Alone Season 8: Grizzly Mountain

Ten new survivalists are dropped along the shores of Chilko Lake in the high alpine backcountry of British Columbia, the first time the show has been set at this kind of elevation. Each competitor scrambles to choose a shelter site and put their ten packed survival items to use while adjusting to thinner air and terrain known for one of the densest grizzly bear populations in North America. The premiere sets up the season's defining tension: everyone chasing the $500,000 prize is also sharing the woods with an unusually large number of large predators.

• Ten survivalists are dropped at Chilko Lake, a 40-mile glacial lake over 3,800 feet in elevation
• Season 8 is established as the show's first true alpine, high-elevation location
• The area's dense grizzly bear population is introduced as a central season-long threat

With camps established, the survivalists start turning temporary shelters into more permanent setups while continuing to adapt to the alpine terrain and its resident grizzly population. The isolation and physical strain prove too much for one contestant almost immediately: within a week he develops a racing heart and chest pains serious enough that he uses his satellite phone to call for a medical evacuation. It becomes the season's first departure, a sign of how quickly the body can react under this kind of stress.

Out this episode: Tim Madsen (day 6, medical)

• Tim Madsen becomes the season's first tap-out on day 6 after a suspected anxiety/cardiac episode
• The remaining nine survivalists continue adapting shelters and food strategies to the grizzly-dense alpine terrain

With nine survivalists left, the group settles deeper into the competition as growing pressure from local predators forces several contestants to rethink how they store food and secure their camps. The episode centers on trapping and food-security adjustments rather than any single dramatic event, with competitors experimenting to stay ahead of hungry wildlife. No one leaves this episode, but the constant predator pressure hinted at since the premiere becomes an increasingly defining feature of the season.

• Contestants adjust trapping and food-storage strategies as bear activity around camps increases
• The field holds steady at nine survivalists

The psychological weight of prolonged isolation takes center stage as several contestants openly struggle with missing their families back home. That emotional toll proves decisive for two competitors within days of each other, both of whom decide that being present for loved ones matters more than continuing. A third contestant leaves around the same stretch after a worsening physical decline, thinning the field considerably in a short span and dropping the group from nine to six.

Out this episode: Jordon Bell (day 19), Michelle Finn (day 21), Matt Corradino (day 22)

• Jordon Bell taps out on day 19, citing homesickness
• Michelle Finn taps out on day 21 after a starvation-related decline
• Matt Corradino taps out on day 22, also citing missing his family
• The field drops from nine to six survivalists in a single episode

With six survivalists remaining after the previous episode's wave of departures, the focus shifts toward hunting bigger game as small-game catches and fishing alone start to feel insufficient. One contestant sets his sights on a deer, a harvest that would provide a rare, fat-rich haul large enough to change his trajectory for the rest of the competition. No one leaves this episode, leaving the field steady at six heading into the next stretch.

• One contestant pursues a deer in hopes of a season-defining big-game harvest
• The field holds at six survivalists, the first quiet episode since the mid-season wave of exits

Down to six, the remaining survivalists focus on protecting and preserving what food they've gathered, smoking meat and fish to make it last through increasingly cold nights. That focus on food security gets interrupted when one contestant falls seriously ill, apparently after drinking contaminated water, and the resulting food poisoning proves severe enough that he can't continue. It's an early reminder that in this alpine terrain, clean water is every bit as hard-won as food.

Out this episode: Nate Weber (day 24)

• Nate Weber taps out on day 24 after suspected food poisoning from contaminated water
• Remaining survivalists lean on smoking and preservation techniques to stretch limited food supplies

As the group passes the one-month mark, winter starts closing in and the alpine terrain grows even less forgiving, with at least one contestant coming face to face with a grizzly bear close enough to ready his weapons. Fishing remains a lifeline for some: one survivor lands a large bull trout and smokes roughly 50 pounds of meat from it, while another has already lost around 50 pounds of body weight despite steady catches of his own. No one leaves this episode, but the encroaching winter signals a much harder back half of the season ahead.

• A contestant has a close call with a grizzly bear and readies his weapons in response
• One survivor lands a large bull trout and smokes about 50 pounds of meat from it
• Another survivor has lost roughly 50 pounds of body weight by around day 26 despite continued fishing success

With five survivalists remaining, grizzly bears continue shadowing camps and complicating food storage, forcing everyone to stay alert even when they aren't actively hunting. The physical cost of the competition catches up to one contestant in a serious way, as frostbite combines with weeks of inadequate nutrition to force a medical evacuation. It's the clearest sign yet that surviving Chilko Lake's grizzly-dense alpine terrain means managing the body as carefully as the wildlife around it.

Out this episode: Rose Anna Moore (day 37, medical)

• Rose Anna Moore is medically evacuated on day 37 after frostbite combined with malnutrition
• Grizzly bear activity continues to threaten camps and food caches
• The field narrows to four survivalists heading into the back half of the season

Down to a final four, the remaining survivalists settle into the grinding rhythm of late-season survival, rationing food carefully as Chilko Lake's terrain keeps testing them in new ways. No one taps out this episode, but the strain of weeks of calorie deficit and constant vigilance around wildlife is increasingly visible in all four competitors. It functions as a bridge episode, setting up the final stretch toward the season's eventual outcome.

• The competition narrows to its final four survivalists
• Chilko Lake's terrain and wildlife continue to pressure the remaining competitors

With four survivalists left, the remaining competitors try new strategies to squeeze out more calories while others focus on simply conserving energy and holding their ground. The accumulated toll of the competition proves too much for one contestant, whose weight loss and low BMI reach a point where the show's medical team steps in and ends his run. That leaves just three survivalists to fight for the season's $500,000 prize.

Out this episode: Colter Barnes (day 67, medical)

• Colter Barnes is medically evacuated on day 67 after his weight loss and low BMI became too severe to continue
• Remaining survivalists test new strategies to increase their calorie intake
• The field narrows to three heading into the finale

In the season finale, the three remaining survivalists push their bodies through the most extreme stretch of the competition yet, facing new wildlife scares, injuries, and the physical wear of months in the wild. One is medically evacuated after her body weight drops to an unsafe level, and a second is pulled for starvation symptoms and heart palpitations just a day before the finish. That leaves one survivalist alone in the wilderness, who is revealed as the winner of Season 8 after 74 days, taking home the $500,000 prize.

Out this episode: Theresa Emmerich Kamper (day 69, medical), Biko Wright (day 73, medical)

• Theresa Emmerich Kamper is medically evacuated on day 69 after her BMI drops too low to safely continue
• Biko Wright is medically evacuated on day 73 for starvation symptoms and heart palpitations, one day before the finish
• Clay Hayes is declared the winner on day 74, becoming Season 8's champion and $500,000 prize winner

Rather than continuing the survival storyline, this bonus episode steps back to look at standout moments from across the show's history, revisiting memorable builds, big catches, and emotional breakthroughs from past seasons alongside reflections from Season 8's own cast. It functions as a retrospective and tribute rather than new competition footage, giving the just-finished season's contestants a chance to reflect on their toughest and proudest moments. No new survival events from Chilko Lake are depicted here.

• A retrospective clip-show special rather than new survival footage
• Features Season 8 cast reflections on their toughest and proudest moments