Collins Maps > Quotes

“Avalanche As if they weren’t suffering enough, on the morning of 29 October an avalanche suddenly cascaded down the steep rocky slopes above them and engulfed the fuselage as the survivors slept. They remained entombed in the tiny space for three days until they managed to poke a hole in the roof of the fuselage with a metal pole. By the time they got out, eight more people had died under the snow. Three more were to die in the following weeks. Hiking out After they had heard the radio news about the search being called off, many passengers knew that they would have to get themselves out of the mountains if they were to survive. The avalanche expressed that fact even more plainly. During the flight they had heard the co-pilot announce that they had passed Curicó. That meant that the Chilean countryside ought to be just a few kilometres away to the west. Probably just over the high peak they were on. Several survivors made brief scouting missions, but their weakened state and the altitude combined to make it gruelling work. There was no way that all of them would be able to walk over and out of the mountains.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“knowledge of the environment helped her: she just walked calmly by the creatures, confident that they generally do not attack humans. The stream supplied her with ample clean water and a natural path through the dense rainforest. But it gave her no real food. The only sustenance she had was some candy she had found scattered by the wreckage. She also had several open lacerations which were vulnerable to parasites.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“and returned to eat and rest. They must have been astonished to see a bedraggled and exhausted young girl in a torn mini-skirt and one sandal sitting in their hut.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“knowledge of the environment helped her: she just walked calmly by the creatures, confident that they generally do not attack humans. The stream supplied her with ample clean water and a natural path through the dense rainforest. But it gave her no real food. The only sustenance she had was some candy she had found scattered by the wreckage. She also had several open lacerations which were vulnerable to parasites. After a few days, Juliane became aware of an unusual sensation in one of the cuts on her arm. It felt a bit like an infection, but it became increasingly irritating, as if there was something in the wound. When she looked she discovered that a fly had laid its eggs in the hole in her arm. They had hatched and now maggots were writhing within her flesh. Terrified that she would lose her arm, there was little she could do without proper medical attention. As each day passed she became weaker and more vulnerable. Was she right to have followed her father’s advice? What if there were no human settlements for hundreds of miles? Maybe she should have waited to be rescued. But then, on the tenth day, she stumbled out of the jungle and almost tripped over a canoe. There was a shelter beside it, and there she waited. A few hours later, the lumberjacks who lived in the shelter finished their day’s work”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“Power levels were dropped so low that even voice communications were difficult. Removing carbon dioxide from the air was another serious problem. Lithium hydroxide normally did the job but there wasn’t enough of it. The only additional supply they had was in the Command Module, and its canisters were cube-shaped whereas the Lunar Module’s sockets were cylindrical. It looked like the men would suffocate before they made it back. In one of the most inspired brainstorming sessions of all time, engineers on the ground got out all the kit that the crew would have available. They then improvised a ‘mailbox’ that would join the two incompatible connections and draw the air through. The air was becoming more poisonous with every breath as the astronauts followed the meticulous radio instructions to build the Heath Robinson repair. Amazingly, it worked. They would have enough clean air. But they weren’t out of the woods yet. They needed to re-enter the atmosphere in the Command Module, but it had been totally shut down to preserve its power. Would it start up again? Its systems hadn’t been designed to do this. Again, engineers and crew on the ground had to think on their feet if their friends were to live. They invented an entirely new protocol that would power the ship back up with the limited power supply and time available without blowing the system. They also feared that condensation in the unpowered and freezing cold Command Module might damage electrical systems when it was reactivated. It booted up first time. Back to Earth with a splash With Apollo 13 nearing Earth, the crew jettisoned the Service Module and photographed the damage for later analysis. Then they jettisoned the redundant Lunar Module, leaving them sitting tight in the Command Module Odyssey as they plunged into the atmosphere.