The Crux True Survival Stories

In September 1983, Tami Oldham and her fiancé, Richard Sharp, set sail from Tahiti on what should have been a routine yacht delivery to San Diego. Weeks later, a hurricane they could not outrun found them in the open Pacific. Tami woke up injured, aboard a boat that barely resembled the one she had boarded, with one question that could not wait: where was Richard? What followed took more than a month, a navigation tool most of us have never used, and a decision at the very end that could have cost her everything. Julie and Kaycee tell the story and explain what a head injury like hers can mean

Content note: This episode includes the death of a loved one, a serious head injury, and a brief mention of suicidal thoughts. In the United States, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text.

Time Stamps - 
00:00 Podcast Intro 
00:30 Waking Up After Capsize
01:56 Content Warning 
03:01 Tahiti Departure And Crew
04:54 Hurricane Raymond Forms
08:44 Inside The Storm
11:15 Richard Missing Aftermath
13:02 Radios Fail Survival Plan
15:44 Improvised Mast And Course
17:36 Celestial Navigation Without Time
22:35 Daily Routine Food Water Wounds
25:07 Close Calls And Steering Trouble
27:02 Third Man Factor 
28:51 Land Signs 
31:37 Hilo Harbor And Rescue
34:17 Recovery And Life After
35:27 Legacy And Closing

Key References
United Press International, "A woman who spent 41 days alone in a..." (November 22, 1983).
Lou Bodenhemier, "A Survival Classic: Tami Oldham Ashcraft's 41 Days Alone at Sea," ExplorersWeb (May 20, 2025).
 Wikipedia, "Tami Oldham Ashcraft."
 Wikipedia, "1983 Pacific hurricane season," Hurricane Raymond section.
"Adrift: Surviving a hurricane at sea," interview with Tami Oldham Ashcraft, RNLI magazine (April 4, 2019).
Media kit for Red Sky in Mourning, Foggia+Associates Public Relations (about 2002).7
Kara Warner, "41 Days Stranded at Sea: The Harrowing, Heartbreaking Real-Life Story Behind New Movie 'Adrift,'" People (June 1, 2018).
Tim Schmit, "'Adrift' 1983 Hurricane (Raymond)," CIMSS Satellite Blog, University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 12, 2021).
Defense Health Agency, "Traumatic Brain Injury" (VA/DoD severity classification).
"Guardian Angels Or The 'Third Man Factor'?" NPR (September 13, 2009).
"Shackleton's Fourth Man," National Catholic Register.
Review of Red Sky in Mourning, Kirkus Reviews.
New Idea interview with Tami Oldham Ashcraft (August 27, 2018).14. 'Adrift' | Local author's book hits big screen," San Juan Journal.

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This episode includes AI-generated content.

In November 1934, 20-year-old artist and adventurer Everett Ruess disappeared into the remote canyons of southern Utah with two burros and a desire to explore some of the wildest country in the American West. He was never seen again.When searchers eventually retraced his route, what they discovered raised more questions than answers. And as the years passed, the mystery surrounding his disappearance only deepened. Did Everett fall victim to the unforgiving desert landscape? Did he encounter someone dangerous? Or was there something else behind his disappearance? In this episode of The Crux True Survival Stories: Disaster Strikes, Kaycee and Julie investigate one of the American West's most enduring mysteries—a disappearance that has puzzled investigators, historians, and adventurers for more than 90 years.

SOURCES & REFERENCES
BOOKS
David Roberts - Finding Everett Ruess
W.L. Rusho - Everett Ruess: A Vagabond for Beauty
W.L. Rusho - Wilderness Journals of Everett Ruess
W.L. Rusho - On Desert Trails with Everett Ruess
Scott Thybony - The Disappearances: Three Stories of Lost People in the American West
ARTICLES & REPORTING
John Upton Terrell - The Fate of Everett Ruess, Salt Lake Tribune (1935)
Bob Silbernagel - Efforts to Find Everett Ruess Proved More Difficult Than Anticipated, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (2023)
David Roberts - Solved: The Mystery of the Missing Artist, National Geographic Adventure (2009)
Jim Scott - Solving a Mysterious Disappearance, CU Boulder Coloradan (2009)
Howard Berkes - Mystery Endures: Remains Found Not Those of Artist, NPR (2009)
Nicole Cowdell - Legacy of the Lost: Exploring One of Utah's Most Enduring Mysteries, University of Utah (2018)
HISTORICAL RECORDS & ARCHIVES
Everett Ruess family correspondence and journals, compiled by W.L. Rusho
University of Utah Marriott Library - W.L. Rusho Collection
University of Colorado Boulder - Anthropological and DNA research (2009)
Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory - DNA reanalysis (2009)
Oakland Museum of California - Dorothea Lange portrait of Everett Ruess (1933)
Historical accounts of Clayton Porter, Addlin Lay, and Aneth Nez

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Use discount code CRUX to get 10% off tuition on a 2-day Wilderness First Aid course! 

This episode includes AI-generated content.

In the vast, frozen wilderness of Nunavut, Canada, even the most experienced hunters know that a routine trip can become dangerous in an instant.When Inuit hunter Ernie Etak headed out onto the Arctic tundra in December 2021, he couldn't have imagined the ordeal that lay ahead—or just how far he would be pushed to survive.In this episode of The Crux, Kaycee and Julie share Ernie's extraordinary true story and explore the traditional Inuit knowledge, survival instincts, and remarkable physiology that can mean the difference between life and death in one of the harshest environments on Earth.What happens when the human body reaches its limits? And what allows some people to survive when the odds seem impossible?Join us for a gripping story of survival in the Canadian Arctic.

