline. They're planning to follow

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the ridge above the tree line

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and then make their way back down. Moskowitz

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has his skis strapped to his backpack

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as they hike.

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Bart's snowboard is tied to his

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own backpack. Ahead of both men

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and out of sight at the moment their

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other friend, Graham Craft. The

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three men have been friends for over five

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years and logged hundreds of hours

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in the backcountry, both together and

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separately. As Bart continues

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to climb, He spots something brown

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and furry about 50 feet in front

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of him.

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It's a little bigger than a soccer

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ball. He squints trying to

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see what it might be. He can't

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tell for certain, but he's pretty sure

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it's a porcupine. Then

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he stops short. The

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porcupine is getting bigger and

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bigger

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as more of it emerges from the snow.

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A jolt of adrenaline surges through him.

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That's no porcupine. Based

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on how large it is, it can only be

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one thing. a coastal brown

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bear. Mosquis must have

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walked right over its den and woken it

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up as he hiked just ahead of Bart. The

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bear fully emerges from under the snow. Coastal

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brown bears can weigh up to 1,500 pounds. This

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one isn't that big, but

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to Bart, it still looks

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massive. The bear wags

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its head back and forth as

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it appears to shake off the stupor of

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hibernation. Then, its

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eyes focus right on

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Bart. His mouth goes dry

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as the bear begins to trundle right toward

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him. Bart knows he doesn't

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dare run. Bear's natural

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instincts tell them to chase fleeing animals.

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And in short bursts, they can run

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up to 40 miles per hour,

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far faster than any

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human. And Moskowitz and Kraft

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are too far away to help. So

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Bart has to think fast. He

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has to remember his bear safety training.

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Because if he makes one wrong move, one

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mistake, this bear

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could easily kill him.

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That was just a preview of Against the Odds.

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Listen to the full episode wherever you get your

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podcasts.