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“in that direction towered hundreds of metres above them. Climbing it would sap their energy and expose them to great risks. The trekking team therefore decided to start out east in the hope that the valley that they were in would eventually veer round. Shortly after starting out, the trio found the tail section of the plane, which was still largely intact. It contained luggage with extra clothing, cigarettes and even some snacks. They spent their first night in the tail in relative comfort. But the following night they had to sleep out in the open, fully exposed to the harsh cold. They very nearly froze to death. The valley showed no sign of turning in a convenient direction and so the three men returned the next day to the tail with the plan of salvaging some large batteries they had found and using them to power the radio transmitter in the fuselage.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“They didn’t know it at the time, but they would be stranded in this barren landscape for more than two months. Lost in a sea of white The plane was white. The area it had crashed in was a vast, remote, snow covered mountain wasteland. Its last position wasn’t known to any accuracy. Despite search parties from three countries flying over the region, the odds of them finding the survivors were very slim. The authorities had to assume the worst. Even if anyone had survived, the simple fact was that after so long in such an environment, they would have perished soon afterwards. The main search was called off after eight days. Survivors waiting to be rescued. The cruellest twist was that the survivors heard this news on a small transistor radio, which they had salvaged from the plane. Remarkably, though, one of the men managed to turn this disappointment into a source of hope:”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“Apollo 13 was launched on 11 April 1970. It was to become the third manned spacecraft to land on the Moon, with a mission to explore formations near the 80 km (50 mile) wide Fra Mauro crater. The flight was commanded by James A. Lovell with John L. ‘Jack’ Swigert as Command Module pilot and Fred W. Haise as Lunar Module pilot. There was a small problem on takeoff when an engine shut down two minutes early during the second stage boost. But four other engines burned longer to compensate, and the craft reached orbit successfully. Then, on 14 April 1970, nearly sixty hours into the mission, the astronauts were 321,860 km (199,995 miles) from Earth when they heard a loud bang.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“One of the aeroplane seats that Norman found upon his return to the mountain. Norman couldn’t bring himself to say that his father was dead. A few minutes later he was sitting in front of a stove sipping hot chocolate. A little after that he was in hospital. Doctors stitched a savage gash in his chin, the punctures in his cheeks and put a cast on his broken hand. Norman drank a chocolate milkshake.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“he heard a voice saying ‘GO’. He crawled to a tree and snapped off a couple of limbs to make improvised ice axes and led Sandra out from under the wing. They stepped and slid down the icy slope an inch at a time. Norman kicked holes with the toes of his trainers and dug the stick in as best he could. Sandra followed behind, her feet half on the snow, half on Norman’s shoulders, her arm still hanging uselessly. The slope slanted across as well as down, drawing them towards an even steeper and icier funnel section of the gulley. Norman tried to keep away from this lethal chute. He looked back up the mountain. They had only gone 9 m (30 ft). They would never make it at this pace. ‘We need to go faster.’ And he turned round to encourage Sandra, only to see her slipping into the insane drop of the funnel. Her hand, her arm, her hip and then her whole body were gone. Norman pushed himself in after her. Momentum took them right across the funnel and Norman caught her as they clattered into jagged rocks on the far side. Bone smashed onto stone as they scrabbled furiously with sticks, fingers, feet – anything to get a grip. Bouncing like a pinball between the boulders they finally came to a stop. Norman’s knuckles were shredded to the bone. But he was too cold to feel any pain. Sandra moaned and started talking about God. There was nothing to do but inch on down the endless chute.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“The long descent Norman came round gasping. Trapped by his seatbelt, he was unable to breathe. Chest heaving he unclipped his buckle and looked around for his dad. No sign. But he could see the pilot ahead of him, strangely slumped in the snow. Norman looked down. The mountain simply fell away below him. It was sheer ice and snow and then swirling cloud and roaring snow. One slip and you could fall forever. He inched his way across the slope, digging his bare fingers into the ice for grip. His trainers squeaked against the snow. Then a piece of wreckage skittered away from him down the impossible slope. He scrabbled the rest of the way on his belly. When he reached the pilot he saw the man’s head was smashed open, his nose torn off and his brains were spilling from the back of his skull. He yelled for his dad.