The CRUX: True Survival Stories Podcast By Kaycee McIntosh Julie Henningsen Bleav cover art

The CRUX: True Survival Stories

The CRUX: True Survival Stories

By: Kaycee McIntosh Julie Henningsen Bleav
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Are you drawn to thrilling survival stories where characters overcome impossible odds? The Crux: True Survival Stories is your podcast. Join us for gripping tales of resilience and invaluable insights into wilderness survival and the mindset needed to overcome adversity. Hosted by Kaycee McIntosh and Julie Henningsen, both passionate about wilderness and medicine, our podcast is fueled by real-life stories and the pivotal moments that determine life or death outcomes. Tune in for captivating narratives that entertain and educate. Airing every Monday!Kaycee McIntosh, Julie Henningsen Social Sciences
Episodes
  • 43 Days Lost in the Himalayan Winter: Trapped Without Food or Fire | E226

    43 Days Lost in the Himalayan Winter: Trapped Without Food or Fire | E226
    Apr 6 2026

    On December 22nd, 1991, a 22-year-old medical student from Brisbane crawled under a rock overhang in the Nepalese Himalayas and waited for help. He had a sleeping bag, two chocolate bars, four books, and no way to make fire.

    No one knew where he was.

    The record for survival at that elevation in Himalayan winter — without food, without shelter beyond a sleeping bag, without fire — was ten days. Every expert, every search coordinator, every official who looked at the timeline said the same thing. It had been too long. The mountain didn't give people back after this many days.

    James Scott lasted forty-three.

    In this episode, Kaycee McIntosh and Julie Henningsen trace every decision that put him under that rock, what his body went through in the weeks that followed, and the two parallel stories running at the same time — a young man alone in the dark doing whatever it took to stay alive, and a sister in Kathmandu who refused, day after day, to accept what everyone around her was saying.

    This one will stay with you.

    00:00 Podcast Intro
    00:39 Storm on the Pass
    02:35 Alone in the Whiteout
    04:19 Shelter Under the Rock
    05:16 43 Days Survival Setup
    07:04 Backstory and Trek Plan
    09:12 Winter Hazards and Bad Gear
    12:15 Split Decision at the Pass
    14:33 Creek Descent Goes Wrong
    16:44 Rationing and Staying Alive
    18:26 UV Damage and Darkness
    19:26 Search Begins and Family Arrives
    20:08 Joanne Refuses Defeat
    21:15 Search Limits at Altitude
    22:23 Life Under the Overhang
    24:16 Why He Stayed Put
    25:49 Helicopter Missed Signal
    26:28 Giving Up Then Reversing
    27:55 Collapse After 100 Meters
    29:10 Day 42 Final Flyover
    29:48 Blue Sleeping Bag Spotted
    31:39 Hospital Recovery and Aftermath
    33:30 Other Cases and Key Variables
    35:18 Book, Media, and Missing Answers
    37:05 Why He Survived
    38:31 Hosts Reflect and Wrap

    Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreaon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast

    Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com

    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/

    Get schooled by Julie in outdoor wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/

    SOURCES

    Primary

    Scott, J. and Robertson, J. (1993). Lost in the Himalayas. Melbourne: Lothian. Edinburgh edition 1994.

    Scott, J. (1992). 'James Scott: How I Survived.' Sun Herald, March 8, 1992. Republished at medicaltranslation.com.au

    Scott, J. and Bailey, E. (1993). 'Miracle in the Himalayas.' Reader's Digest, February 1993, pp. 31–38.

    UPI Archives (February 5, 1992). 'Man survives 43 days in mountains on snow and ice.' Includes direct quotes from Carl Harrison and Dr. F. Garlick. upi.com/Archives/1992/02/05/

    Secondary

    Farafoot Survival Stories (2014). 'Lost in the Himalayas — A Fight for Survival.' farafootsurvivalstories.wordpress.com. Contains extended first-person account from James's 1992 Sun Herald article.

