’Alone’ Season 11: Meet the Cast
The toughest show in reality TV is back. On June 13, Alone returns for its 11th season on the History Channel. The latest installment of the survival series will follow 10 people as they head to the northernmost location in the show’s history – the freezing, brutal landscape of Inuvik, Canada, north of the Arctic Circle.
Ten tough-as-nails contestants will fight to survive as long as they can in the wilderness with just their wits and minimal supplies. The person who lasts the longest walks away with $500,000. Which brave soul will join the elite ranks of Alone winners? Let’s meet the cast.
Peter Albano
Peter Albano is a 42-year-old librarian from British Columbia. “I don’t fit the mold of a typical survivalist,” he admits in a video interview with History Channel. But he has a long-standing interest in the outdoors and bushcraft that he thinks will serve him well on Alone. But will Peter be able to successfully apply the skills he learned from books in the wild?
Dusty Blake
Dusty Blake, 36, is a welder from Arkansas. He’s loved the outdoors since he was a child and is an avid hunter and fisherman. Dusty thinks his “hillbilliness” will give him an edge in the competition. “I’ve been a hunter ever since I could walk,” he says. “I killed my first deer when I was eight years old.” But is he prepared for the harsh conditions on Alone? “The Arctic Circle is a whole new environment,” he admits. “But I’ve always been a really quick learner. I don’t give up.”
Michela Carriere
Michela Carriere, 34, is a Cree-Metis adventure guide from Saskatchewan. She’s been nurturing her survival skills all her life. Michela was raised off the grid in the wilderness of the Saskatchewan River Delta, where she learned traditional skills such as trapping and healing from her parents.
“I’m doing this because I want to follow in the footsteps of my ancestors,” she says. “I’m excited to use all those skills I’ve grown up using my whole life.”
Timber Cleghorn
Timber Cleghorn is a 35-year-old humanitarian aid worker from Indiana. He was raised in an anti-government group that embraced off-the-grid living, and he grew up idolizing early American frontiersmen. As an adult, he’s lived overseas in numerous underdeveloped and conflict areas in Asia and the Middle East. By going on Alone, he hopes to both come home with money that could lead to a better life for his family and to leave a legacy that will inspire his two sons.
Cubby Hoover
Cubby Hoover, 33, is a bowyer and homesteader who grew up in Arkansas and now lives in Missouri. After bouncing between jobs as a young man, a friend’s battle with cancer inspired him to find a way to spend more time with his own family. He and his wife started homesteading and Cubby started a traditional archery company. His experience living off the land has given him “the mentality to do what it takes to overcome and adapt, to really thrive,” he says.
William Larkham Jr.
William Larkham Jr., 49, is a commercial fisherman from Labrador, Canada. He grew up in a small island community without running water or electricity. As a child, he was taught traditional skills of hunting, trapping, fishing, and foraging passed down from his Inuit ancestors.
“I’ve built up a lot of skills and knowledge just trying to survive,” he says.
Jake Messinger
Jake Messinger, 42, is a professional falconer from Idaho. As a child, he explored the Rocky Mountain wilderness with his father and grandfather. In his 20s, he worked as an instructor for a wilderness therapy program, where he taught the same kind of survival skills he’ll need to draw on during his Alone journey.
“I’ve never been in an environment where I couldn’t find food,” Jake says. “And I’ve never been in a situation where I could not make a fire.” But he’s also never faced a test like the one he’ll face on Alone.
Dub Paetz
Dub Paetz, 44, is a wilderness skills instructor from Michigan who has also worked as a fly fishing and waterfowl hunting guide in Idaho. He’s spent years honing his skills and has long dreamed of being on Alone. Now, he’s ready to test himself in the Arctic.
“Alone is the survival Olympics,” he says. “There’s no bigger, better, more kick*ss challenge. And I strongly believe I have everything it’s going to take to do this.”
Sarah Poynter
Sarah Poynter, 48, is a fishing lodge owner from Alaska. Her interest in wilderness survival and skills developed when she met her husband, whose life revolved around the outdoors. Eventually, they moved to a remote part of Alaska where they could raise their children amidst nature.
“Out my door, I face risks every day,” she says. That background could give her what she needs to outlast the competition in Alone Season 11.
Isaiah Tuck
Isaiah Tuck, 36, is a game warden from West Virginia. He’s passionate about the outdoors, as evidenced by his career as a West Virginia Natural Resources Police Officer. Isaiah is also a member of the Air National Guard, and he thinks his military training will help him succeed on Alone.
What’s motivating Isaiah to challenge himself to survive in the Arctic? Love for his family. “Taking care of my family is always priority No. 1,” he says. “If I could pull in $500,000, that would change my life.”
Alone Season 11 premieres Thursday, June 13 at 9 p.m. ET on History Channel.
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