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  • Three Hikes, One Fall: Alone For Days Above Holt Lake

    Three Hikes, One Fall: Alone For Days Above Holt Lake
    2026/07/25
    Three Hikes, One Fall: Alone For Days Above Holt Lake

    The cold click of a snowmobile engine and a stripped seat on dry ground in July hinted that something had gone disastrously wrong; a man lay on granite above Holt Lake with a fractured right fibula splinted with fence wire, running the engine in timed intervals for days. How did three separate morning departures, one trailer, and a trail camera card become the fragile clues that decided whether he would be found alive?

    In this episode, we follow the recorded movements and the scene left behind to describe what happened that Sunday morning and the search that followed, asking how three hikes in one day led to a fall that trapped a man above an alpine lake.

    Person: Grant Romano
    Age: 32
    Location: Holt Lake, Montana high country
    Event: Three departures on Sunday morning recorded by trail camera
    Equipment: Faded-orange Polaris utility sled with roughly ten-gallon tank

    - Trail camera recorded three separate departures from the Romano gate at 5:22, 6:19, and 8:12 AM on Sunday.
    - First trip lasted 42 minutes; the truck returned at 6:04 AM confirming the heifer's location.
    - Second trip left at 6:19 AM and returned at 7:51 AM after Grant twisted his ankle on talus.
    - Third departure at 8:12 AM included a snowmobile trailer and aimed to reach the heifer by riding up the slope.
    - Grant broke his right fibula high on the talus, splinted it with fence wire, and ran the snowmobile engine in timed intervals for the better part of three days.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    17 分
  • Boots on the Mud: How She Walked Away from the Rising Tide

    Boots on the Mud: How She Walked Away from the Rising Tide
    2026/07/24
    Boots on the Mud: How She Walked Away from the Rising Tide

    Fog closed to the width of a body at 6:48 AM on June 14, 2019, and a woman’s boots were found upright and parallel in Crispin Reach tidal mud with no tracks for ten feet - yet a woman was later seen two miles from shore on a fractured leg. How did Nicole Phillips leave her boots and vanish into the white, and what happened during the six hours that followed?

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the discovery on the mudflat to the search that unfolded, following the timeline and the clues that shaped every decision. What choices did Nicole make in the fog, and how did routine plans and a handwritten tide chart factor into the search?

    Person: Nicole Phillips
    Date: June 14, 2019
    Location: Crispin Reach tidal flat
    Age: 52
    Last visible photo timestamp: 6:48 AM

    - Two rubber boots were found upright, toes pointing toward the channel, with no tracks for roughly ten feet in every radius.
    - Darlene Crawford, age 58, discovered the boots at 7:52 AM while on her morning bird route and called 911.
    - Nicole’s last camera image with a visible horizon was timestamped 6:48 AM; subsequent frames were white from fog.
    - The tide chart found in Nicole’s CR-V showed a circled low tide window and a note to “move to channel edge by seven forty-five.”
    - The Coast Guard helicopter launched from Coos Bay at 9:45 AM and searched south and seaward for nearly two hours before search direction was questioned.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    16 分
  • The Boot on the Road: How One Detail Saved a Woman's Life

    The Boot on the Road: How One Detail Saved a Woman's Life
    2026/07/23
    The Boot on the Road: How One Detail Saved a Woman's Life

    Fear and focus collide: a single size-eight hiking boot, upright on the road at 5:47 a.m., sparked a rescue that climbed 2,600 vertical feet and found a woman who survived more than 50 hours alone on a mountain - surviving on two granola bars and a wilderness medicine memory. How did that boot, and one meticulous decision, turn a search into a rescue?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from a delivery rider's discovery to the rescue teams in the Sable Range, tracing Connie Hicks's choices, gear, and the exact moment her plan failed. What detail changed everything and led rescuers to her?

