Britt Ahart, Larry Roberts, and Sam Larson were the final three contestants on this season of History’s survival hit Alone. Season 5’s cast, probably because it was comprised entirely of contestants from the first three seasons of the show, had to contend with arguably the most grim and challenging landscape in Alone history: the Khonin Nuga valley in northern Mongolia.
Despite the increased difficulty, only one man could be named the Alone Season 5 winner. So which of the three took home all the glory — and the $500,000 prize? We’ll tell you, but not before an appropriate gap, complete with an unrelated Greg Ovens blooper reel from back in Season 3.
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…And we’re back. Lovable Nebraskan Sam Larson, who debuted on the show in its inaugural season (and was the runner-up back then), was the Alone Season 5 winner, after lasting 60 full days in the Mongolian cold. Congratulations to him! And a smaller congratulations to us, for predicting this season’s winner two weeks ago based on our highly scientific study of which of the Season 5 cast members was off of social media the longest during filming last year.
Sam took to his official Facebook page shortly after the finale aired to pay tribute to his fellow Mongolian survivors and thank his many followers for their support:
Alrighty folks I’m assuming most of you are reading this because you have watched the Alone finale! Thank you so much for your kind words. I gotta say, I honestly feel like “winner” is a weird title. How do you “win” against nature? You really don’t. You just have to live as much as you can and be thankful for the time you get to spend in the natural world. Im enormously honored to call the other 9 participants my friends. Of all the groups I’ve ever been a part of, I’m most proud to be in the Alone family, and of course, my immediate family. It’s been an honor to see the personal journeys of these individuals and I hope that what they’ve learned through their experiences will stay with them forever. Sorry for the potential run on sentences of this post. Ironically I am on the toilet trying to rush through this.
Sam also announced that the second edition of his book, To Tread in Wild Places: An Introductory Guide to Wilderness Living, is now available for pre-order. Because we at Starcasm respect a well-placed plug — and because we also have a young child and thus likewise know the pain of toilet social media updates — we’ll point out that you can pre-order Sam’s book here.
Before the Alone Season 5 finale aired, runner-up Britt Ahart — who made it 56 days — also offered a word of thanks, saying the experience was “incredibly difficult to describe” and thanking his “Alone brothers and sisters.” Third-place finisher Larry Roberts (41 days) did the same, saying the whole thing was “an amazing experience” and adding “All the participants are awesome people.”
If you can’t get enough of Alone, remember that the Season 5 reunion special will air next Thursday, August 23rd, at 10 PM. Additionally, Sam Larson is doing a reddit AMA on Tuesday, August 28th; you can find out more about that here.
As for Sam’s social media presence, you can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and reddit.
Oh, and don’t worry: though History has yet to make an official announcement, we’ve already learned that Alone Season 6 is a go and has likely begun filming.
(Photo credits: Alone Season 5 winner via Facebook, Instagram)
John Sharp is a Starcasm’s chief editorial correspondent-at-large. Tips: E-mail at john@starcasm.net or send on Twitter at @john_starcasm.