    Academic thesis: 'Traumatic Event Without Loss of Life.' Chapter 6, pp. 202–223. University of Queensland. reporting4work.com.au. Contains interview with Joanne Robertson.

    Wellcome Collection (1993). Archival illustration and reference materials. wellcomecollection.org/works/z65xekgt

    Zimmerman, M.D. et al. (1997). 'On being a patient: survival.' Annals of Internal Medicine, 127: 405–409.

    Hilless, B. (December 1998). 'A vision of human survival.' AMAQ News, Journal of the Queensland Branch of the Australian Medical Association.

    Real Risk Podcast, S2 E7 (October 15, 2020). 'Lost in the Himalayas — The Impossible Tale of James Scott.' realriskpodcast.com

    Trail Context

    Going the Whole Hogg (2025). 'Gosainkunda Trek: The Essential Guide.' goingthewholehogg.com/gosainkunda-trek-guide/

    Note on Mark Fulton: Mark Fulton's account of events after he separated from James is not part of the public record. His absence from the book and from press coverage is documented in reader reviews of Lost in the Himalayas (Goodreads, 2020). This script reflects only what is verifiably documented.


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    34 mins
  • They Did What They Had to Do: Nineteen Days in the Idaho Wilderness | E 225

    They Did What They Had to Do: Nineteen Days in the Idaho Wilderness | E 225
    Mar 30 2026

    On the morning of May 5th, 1979, four residents of Estevan, Saskatchewan boarded a small Cessna bound for Boise, Idaho on what was supposed to be a day trip. By that afternoon, the plane was down in a remote canyon in the Salmon River Mountains, two of the four passengers were dead, and two badly injured survivors were completely alone. No gear. No supplies. No rescue coming. What Donna Johnson and Brent Dyer did over the next nineteen days to stay alive is one of the most remarkable — and least known — survival stories in North American history. This episode does not look away from any of it.

    Timestamps:

    01:07 Crash Begins In Idaho

    03:15 Meet The Passengers

    05:28 Weather Route Decision

    07:12 Impact And Injuries

    10:51 Losses And Isolation

    12:18 Search Misses Them

    12:58 Cold Hunger And Journaling

    15:25 Unthinkable Choice

    18:25 Decision To Walk Out

    21:53 Nineteen Day Escape

    23:24 Rescue And Home News

    24:30 Puppy And Lawsuit Fallout

    27:01 Faith Legacy And Closing

    Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreaon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast

    Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com

    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/

    Get schooled by Julie in outdoor wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/

    REFERENCES

    Johnson v. Pischke, 108 Idaho 397, 700 P.2d 19 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1985)

    Gzowski, Peter. The Sacrament. Atheneum Books, 1980.

    "We Had to Eat Him and We Did." Maclean's, June 11, 1979.

    Timson, Judith. "Survival on Faith and Human Flesh." Maclean's, October 6, 1980.

    "Father's Protective Instinct Led to Miracle in Idaho Mountains." Regina Leader-Post, May 26, 1979.

    "Pair Walk Away from Crash Site." Lawrence Journal-World, May 26, 1979.

    "Air Crash Survivor Recounts Ordeal." Brandon Sun, June 1, 1979.

    Penn, Alix and Carmella Lowkis. "ICE Part II — The Crash of the Skyhawk." Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast, December 2020.

    Emilson, K. When Memories Remain, 3rd ed. Perpetual Books, 2018.

    "Brent Dyer Survived a Plane Crash — Extraordinary Lives." YouTube, DoxNM, 2017.


