For decades, cabins around Maine's North Pond were burgled by someone who took food, books, and propane — and fixed the doors on his way out. Locals called him the North Pond Hermit, and plenty of them doubted he existed at all. Then, one April night in 2013, a silent alarm at a summer camp brought a game warden face to face with a man carrying stolen groceries and a secret almost too big to believe. What he told police that night launched one of the strangest criminal cases in Maine's history — and left an entire state arguing over what, exactly, he was guilty of. Julie and Kaycee unravel how he pulled it off, what it cost the people around that pond, and the one question the courts never fully answered.

00:44 Show Intro And Setup

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Most people think the greatest danger on Mount Everest is the mountain itself.

But beginning in 2018, investigators uncovered an alleged $20 million Everest helicopter rescue fraud that exploited trekkers through unnecessary evacuations, forged medical records, and fraudulent insurance claims. By 2026, Nepal's Central Investigation Bureau had filed sweeping criminal charges, exposing one of the biggest scandals in Everest's history.

In this episode of Disaster Strikes, Kaycee McIntosh and Julie Henningsen examine how the scheme allegedly operated, why altitude makes trekkers especially vulnerable to manipulation, and how guides, helicopter companies, hospitals, and doctors became caught up in an investigation that shook Nepal's mountaineering industry.

The hosts also separate verified facts from sensational headlines, including what investigators actually concluded about the widely reported poisoning allegations.

Whether you're planning an Everest Base Camp trek, dreaming of climbing Mount Everest, or simply fascinated by survival stories, this episode explains how the fraud unfolded, why it damaged trust throughout the Himalayas, and what every trekker should know before accepting a helicopter evacuation.

00:00 Everest Betrayal Teaser
01:15 Everest Trek vs. Summit Climb
04:13 The True Cost of Mount Everest
08:52 Sherpas, Guides, and Trust at Altitude
15:00 How Everest Guides Are Trained
18:11 The Helicopter Rescue Fraud Exposed
22:48 What Investigators Found About Poisoning Claims
27:29 Following the Money
31:59 Fallout Across Nepal's Everest Industry
35:13 Altitude Sickness & Trekking Safety Tips
40:50 Closing Thoughts

Poisoning Allegations: The Nepal Police Central Investigation Bureau's 2026 investigation found no evidence that systematic poisoning was part of the helicopter rescue fraud. While isolated references to baking soda appear in the charge sheet, investigators did not conclude that poisoning was used as a widespread tactic. Media reports describing rat droppings or uncooked chicken were not included as confirmed findings in the formal 748-page charge sheet reviewed by Climbing Magazine. This episode distinguishes verified investigative findings from unconfirmed claims.

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Commercial diver Scott Thompson is harvesting sea urchins off the California coast when a split-second accident leaves him overboard in the Pacific Ocean. With his boat disappearing into the distance, no radio, and no immediate rescue coming, he must make a series of impossible decisions to stay alive in cold water.

In this episode, we break down the chain of events that led to the accident, the science of cold-water survival, and the lessons every boater and outdoor adventurer can learn from Scott's remarkable ordeal.

00:45 – Why this survival story is different
01:07 – A routine dive turns into disaster
02:57 – Meet commercial diver Scott Thompson
04:37 – The trip before everything changed
05:54 – Working the waters off California
08:15 – The chain of mistakes begins
09:10 – The kill switch that could have changed everything
11:14 – Scott realizes he's overboard
13:49 – Cold-water survival: How much time is left?
15:21 – Choosing where to swim
17:34 – Five hours alone in the Pacific Ocean
19:28 – An unexpected visitor in the darkness
21:09 – What cold water does to the human body
22:37 – Hope begins to fade
24:08 – A lifeline appears
25:56 – Reaching safety isn't easy
28:23 – Hypothermia and the danger of afterdrop
29:40 – The big red button debate
32:10 – The rescue finally arrives
34:06 – Coast Guard rescue and medical care
38:36 – What happened to the missing boat?
40:08 – The survival lessons that could save your life

References

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Danish explorer Peter Freuchen and his family huddled in a Greenland cave to escape a brutal blizzard in the eatly 1900's. The temperature was thirty degrees below zero. They weren't alone—a polar bear had also sought shelter from the storm. What happened next, according to Freuchen's own account, reveals a moment of pure survival. But the real survival story—the one that actually kept them alive—is nothing like what made Freuchen famous.

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In late December 1969, five accomplished young mountaineers set out to make history on Glacier National Park's highest peak—a 4,000-foot wall of rock and ice that had never been climbed in winter. They were skilled, prepared, and determined. When they failed to return, a desperate search began in brutal conditions, with windchills plunging to minus forty-four degrees. What searchers eventually found would mark the worst mountaineering disaster in Glacier's history—and leave questions that linger to this day. This is the story of the Mount Cleveland Five, and the families, rescuers, and fellow climbers whose lives were forever changed.

00:39 Disaster Strikes Intro

01:21 Body Bags Ominous Cold Open

03:03 Meet The Mount Cleveland Five

07:32 Why Cleveland North Face

09:17 Brother Sits It Out

10:12 Ranger Warning At St Mary

12:25 Crossing Waterton Lake

15:30 Silence Then Missing

17:11 Search Begins Base Camp Found

18:09 Avalanche Evidence And Photos

20:48 Search Called Off

22:37 Spring Thaw Recovery

26:25 Aftermath Burials Memorials

28:51 Did They Summit Mystery

31:20 Jean Kler Funeral Courage

32:53 Legacy Closure And Safety

34:51 Final Thoughts And Resources

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Professional river guide and Eagle Scout Gabriel Vaughn knows Oregon's Illinois River better than most people ever will. But after a disagreement just above the infamous Green Wall rapid, he makes an unexpected decision that leaves him completely alone in the rugged Kalmiopsis Wilderness.