    Person: Connie Hicks
    Age: 44
    Location: Sable Range (Sable Range, Sable Creek Road, Dunmore)
    Time found boot: 5:47 a.m. on Monday
    Duration alone: more than 50 hours

    - A delivery rider named Harvey Meyer found a single tan-gray hiking boot, size eight, upright on the centerline of Sable Creek Road at 5:47 a.m.
    - The boot's position sent search teams across 2,600 vertical feet of the Sable Range and initially to the wrong location for two hours.
    - Connie left a float plan with neighbor Bob Crane and intended to summit Sable Range at 11,200 feet via the North Couloir.
    - She reached Sable Range at approximately 6:42 a.m. Saturday and descended when her left foot broke through a snow apron around 5,800 feet.
    - Connie survived on two granola bars and a memory of a wilderness medicine course, using 93°F as the critical core temperature threshold in her decisions.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    18 分
  • impossible sealed dry-bag in snowfield. Question of how and whose

    impossible sealed dry-bag in snowfield. Question of how and whose
    2026/07/22
    impossible sealed dry-bag in snowfield. Question of how and whose

    A single orange dry-bag appeared in fresh, unbroken snow at 5:40 AM with no footprints, no tire tracks, and no vehicle nearby - as if the bag had grown out of the field overnight. Who lost that bag, how did it arrive in a sealed state, and why did it take four days for the search to catch up to what the evidence already showed?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Jessica Wallace’s solo canoe trip to the discovery by snowplow operator Ruth Nelson, laying out the decisions, observations, and missed signals that led search teams away from where she actually walked. How did a torn strap, a waterproof notebook, and a secured canoe become the clues that rewrote the search?

    Person: Jessica Wallace
    Date: April 14-19, 2017
    Location: Suttler River near Heron Flat and Elbow, Aldren County, Oregon
    Person: Ruth Nelson
    Status: Dry-bag found sealed in unbroken snow at 5:40 AM

    - The dry-bag was discovered at 5:40 AM on April 19, 2017 by snowplow operator Ruth Nelson.
    - Jessica launched at Heron Flat at approximately 9:00 AM on Friday, April 14, 2017.
    - The river rose eight inches overnight between Friday and pre-dawn Saturday; air temperature was 38°F and river water measured 41°F when the canoe flipped.
    - The orange dry-bag contained Jessica’s map, navigation notes, emergency beacon, and extra insulation layer and tore at a frayed strap as it entered the current.
    - Jessica tied the canoe to a tree above the flood line, took her waterproof notebook, and walked away from the river; the notebook contained observational notes, not a map.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    16 分
  • Trapped in the Silo: 11 Days, One Nail, Near-Impossible Escape

    Trapped in the Silo: 11 Days, One Nail, Near-Impossible Escape
    2026/07/22
    Trapped in the Silo: 11 Days, One Nail, Near-Impossible Escape

    Cold, dark, and trapped waist-deep in corn that behaves like concrete, Karen Russo survived eleven days with half a bottle of water, a three-inch slate nail, and nothing else to call time with-how did a single unnoticed tool and a scrap of ingenuity keep her alive? What choices bought her the hours she needed to pry open a draft that connected her to the outside?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from Karen signing the entry log at 6:47 PM to her eleven-day confinement, the improvised methods she used to survive, and the narrow margins that nearly cost her life-what did she do hour by hour to stretch water, find air, and measure days without a watch?

    Person: Karen Russo
    Date: February 26, 2011
    Location: Delacroix Grain, Silo Number Four, Farrow Flat, Nebraska
    Duration: Eleven days and fourteen hours
    Tool: three-inch slate nail

    - She signed the entry log at 6:47 PM and never signed out.
    - The crust formed roughly four feet below the silo surface with a twelve-foot hollow beneath.
    - She was buried to her waist with about eighteen inches of air above her face.
    - She had half a bottle of water (about eight ounces) and rationed it to less than a teaspoon per hour.
    - It took most of a night of prying with the slate nail to break through the auger shaft seam and let air move against her face.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    16 分
  • Trapped on a Granite Tooth: How She Survived 21 Frozen Hours

    Trapped on a Granite Tooth: How She Survived 21 Frozen Hours
    2026/07/22
    Trapped on a Granite Tooth: How She Survived 21 Frozen Hours

    Cold, wind and 11,200 feet of exposure turned a routine paragliding flight into a life-or-death endurance test; Sarah York survived 21 hours on a granite plateau with a fractured rib, a hyperextended knee, a half-full water bottle and no sleeping bag - how did she turn a paraglider into shelter and stay alive until morning?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline of Sarah York’s late-February flight from Copper Saddle and the decisions she made after landing on Dagger Shelf; we cover her injuries, the gear she had, and the improvised shelter she built - could a collapsed wing, paracord and an emergency bivy really be enough to survive a night at nearly 11,200 feet?