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    32 mins
  • The Body Recovery: Fatal Cave Dive at Bushman's Hole | Disaster Strikes E 224

    The Body Recovery: Fatal Cave Dive at Bushman's Hole | Disaster Strikes E 224
    Mar 26 2026
    In this episode of the Crux podcast's Disaster Strikes segment, hosts Kaycee McIntosh and Julie Henningsen delve into the harrowing story of Dave Shaw, a technical diver who tragically perished while attempting to recover the body of a fellow diver, Deon Dreyer, from the depths of Bushman's Hole in South Africa. Listeners are taken through the extreme dangers of cave diving, the physiological and equipment challenges faced at extreme depths, and the sequence of events that led to Shaw's death. The narrative also touches on the ethical debate surrounding the attempted recovery, the impact on the diving community, and the lessons learned from this tragic incident. 00:00 Introduction to Disaster Strikes 01:04 The Fatal Dive of Dave Shaw 01:46 Understanding the Dangers of Cave Diving 06:19 Dave Shaw's Background and Diving Career 10:14 The Discovery of Deon Dreyer's Body 11:56 Planning the Recovery Dive 14:37 The Final Dive 19:01 The Fatal Spiral Begins 19:10 Shaw's Descent and Initial Struggles 19:59 The Unexpected Buoyancy Challenge 20:46 The Entanglement and Panic 22:51 Shaw's Final Moments 25:01 The Aftermath and Recovery 26:58 Debates and Controversies 34:23 Changes in Diving Practices 36:28 Unresolved Questions and Legacy 38:01 Conclusion and Reflections Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreaon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/ Get schooled by Julie in outdoor wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/ Primary Sources: Zimmermann, Tim. "Raising the Dead." Outside Magazine, August 1, 2005. Main investigative article, extensive detail on Shaw and the incident Finch, Phillip. Diving Into Darkness: A True Story of Death and Survival. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008. Book-length treatment of the incident with detailed accounts Mitchell, SJ; Cronjé, FJ; Meintjes, WA; Britz, HC. "Fatal respiratory failure during a 'technical' rebreather dive at extreme pressure." Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, February 2007; 78(2): 81-6. Medical/forensic analysis of Shaw's death Dave Not Coming Back (2020). Documentary film. Features Don Shirley's firsthand account and helmet camera footage Secondary Sources: Wikipedia: Dave Shaw - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Shaw Verified biographical details, dates, equipment specifications Wikipedia: Deon Dreyer - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deon_Dreyer Verified details about Dreyer's death and recovery Wikipedia: Boesmansgat - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boesmansgat Geographic and depth record information All That's Interesting. "The Tragic Story Of Dave Shaw" https://allthatsinteresting.com/dave-shawDive-Scuba.com. "Dave Shaw: The Full Story of the Bushman's Hole Diving Incident" https://www.dive-scuba.com/dave-shaw-incident/South China Morning Post. "Dead diver fulfills his last mission," January 13, 2005 Contemporary news coverage from Shaw's home base News24 (South Africa). "Divers' bodies 'unexpected,'" January 12, 2005 https://www.news24.com/divers-bodies-unexpected-20050112Divernet. "Dave Shaw died from carbon dioxide black-out" https://divernet.com/scuba-news/dave-shaw-died-from-carbon-dioxide-black-out/InDEPTH Magazine. "The Aftermath Of Love: Don Shirley and Dave Shaw" https://indepthmag.com/the-consequence-of-love-don-shirley-and-dave-shaw/Technical Diving Forums (ScubaBoard, Yorkshire Divers) Contemporary discussions and firsthand accounts from support divers Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    40 mins
All stars
Most relevant
I love the banter. Y'all make me laugh. I love hearing the stories. Makes work so much more enjoyable.

Great survivor stories

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I just found your podcast on Audible. I like listening to true stories where people survive, but sometimes do not survive. There is always knowledge gained from what others experience. Very interesting story and great narration.

Well Done!

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It gives you unbelievable story's and is great for just doing chores and listening to it. I love how they give so much detail. Though I do recommend telling a few scary story's that are like myths that actually came true. Like some stupid teenagers doing stupid stuff and then they see something coming after them that doesn't seem like an animal but seems like someone watching, or following them. But overall it is a great podcast and I love listening to it!!! :D

All of it is great! Definitely recommend!

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