With winter closing in, no hiking gear, and miles of unforgiving terrain ahead, Vaughn is forced to rely on his wilderness training as rescuers race against time through one of the most challenging search environments in the Pacific Northwest. But one question remains: what happened on that raft that made walking into the wilderness seem like the better choice?

00:00 Intro

Primary Sources — Official

Primary Sources — Reporting

River & Terrain

Medical & Safety

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Nerds determine who is the Asshole in their weekly, live AITA episode!

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On October 15, 2022, four college wrestlers hiked into Wyoming's Shoshone National Forest to hunt for shed antlers. They never saw the grizzly coming. When the bear attacked, one teammate made a split-second decision that would later earn him North America's highest civilian honor for heroism—and leave both young men fighting for their lives on a remote mountainside. With a broken arm and hundreds of stitches between them, getting off that mountain would take everything they had, and everyone they came with. This is a story about what happens when training, instinct, and brotherhood collide with the raw power of the wild.

00:00 Welcome to The Crux

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REFERENCES

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On November 22, 1971, RAF rescuers spot a young woman crawling across the Cairngorm Plateau after two nights in a relentless blizzard. With only a few words, she points them toward a group still missing somewhere in the white.

What they were about to uncover would become one of the deadliest mountaineering disasters in British history.

In this episode, we break down the deceptive terrain of the Cairngorms, the controversial shelter that changed decision-making on the mountain, and how a school trip of inexperienced teenagers and young leaders found themselves fighting for survival in a featureless whiteout.

A story of small decisions, worsening conditions—and how close help really was.

00:00 Blizzard Rescue Begins

02:00 Meet the Cairngorms

03:16 Plateau Hazards Explained

05:13 Shelters and Controversy

09:04 The School Expedition Plan

12:01 Groups Split in Worsening Weather

13:45 Beatty Reaches the Shelter

14:10 Davidson's Navigation Gamble

17:02 Bivouac Turns Deadly

19:45 Flares in the Storm

21:21 Catherine Crawls for Help

22:59 Search Mobilizes and Helicopter Finds Her

28:33 Digging Them O=

31:18 Aftermath and Inquiry

35:12 Legacy and Final Reflection

Reference List

Buried: The Cairngorm Plateau Disaster — The Crux Podcast

Primary Sources & Official Records

Fatal Accident Inquiry into the Cairngorm Plateau Disaster. Banff Sheriff Court, February 1972.

Books & Articles

Watson, Adam. The Cairngorms. Scottish Mountaineering Club, 1975. (or relevant edition — Watson is cited as chief expert witness and as having written warnings about the Curran shelter prior to the disaster)

Duff, John. Statement on winter bivouac on the Cairngorm Plateau. Braemar Mountain Rescue Team records. (quoted in inquiry materials)

Interviews & Personal Testimony

Dudgeon, Bill. Interview, c. 2011. (cited as "forty years later")

Sunderland, [first name unknown]. Interview, c. 1986. (cited as "fifteen years after the disaster")

Anonymous former Ainslie Park student. Written account, 2015.

Institutional Sources

Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland. Correspondence with the Nature Conservancy regarding the Curran shelter. 1960s. (exact date unspecified in script)

RAF Leuchars. Incident records, November 22, 1971. (relating to Whirlwind helicopter deployment)

Cairngorm Summit Weather Station. Wind speed record, March 20, 1986.

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In April 1994, Mauro Prosperi—a 38-year-old Olympic pentathlete and Italian police officer from Rome—entered the Marathon des Sables, a 156-mile ultramarathon across the Moroccan Sahara. He'd trained for months, conditioning his body for heat and dehydration, running 40 kilometers daily. His wife, Cinzia Pagliara, kissed him goodbye with three young children under eight at home. On day four of the six-day race, Prosperi was in fourth place overall when a sandstorm hit the migrating dunes. He ran blind for eight hours. When it cleared, everything had changed. His map described terrain that no longer existed. His compass worked, but the landscape had been completely rebuilt. He had half a bottle of water. He was 291 kilometers from the nearest checkpoint—and searchers would spend the next week looking 170 miles away. What followed was nine and a half days of impossible survival: bat blood, his own urine saved in a bottle, a suicide attempt on a shrine floor that his body wouldn't allow, and a 181-mile walk in the wrong direction through one of Earth's most unforgiving places. This is not just a story about what went wrong. It is about what clarity looks like when everything else is stripped away.

00:00 Welcome to The Crux

Sources & References

BBC News. "How I Drank Urine and Bat Blood to Survive." Interview with Mauro Prosperi. November 27, 2014. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30046426

The Guardian / Paula Cocozza. "I Was Lost in the Desert for Nine and a Half Days – and Sustained Myself with Raw Bats and Urine." July 4, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jul/04/mauro-prosperi-lost-desert-raw-bats-urine

Men's Journal / Hampton Sides. "Crazy in the Desert." 1998. https://www.mensjournal.com/travel/crazy-in-the-desert-w474055

Prosperi, Mauro and Pagliara, Cinzia. Quei 10 Giorni Oltre la Vita ("Those 10 Days Beyond Life"). Gingko Edizioni, 2020.

Wikipedia. "Mauro Prosperi." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauro_Prosperi

Kamler, Kenneth, M.D. Surviving the Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of Human Endurance. Hachette Australia, 2012.

Marathon des Sables Official Website. https://marathondessables.com

Netflix. Losers. Season 1, Episode 5: "Lost in the Desert." 2019.

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