    Person: Sarah York
    Location: Dagger Shelf
    Date: late February (Saturday morning start at 9:52)
    Altitude: 11,200 feet
    Injuries: fractured rib, hyperextended left knee, cut on chin

    - Sarah launched from Copper Saddle at 9:52 a.m. and pushed her paraglider south into 11 mph winds.
    - Twenty-two minutes after launch a rotor hit her wing and she landed on Dagger Shelf, not falling off the plateau.
    - Dagger Shelf sits 400 feet above a permanent snowfield and measured air temperature was 9 degrees Fahrenheit with strong wind chill.
    - Her kit included three-quarters of a liter of water, two energy bars, a headlamp, a lighter, an emergency bivy sack, a small first-aid kit, and a phone at 63% battery.
    - She spent two hours rigging the collapsed wing with paracord to form a wind barrier, then sheltered in the bivy and rationed food while awaiting rescue until 7:22 the next morning.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    17 分
  • She Surfaced Alone: The Yellow Flag, The Missing Kayak

    She Surfaced Alone: The Yellow Flag, The Missing Kayak
    2026/07/22
    She Surfaced Alone: The Yellow Flag, The Missing Kayak

    Fear tightened around a single, stark image: a dry yellow dive flag coiled on the hood of a locked car parked for twenty-eight days while its owner vanished four miles offshore. A methodical freediver with a 51-meter personal best surfaced after a 41-meter dive to find her kayak gone and then spent a night on a rusted channel marker - how did she survive, and why did she not return home?

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the last confirmed message to weeks of silence, following the actions Sarah Becker took after surfacing and the investigative threads that followed. What choices and small facts-like a prepaid phone and a forty-second voicemail-made the case so difficult to read?

    Person: Sarah Becker
    Age: 38
    Location: Paxton Ledge, four nautical miles southwest of Pelican Spit
    Depth: 41 meters (ascent logged 4 minutes 12 seconds at 10:23)
    Water temperature: 61 degrees Fahrenheit

    - Sarah sent a text at 7:41 saying "Heading out to Paxton Ledge site. Good viz today," which was her last confirmed contact for six days.
    - Visibility that morning was roughly 25 meters following a three-day wind event.
    - The boat Kestrel Lady's propeller cut Sarah's tether at 41 meters, after which she completed a controlled ascent.
    - Sarah's Garmin logged a four-minute, twelve-second ascent ending at 10:23 a.m.
    - Her car remained parked in the same spot for 28 days with a dry, coiled yellow dive flag on the hood.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    17 分
  • Two Ski Poles, One Man: Surviving -29°F Alone in the Oxbow

    Two Ski Poles, One Man: Surviving -29°F Alone in the Oxbow
    2026/07/22
    Two Ski Poles, One Man: Surviving -29°F Alone in the Oxbow

    The cold bites in the first sentence: at 6:41 AM on December 14, 2019 the temperature was -29°F and two ski poles stood perfectly upright, grips skyward, in an empty trailhead - the only sign someone had been found his way back from 4.5 miles into a frozen corridor. How did a 62-year-old experienced skier end up fighting to be seen at the edge of a deadly oxbow with one ski broken and no tracks returning?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of discoveries from the Spur Nine trailhead through the Blacktail corridor to the Oxbow, presenting the physical evidence, timelines, and search-and-rescue response that frame the central question: what choices and injuries turned a routine night ski into a desperate bid to be found?

    Person: Michael York
    Date: December 14, 2019
    Location: Spur Nine trailhead / Blacktail corridor / Oxbow
    Temperature: -29°F at 6:41 AM
    Status: Found with two poles planted; one broken ski and single glove at Oxbow

    - Two ski poles were found standing upright, grips pointing skyward, spaced 18 inches apart in the Spur Nine parking lot.
    - One set of ski tracks led into the corridor from the trailhead with no tracks returning.
    - The corridor follows a groomed snowmobile path for 14 miles, with the Oxbow located roughly 4.5 miles in.
    - A broken ski with its binding sheared at the base and one end half-buried was found beside the Oxbow, along with a single glove.
    - Deputy Aaron Fitch arrived at 7:18 AM; search-and-rescue coordinator Lori Smith was activated at approximately 8:00 AM.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    17 分