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“the craft was already within the Moon’s gravitational sphere of influence making it harder to ‘reverse’. The engine could also have been damaged in the explosion and restarting might cause an even worse disaster. So Mission Control opted for a ‘free return’, essentially using the Moon’s gravity to hitch a ride and slingshot them back towards Earth. First, Apollo 13 needed to be realigned; it had left its initial free return trajectory earlier in the mission as it lined up for its planned lunar landing. Using a small burn of the Lunar Module’s descent propulsion system, the crew got the spacecraft back on track for its return journey. Now they started their nerve-shredding journey round the dark side of the Moon. It was a trip that would demand incredible ingenuity under extreme pressure from the crew, flight controllers, and ground crew if the men were to make it back alive. More problems The Lunar Module ‘lifeboat’ only had enough battery power to sustain two people for two days, not three people for the four days it would take the men to return to Earth. The life support and communication systems had to be powered down to the lowest levels possible. Everything that wasn’t essential was turned off. The drama was being shown on TV but no more live broadcasts were made.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“rations. That meant that one man must go back, leaving a greater share of food for the other two. Vizintín headed back to the crash site, leaving Parrado and Canessa to hike on towards a distant shape that might, just might, be the start of a descending valley. Vizintín improvised a sledge and descended the mountain that had taken them three agonizing days to climb in just one hour. Five days of nothingness Parrado and Canessa walked through the mountains for five more days. The indistinct but promising shape they had seen in the distance got closer. And, to their unspeakable relief, became a narrow valley. A river, the Rio Azufre, trickled at the base of its cradling slopes. They followed the river down, their hopes swelling with its waters. They dropped out of the snowline. They saw sparse signs of human presence: the blackened stones of an old campfire, the flattened earth of a path. Finally, nine days after setting out, they passed cows.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“It was Christmas Eve in 1971 and more than anything in the world, 17-year-old Juliane Köpcke was looking forward to seeing her father. She was travelling with her mother Maria, an ornithologist. The flight in the Lockheed Electra turboprop would take less than an hour. It would leave Lima and cross the huge wilderness of the Reserva Comunal El Sira before touching down in Pucallpa in the Amazonian rainforest where her parents ran a research station in the jungle studying wildlife. The airline, LANSA, didn’t have the best safety reputation: it had recently lost two aircraft in crashes. The weather forecast was not good. But the family desperately wanted to be together for Christmas, so they stepped on board. For the first twenty-five minutes everything was fine. Then the plane flew into heavy clouds and started shaking. Juliane’s mother was very nervous.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“Survivors in the wrecked fuselage after rescuers reached them. The group then decided on a new plan: a few of the fittest men would set out on an expedition to get help. They would be allocated a large ration of food and the warmest clothes, and would be excused other group duties in order to build up their strength for the trek. ‘... they would have to get themselves out of the mountains if they were to survive.’ The group chose Nando Parrado, a business student, Roberto Canessa, one of the two medical students and Antonio Vizintín to make the journey. Canessa had the clearest idea of the trials they would face and he insisted that they wait as long as possible to let the warmer weather of spring get at least a foothold in the mountains. In the end they waited almost seven weeks before setting off. The reality of their situation Although their ultimate goal was Chile in the west, the mountain that lay”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“The enormous heat of re-entry ionized the air around the capsule causing a total communications blackout. For four and a half minutes the world held its breath. Were the men all right? Had the heat shield been damaged in the explosion? Was the craft now disintegrating in the upper atmosphere? There must have been a few whoops of joy in Mission Control when the radio finally sparked back into life. Odyssey splashed down in the Pacific Ocean southeast of American Samoa and just 6.5 km (4 miles) from the recovery ship, USS Iwo Jima. The crew were generally in good shape. And they were home.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“They rested by a tree at the base of a rock wall. Night was only a couple of hours away and they were still thousands of feet above the meadow. Norman didn’t know how they were going to get down. He turned to check on Sandra and suddenly she was gone, tumbling into the icy funnel. ‘An insatiable spirit, he was crazy for the storm. And it saved my life.’ Norman Ollestad, of his father. From Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad. At first he cursed himself for not staying close to her. Then he ate some snow to pacify his savage thirst and kept going down. There was blood on the snow. Lots of it. So much he could follow it like a trail, right down the throat of the funnel. The blood smear ended at a tree. Norman called out. Nothing. He moved past the tree and saw blood again. His chest felt empty. He struggled towards a tree at the edge of the gully and threw his arms around it. He needed to hold something, any living thing.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“The explosion At first the crew thought a meteoroid had hit them. As well as the noise of an explosion, the electrics were going haywire and the attitude control thrusters had fired. In fact, a short circuit had ignited some insulation in the Number 2 oxygen tank of the Service Module. The Service Module provided life support, power and other systems to the Command Module, which held the astronauts as they travelled to and from lunar orbit. The Lunar Module was a separate, though connected, craft that would be used to ferry the men to the lunar surface and back. The fire caused a surge in pressure that ruptured the tank, flooding the fuel cell bay with gaseous oxygen. This surge blew the bolts holding on the outer panel, which tore off free and spun into space, damaging a communications antenna. Contact with Earth was lost for 1.8 seconds, until the system automatically switched to another antenna. The shock also ruptured a line from the Number 1 oxygen tank. Two hours later all of the Service Module’s oxygen supply had leaked into the void. As the Command Module’s fuel cells used oxygen with hydrogen to generate electricity, it could now only run on battery power. The crew had no option but to shut down the Command Module completely and move into the Lunar Module. They would then use this as a ‘lifeboat’ for the journey back to Earth before rejoining the Command Module for re-entry. As for the mission, the Service Module was so badly damaged that a safe return from a lunar landing was impossible. These men would not be landing on the Moon. 320,000 km from home The Flight Director immediately aborted the mission. Now he just had to get the men home. The quickest way would be a Direct Abort trajectory, using the Service Module engine to essentially reverse the craft. But it was too late:”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“Twenty-seven years later It wasn’t until 2006 that Norman had the courage to look up the National Transportation Safety Board’s Accident Report for the crash and read the transcription of the pilot’s radio conversation with air traffic control. They had been doomed almost from takeoff. The pilot was using an underpowered plane with insufficient instruments on a rough day. He didn’t get a weather briefing or file a flight plan. He shouldn’t have taken off let alone headed into the storm. Thirty seconds into the flight he seemed lost and he was warned three times by air traffic control not to continue flying as he was. Big Bear airport was at an altitude of 2,100 m (7,000 ft) and was unmanned. Even with the right instruments and a modern plane it would have been all but impossible to land that day. Norman also went back up to the mountain to where Sandra had fallen. He paid his respects and continued up to the site of the crash. He was surprised, but even from that high vantage point he couldn’t see the meadow where he had been rescued. The big ridge blocked it out. So how had he known where to head for that day? Had he sensed the most likely place to find another human being? Was he lucky? Or maybe, just maybe, someone was looking out for him. This story is a brief retelling of the events in Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad, published by HarperPress. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd © 2009 Norman Ollestad.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“of the tiny aircraft and helped the third passenger aboard, his girlfriend Sandra, 30. The plane taxied and sped down the runway. As it rose into the blue California sun, Norman felt a surge of excitement. But as they banked east over Venice Beach, it was clear there was a storm ahead. In front of them a thick blanket of grey cloud was smothering the San Bernardino Mountains. Only the very tips of their 3,000 m (10,000 ft) peaks showed above the gloom. Norman Senior asked the pilot if it was okay to fly in that weather. The pilot reassured them: it was just a thirty-minute hop. They’d stay low and pop through the mountains to Big Bear before they knew it. Norman wondered if he’d be able to see the slope he’d won the championship on when they wheeled round Mount Baldy. His dad nodded and sat back to read the paper and whistle a Willie Nelson tune. Up front, Norman was savouring every moment. He stretched up to see over the plane’s dashboard and listened to the air traffic chatter on his headphones. As the foothills rose below them, he heard