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Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
Use discount code CRUX to get 10% off tuition on a 2-day Wilderness First Aid course! 

This episode includes AI-generated content.

On a clear July evening in 2025, a seasoned hunting guide scouting for mule deer in Utah's Uinta Mountains felt his side-by-side begin to tilt at zero miles an hour. Minutes later, he lay on a steep slope with a shattered leg, his satellite messenger, radio, and phone scattered somewhere in the darkening brush, and only one companion left. What followed was an arduous journey of cold creek crossings, yipping coyotes, and a light no bigger than a quarter. Jake Schmitt thought he understood his dog, but somewhere in the dark, Buddy started doing something Jake still can't explain.

Jake's GoFundMe Link - https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jake-rebuild-after-his-5mile-crawl-to-safety

References
FOX 13 News Utah, "Man crawls 11 hours to rescue himself after getting injured on Uinta Mountains," July 29–30, 2025. https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/northern-utah/man-crawls-11-hours-to-rescue-himself-after-getting-injured-on-uinta-mountains
KSL, "Ogden man crawls, drags self for 11 hours after side-by-side rollover in Uintas," July 31, 2025. https://ksltv.com/local-news/ogden-man-crawls-drags-self-for-11-hours-after-side-by-side-rollover-in-uintas/802952/
The Park Record, "Hunter crawls 11 hours to safety after a crash in the Uintas," Aug. 12, 2025. https://www.parkrecord.com/2025/08/12/hunter-crawls-11-hours-to-safety-after-a-crash-in-the-uintas/
Outdoor Life, "After Rolling His UTV, This Man Crawled 11 Hours Through the Mountains with Only His Dog to Guide Him," July 31, 2025. https://www.outdoorlife.com/survival/utah-hunter-crawls-mountains-with-dog/
WIVB News 4 Buffalo, "East Aurora native survives serious accident in Utah," July 30–31, 2025. https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/east-aurora-native-survives-serious-accident-in-utah/
The Salt Lake Tribune, "How a dog helped a Utah man survive an 11-hour night crawl through the Uintas," Aug. 10, 2025 https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2025/08/10/he-shattered-his-ankles-utv-crash/
Outside, "After Breaking Both Ankles, a Utah Man Crawled for Hours with His Dog Beside Him," Aug. 14, 2025. https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/hunter-crashed-utv-dog-helped-survive/
Mike Force Podcast, interview with Jake Schmitt, published around Aug. 4, 2025. https://youtu.be/Xu95PrMOoDM
Hushlife Podcast, interview with Jake Schmitt, early August 2025. https://youtu.be/kKLHd8GEUvg
Team Never Quit Podcast, "Jake Schmitt," around Oct. 1, 2025. https://teamneverquit.com/podcast/jake-schmitt/
GoFundMe, "Help Jake Rebuild After His 5-Mile Crawl to Safety," organized by Kaitlynn Cline. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jake-rebuild-after-his-5mile-crawl-to-safety

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Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
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Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
Use discount code CRUX to get 10% off tuition on a 2-day Wilderness First Aid course! 

This episode includes AI-generated content.

On May 24, 1998, a Canadian climber lost his footing on Denali's West Buttress and disappeared down the north face toward the Peters Glacier. Two National Park Service volunteer rangers were a hundred feet ahead of him. One of them radioed for permission to go down and look, got it, and started descending — and somewhere on that slope a decision was made that two separate federal investigations would spend the following year trying to explain. What happened next left one man clipped to a single ice screw in a storm, with no radio, waiting to find out whether anyone knew where he was. Thirteen days later, on the same stretch of ridge, it happened again.

00:00 Disaster Strikes Intro
00:41 Whiteout On The Ice
03:38 Denali Setup And Stakes
04:18 High Camp And Ranger Program
08:10 Gear Limits And Descent Plan
10:13 Burrito Brothers And The Thumb
13:41 Daniel Falls Off The Ridge
15:13 Radio Call And Rescue Choice
18:07 Unroped Descent Into Danger
24:22 Mike Disappears, Hurtado Waits
27:42 Rescue Team Rope By Rope
31:09 Bodies Packs And Missing Mike
34:34 Search Findings And Crampon Test
37:00 Rescue Fever And System Lessons
40:48 Aftermath; Another Fatal Fall
42:59 Scholarship And Farewell

REFERENCES
American Alpine Club, Accidents in North American Mountaineering, 1999 — "Fall on Ice/Snow, Unable to Self-Arrest, Weather: Alaska, Mount McKinley, West Buttress."
NIOSH / Alaska FACE Investigation 98AK012, "Volunteer Ranger Dies from Fall on Denali," June 1, 1999.
NIOSH / Alaska FACE Investigation 98AK016, "Assistant Mountaineering Guide Falls on Denali," June 22, 1999.
American Alpine Club, Accidents in North American Mountaineering, 1999 — "Fall on Snow, Unable to Self-Arrest, Descending Unroped, Weather: Alaska, Mount McKinley, West Buttress."
Porco, Peter. "Ridge Turns Killer." Anchorage Daily News, June 9, 1998.
Anchorage Daily News, contemporaneous search coverage, May–June 1998, archived at akfatal.net.
"Denali Claims Another Climber." Mountain Zone.
 "Climber's Body Found — Man Loved Adventure, Family, Friends." Seattle Times, June 15, 1998.
"From a charmed life to learning how to cope with losing a son." Post Independent, April 18, 2011.
Find a Grave memorial #28083415, Michael Adrian "Mike" Vanderbeek, Talkeetna Cemetery, Alaska.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.

Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcast
Email us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/
Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/
Use discount code CRUX to get 10% off tuition on a 2-day Wilderness First Aid course!