The season one finale of The History Channel’s Alone spinoff, Alone: Frozen, kicks off with just two survivalists remaining in the Labrador wilderness. Woniya and Michelle have made it through 33 days in the freezing cold as the episode begins, outlasting their four fellow survivalists and standing to earn $250,000 if they can make it to Day 50.
(No spoilers here but there are plenty in the following episode recap, including the name of Alone: Frozen’s season one winner.)
Woniya and Michelle have battled the wind, the snow, and a dwindling food supply to make it this far. But, unfortunately, only one of the two incredible female participants lasts all the way to the end and makes Alone franchise history by doing so.
Michelle Finn, Age 47, Maine – Season 8, Survived 21 Days
16 Days Left: Michelle wants to get out and check her snares, but first, she needs to try and fix her fire. Her one complaint is that it’s become too smoky inside her shelter.
She’s targeting making Day 40, calling it her next major milestone. Michelle thinks that having a female winner could be significant and inspiring to some young women.
She checks her traps, hoping for some red meat. She munches on berries as she hikes. Michelle admits her attitude toward hunting has changed and now she views it as communion.
“When you’re starving and you get an animal, there’s an honor in the connection. It is powerful the level of gratitude that you feel,” explains Michelle.
She spots a grouse and takes a shot. She hits it but it’s not dead, so she chases it down. It has an arrow piercing its side but keeps fluttering away so she’s forced to shoot it again. She cuts off its head and the body continues moving, temporarily, since the spine and nervous system remain intact after death.
Michelle becomes emotional as she thanks the grouse and the land. She calls it a good day for the “tiny little hunter” in her.
Back at her shelter, Michelle cooks up the grouse, happy to get some protein. She describes her stomach as making a purring noise in response to the red meat.
Michelle hopes there’s someone else still in the competition.
13 Days Left: It’s late afternoon as Michelle explains the weather’s been weird. The wind’s blowing at 45 mph and snow covers everything. She admits there’s both a level of excitement and trepidation felt at being so close to the end. The thought of not crossing the finish line at this point is painful.
All her firewood outside is encrusted in ice. She feels like she’s got something in her eye as she stokes her fire and notes for the first time it’s snowing into the shelter.
Michelle’s taking it one day at a time.
12 Days Left: She’s having trouble with her eyes. The smoke’s bothering them, and nothing helps. The conifer smoke is acrid, and it irritates the eyes and throat. She hopes if she goes outside in the fresh air, it will help soothe her eyes.
A short while later her eyes haven’t improved, and she reports only having half visual acuity in her left eye. Everything’s blurry when she uses her left eye.
Michelle doesn’t want to take a chance with her eyesight, and a mirror (in the first aid kit) confirms her left eye is puffy. She’d promised herself – and her husband – that she would tap rather than damage her health.
It’s so cold that she’s forced to return to her fire after being chilled to the bone from being outside. Of course, the fire makes her eyes hurt again. She confesses she’s not sure what to do.
It’s scary to have this happen to one of her senses and she doesn’t feel confident it’s safe. She’s torn between taking care of herself and going the distance.
Michelle makes the extremely difficult decision to tap out.
“I’m not the strongest or the best. I’m just me and I’m enough for myself, which is kind of a revelation,” she says. She thought she wasn’t enough but, in this moment, she feels freed from that. What she is is enough.
Michelle chuckles as she reveals her dad’s an optometrist. She knows that eyes heal easily but are also damaged easily. She doesn’t want to risk it and is proud of herself. Michelle became a hunter during these 38 days which was one of her goals.
It’s hard to leave and, overall, she believes she’s had a lot of success. She felt like she belonged in this world, and she’ll have this place inside her always.
Woniya Thibeault, Age 45, California – Season 6, Survived 73 Days
17 Days Left: Woniya’s added additional boughs to her shelter to keep out the wind and snow. The result is that she must crawl to exit her shelter. She’s going to spend part of the day fixing her entrance, and as she works, she reflects on working to overcome the conditioning she had as a young girl being told she wasn’t capable. She feels so fulfilled to be able to be a role model for young women.
Woniya’s careful while using the ax as she’s so close to the end that she doesn’t want an injury to force a tap out. She’s able to get her doorway open again, setting up a ridge pole and using some of her scrappy poles to secure the new entry to her structure.
Snow’s coming down as she continues to work on her new entryway.
14 Days Left: She’s built a wooden door for her shelter. It’s really windy and the conditions aren’t conducive to trapping rabbits. She thinks she might have enough mussels to make it through to the end.
Woniya emerges from her shelter to check her trapline. The snow is up to her knees in some places, and she laughs as she says it’s pretty dang wintery. Her traps are empty, but she spots a rabbit in the snow. She can’t throw her ax because it would see it coming. Still, she’s determined not to let it get away.