Burbank control pass their plane on to Pomona Control. The pilot told Pomona he wanted to stay below 2,300 m (7,500 ft) because of low freezing levels. Then a private plane radioed a warning against flying into the Big Bear area without decent instruments. Suddenly, the sun went out. The greyness was all around them, as thick as soup. They had pierced the storm. The plane shook and lurched. A tree seemed to flit by in the mist, its spiky fingers lunging at the window. But that couldn’t be, not up here. Then there really was a branch outside and with a sickening yawn, time slowed down and the horror unfurled. Norman instinctively curled into a ball. A wing clipped into a tree, tumbling the plane round, up, down, over and round. The spinning only stopped when they slammed into the rugged north face of Ontario Peak. The plane was instantly smashed into debris and the passengers hurled across an icy gully. And there they lay, sprawled amid the wreckage, 75 m (250 ft) from the top of the 2,650 m (8,693 ft) high mountain and perched on a 45-degree ice slope in the heartless storm.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“A woman’s voice came wailing on the wind. Norman looked up and spotted Sandra high up on an even steeper funnel of snow and ice. She was crying: ‘Your father is dead. What are we going to do?’ One of her shoulders was hanging weirdly. There was a bloody wound on her forehead, matted with hair. Then he saw his dad, still in his seat but slumped awkwardly forward. Norman turned around on the steep slope and inched over towards him, sneakers pathetically trying to hold an edge. He slipped and almost plummeted like a bobsleigh down the mountain. He caught a hold. Then he started crawling back up. It took him thirty minutes to climb 6 m (20 ft). His dad was doubled over. ‘DAD!’ No response. Snow was falling on his father’s curly hair. Above him, Sandra sounded delirious. By the time he was four, Norman had skied every black run at Mammoth. On his first birthday, his dad had him strapped to his back in a canvas papoose and took him surfing. Reckless, perhaps, but it had given the boy an indomitable spirit. Eleven-year-old Norman hugged his dad for the last time then tracked back across the slope to see what he could salvage from the wreckage. There were no ice axes or tools, but he did find a rug. He took it and scrabbled back to Sandra. She couldn’t move. Somehow he got her under the ragged remains of the plane’s wing and they wrapped themselves in the rug and fell into an exhausted sleep. Norman was woken around noon by a helicopter. He leapt up, trying to catch the crew’s attention. They came very, very close but somehow didn’t see him. They were going to have to get off this mountain themselves. A brief lull in the storm gave them a sudden view. The slope continued beneath their feet, sickeningly sheer, for hundreds of feet. Then lower down there were woods and the gully levelled a little before a massive ridgeline rose again. Beyond that lay a flatter meadow of snow and, at the edge of the world, a cabin. Sandra wanted to stay put. She was ranting about waiting for the rescuers. For a moment Norman nearly lay down beside her and drifted off to sleep. The”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“Out of luck Even this bold idea failed to work. At first the batteries were too heavy for the trio to carry. Then when they brought the radio from the crash site to the tail, they found that the electrical systems were incompatible: the plane used AC, the batteries supplied DC. Sewing for survival It was now apparent that the only way out was to climb over the mountains to the west. They also realized that unless they found a way to survive the freezing nights, they would die attempting the journey. So the survivors came up with an ingenious solution. They tore out large sections of fabric from clothing, gathered padding from the plane’s upholstery and got to work with a needle and thread from an emergency pack. Eventually they created a passable sleeping bag. It would fit three men inside, but would carry the lives of all sixteen of the remaining survivors. Hiking with hope On 12 December 1972, Parrado, Canessa and Vizintín set out to climb the mountain to the west. It was two months since the crash. As they climbed over the first peak their bodies struggled in the thinning oxygen. It was savagely cold at night, but the homemade sleeping bag kept them alive. After three days of trekking they met with a major disappointment. Cresting the shoulder of the mountain they expected to see the green countryside of Chile. Instead there was a sea of snow-bound peaks stretching out to the horizon. They were deeper in the mountains than they thought. They had tens of kilometres of high altitude hiking still to go. After the initial rush of despair the men again found hope, and through that, a positive plan of action. They had further to go, so they must be stricter with their”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“Calmer again, he looked out to see he was sandwiched below the cloud and above the fog. There was no way the helicopter would see him here. The cabin was nearer, but he was still too