Television’s most gruelling and true-to-life survival show Alone returns to History tonight with ten survivalists battling it out to see who can survive the longest in the wilds of the Canadian Arctic.

But who are the hardy souls set to brave the harsh conditions awaiting them at the edge of the Arctic Circle?

Each contestant will be kitted out with just ten hand-picked tools and enough camera gear to film their ordeal — then dumped and left to fend for themselves in the wilderness around Canada’s Great Slave Lake, the deepest lake in North America.

Once there, they will have to survive not only the brutal weather which Mother Nature throws at them but also wildlife which you wouldn’t want to come up against alone in the best of circumstances — from bears to moose and wolves.

Here’s who’s taking part, in order of their surnames:

Tim Backus

Tim, 55, is a professional hunting guide from Lubbock, TX, but after being born in Africa grew up in a string of overseas locations including Guam, Japan and Philippines.

He calls West Texas home in the summer, but in the winter guides hunts everywhere from New Mexico to Colorado and West Virginia.

His ten tools:

1. Bow and arrows
2. Sleeping bag
3. Ax
4. Knife
5. Fishing line and hooks
6. Saw
7. Ferro rod
8. Pot
9. Shovel
10. Paracord

Nathan Donnelly

Nathan, 39, is from Lopez Island, WA, and is a disaster preparedness instructor. He also owns and runs a business helping homesteaders be more at one with nature, coordinates the local youth conservation corps and teaches survival and nature awareness courses. He is also a traditional bowhunter and kayak fisherman.

His ten tools:

1. Sleeping bag
2. Pot
3. Knife
4. Fishing line and hooks
5. Pocket knife
6. Gill Net
7. Ax
8. Emergency ration
9. Paracord
10. Bow and arrows

Donny Dust

Donny is a 38-year-old primitive technology instructor from Monument, CO. He runs Paleo Tracks Survival, one of the leading wilderness survival schools in Colorado — with nearly two decades of experience under his belt, in locations as diverse as Southeast Asian jungles to deserts in the Middle East.

His ten tools:

1. Sleeping bag
2. Bow and arrows
3. Paracord
4. Saw
5. Pot
6. Emergency ration
7. Knife
8. Ferro rod
9. Fishing line and hooks
10. Ax

Jordan Jonas

Jordan, 35, works in construction in Lynchburg, VA. He was raised on a farm in Idaho before heading off to travel to various far-flung locations including Siberia — the ideal training ground for Alone Season 6 — where he learnt to fur trap.

Jordan is no stranger to injuries, including having had his ribs broken by reindeer while living with nomadic herders in the taiga. Let’s hope his body holds up in the Arctic!

His ten tools:

1. Paracord
2. Saw
3. Ax
4. Sleeping bag
5. Frying pan
6. Ferro rod
7. Fishing line and hooks
8. Bow and arrows
9. Trapping wire
10. Multitool

Barry Karcher

Barry, 39, is a self defense instructor from Fort Collins, CO. He has been hunting, fishing and trapping since he was just nine and is an expert in Krav Maga and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

His ten tools:

1. Sleeping bag
2. Ferro rod
3. Knife
4. Saw
5. Pot
6. Paracord
7. Trapping wire
8. Tarp
9. Bow and arrows
10. Fishing line and hooks

Ray Livingston

Ray is a 43-year-old Search and Rescue K9 Handler from Vancouver, WA. He majored in English and philosophy and worked as a police officer before moving into work in the transportation industry. He loves to hike and is an avid bowhunter and upland game bird hunter.

His ten tools:

1. Multitool
2. Saw
3. Ax
4. Sleeping bag
5. Pot
6. Ferro rod
7. Fishing line and hooks
8. Bow and arrows
9. Trapping wire
10. Knife

Brady Nicholls

Brady Nicholls is 36 and from San Antonio, TX. He is a Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) specialist and instructor for the US Air Force. He previously worked for the Anasazi Foundation, which helps troubled teens through an introduction to the outdoors.

His ten tools:

1. Ferro rod
2. Saw
3. Multitool
4. Ax
5. Pot
6. Sleeping bag
7. Trapping wire
8. Fishing line and hooks
9. Emergency ration
10. Emergency ration

Woniya Thibeault

Woniya, 42, is an ancestral skills teacher from Grass Valley, CA, and is an expert naturalist. She has also been an off-grid farmer and currently teaches others skills like hide tanning and wild foods harvesting through her business Buckskin Revolution.

She wants to prove what you can do when you approach survival from “a place of respect, connection, and interdependence”.

Her ten tools:

1. Sleeping bag
2. Pot
3. Ferro rod
4. Knife
5. Bow and arrows
6. Saw
7. Multitool
8. Fishing line and hooks
9. Paracord
10. Emergency ration

Nikki van Schyndel

Nikki, 44, is from Echo Bay, British Columbia, where she works as a wilderness guide, with more than 18 years of naturalist studies behind her. She lives off-grid in a log cabin after previously living on a deserted island for nearly two years.

Her ten tools:

1. Knife
2. Pot
3. Ax
4. Sleeping bag
5. Saw
6. Paracord
7. Bow and arrows
8. Fishing line and hooks
9. Ferro rod
10. Trapping wire

Michelle Wohlberg

Michelle, 31, is the youngest contestant in Alone Season 6. She is a homesteader from Mullingar, Saskatchewan, and as a result is no stranger to having to live a self-sufficient and sustainable lifestyle. She is currently moving into teaching survival and outdoor experiences, in a bid to share her ancestral knowledge with others.

Her ten tools:

1. Ax
2. Multitool
3. Folding saw
4. Sleeping bag
5. Pot
6. Fishing line and hooks
7. Trapping wire
8. Emergency ration
9. Ferro rod
10. Paracord

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu3kCZgrlSA

Alone airs Thursdays at 10/9c on History.

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