Woniya isn’t sure if it’s sitting where she set up a trap, and there’s a possibility it’s caught. She approaches and can see it is in fact caught by its leg. She uses her ax and her hands to end its life. She’s extremely grateful for the rabbit and recalls just saying that if she finds a rabbit, she’ll know that Labrador loves her.
“What an unbelievably tremendous gift,” says Woniya.
12 Days Left: Michelle has just tapped and if Woniya lasts 50 days, she’ll collect the full $500,000 prize.
The wind is intense, and she’s got liquid coming through the walls near her dry firewood. She works on fixing the gaps, but the wind is now coming straight down the chimney, forcing the smoke to remain inside the shelter. It’s not ideal and she’s getting a headache from smoke inhalation. It’s become a serious issue and her only option is to let the fire go out and stay warm in her sleeping bag.
Her eyes are incredibly painful, and she hopes she can sleep.
11 Days Left: Her eyes hurt all night and her vision’s blurry. She’s worried this will take her out but remains hopeful that rest will make things better.
She wakes up later and her eyes are feeling much better. The rest really helped.
10 Days Left: Woniya heads out onto the ice for a little ice fishing. She’s hoping this will be a new source of calories that could take her through to Day 50. She’s taking a tree out with her in case the ice cracks.
(Each survivalist was provided a personal flotation device.)
Woniya sits on the ice, legs spread around the hole she chopped as she fishes. She recalls on season six she had fishing gear in an area where fishing wasn’t an option. This time, she has fishing line but no signs of any fish. She calls it a day since the wind’s kicking up. This is the hardest experience of her life, and it feels like serious survival at this point.
9 Days Left: Her cheeks are starting to look gaunt.
7 Days Left: She didn’t believe in her physical capacity as a kid but here she is proving she’s got the strength to survive. There weren’t any real examples of strong women doing this when she was younger – it was all “boy stuff.” You didn’t see women doing hunting or camping back then. She fought her way to obtain the skills she has now while people tried to tell her survival skills weren’t for her.
The countdown clock ticks down as we watch Woniya repair her shelter, look at her traps, and retrieve firewood.
2 Days Left: Her body and time are winding down, and her energy is low.
1 Day Left: She describes the experience of being the role model for young girls she wished she’d had growing up as both moving and fulfilling. She’s been thinking about the other survivalists and wonders who’s left.
0 Days Left! Woniya is the sole survivor of 50 harsh, grueling days in the Labrador wilderness. The morning’s gorgeous and she cheers the fact she’s achieved her goal. The sun’s shining and the sky’s blue overhead as she builds an impressive stone sculpture (called an inukshuk) to give gratitude to the people who welcomed her to this land.
She’s never seen a more beautiful wild place but is excited to be leaving.
The helicopter arrives and she’s full of mixed emotions. She’s going to miss this place and this experience so much. Her partner, Taylor, walks up from behind as she’s speaking with the crew, describing her experiences. Woniya screams and cries and pulls Taylor in for a tight hug. She can’t believe he’s there; she missed him so much!
Taylor has the honor of breaking the news she’s the only one who made it to Day 50. He’s incredibly proud of her – as he should be.
Woniya immediately asks if the other survivalists are alright, and she’s happy to learn they’re all okay.
“It’s heartbreaking and incredibly validating that so many people who are so skilled weren’t able to do it and I was able to do it,” says Woniya. “It’s just so much. It’s just so overwhelming.”
The producer asks how it feels to be the first woman to win and Woniya is overcome with emotion.
“It feels incredible. I feel so incredibly grateful to be able to represent women in this way and to show the world that we are every bit as capable…and emphasize the heart and the connection and the love and how much being in this place has been a relationship. I feel like that’s something really special that women often can bring.”
To be the role model that she wished she would have had as a young woman is so powerful and means so much to Alone: Frozen season one’s winner, Woniya Thibeault.
She prefers not to use the word survival; she prefers to call this wilderness living.
Woniya is now the participant who has spent the most cumulative days on Alone living in the wild by herself. Woniya is the first person – not just the first woman – to do 123 days on Alone.
- Alone: Frozen Season 1 Episode 1 “50 Day Freeze” Recap
- Alone: Frozen Season 1 Episode 2 “Frost Bound” Recap
- Alone: Frozen Season 1 Episode 3 “The Edge” Recap
- Alone: Frozen Season 1 Episode 4 “Bone Cold” Recap
- Alone: Frozen Season 1 Episode 5 “Outfoxed” Recap
- Alone: Frozen Season 1 Episode 6 “On Thin Ice” Recap
- Alone: Frozen Season 1 Episode 7 “The Last Hope” Recap
 in which two survivalists begin the episode and one makes Alone history on Day 50.){kind=link}