far above it and night was getting closer. He had to keep going. He plucked another couple of limbs from a tree. The pine scent thrilled his senses. He was alive. Norman half walked, half skidded down the slope until eventually it began to widen and the gradient relaxed. He found Sandra a little further down, tall spruces surrounding the patch of snow where she lay. Norman’s seat from the plane was just above her. Her eyes were open but she was stiff and dead. He covered her body with twigs then moved on. Now that the slope was shallow enough for him to control his descent, he slid on his bottom down the apron for at least 300 m (1,000 ft). He made his way down into a narrow and twisted gulch in front of the huge ridge he had seen earlier. Carefully he avoided the ice-covered stream that snaked below him. Get wet, you get hypothermia, you die.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“Norman slid down a 30 cm (12 inches) wide bench of snow beside the creek on his hip until he reached a rock bowl. At the far side, the stream emptied over an icy waterfall on to sharp rocks 15 m (50 ft) below. Somehow he used cracks to worm his way down from rocky crease to icy blister. The slope wasn’t steep here, but Norman had to traverse giant shale boulders. His stomach was chewing itself and exhaustion tore at him like an animal. He staggered woozily on until looked up and saw the meadow of snow 180 m (600 ft) down slope. But the mountain still wasn’t done with him. Now the enemy was a snarling mass of buckthorn, which lurked below a thin layer of snow. He dropped into it and stuck deep in the well formed by the jagged branches, unable to climb out. A plane passed high above. He yelled and waved. It circled. It had seen him. No. It sailed over the massive ridgeline. ‘I never gave up. My dad taught me to never give up.’ From Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad. With the last ounces of his strength, Norman scrabbled and slithered out of the nest of buckthorn. With a flush of euphoria he found he had made it to the oasis of the snow meadow. It was tempting to sit down and celebrate, but he knew he might never get up again. He had to push on. But how would he get out? The vines wove a dense forest on the other side of the meadow. Then, he found some footprints. They were fresh. Norman followed them. After a few minutes, he realized the boot tracks made a circle. Was he delirious? Panic flooded his system. Then: ‘Hello! Anybody there?’ Norman screamed his lungs out. A teenage boy and his dog appeared out of the thickening gloom. ‘You from the crash?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Anyone else?”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“A memorial on the crash site. Behind the memorial is the mountain that Parrado and Canessa climbed for the final push to reach rescue. That evening, as Parrado gathered firewood, Canessa looked up and saw a man on a horse on the other side of the river. Parrado dropped his sticks and, although he was utterly exhausted, he galloped down to the water’s edge. The world knew first For the fourteen people still at the crash site it was the most joyous radio broadcast they ever heard: the national news announced that Parrado and Canessa had successfully found help and rescue teams were on their way. Parrado guided two helicopters back to the site and by the morning of 23 December 1972 the fourteen remaining passengers of Flight 571 had been plucked from the mountain.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“They dressed her injuries and insect bites as best they could and the next morning they took her downstream in their canoe. It took seven hours to reach a lumber station in Tournavista, and from there Juliane was airlifted to a hospital in Pucallpa. Her father was waiting for her. And after… Juliane returned to Germany to recuperate and continue her studies. In 1987, she earned a PhD degree in zoology, like her parents. She went on to specialize in mammalogy, studying bats in Munich, Germany.”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories

“It was 7 a.m. on 19 February 1979 and sunny in Santa Monica. The three passengers who followed their pilot into the little Cessna 172 were in high spirits, and not just because of the weather. The day before, Norman Ollestad, just eleven years old, had won Southern California Slalom Skiing Championship. His father, Norman Senior, 43, was an incredibly driven and charismatic man who encouraged his son to go right to the edge in life – and then see what was on the other side. Ollestad Senior had driven his son back home to the coast for hockey practice the same evening as his slalom triumph. And now, the day after, he had chartered the plane and pilot to return to the resort of Big Bear so his son could collect his trophy and get in a little extra ski training. The pilot climbed into his seat and put on his headphones. Norman Jnr was stepping into the back seat when his dad pointed up front. Norman couldn’t believe it – he was going to sit next to the pilot! His dad slipped into the back”
― Collins Maps, Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World’s Most Extreme Survival Stories