Dale Kiselyk, host of 72 Hours to Survive, poses between trees in a forest in the municipal district of Greenview while filming episode three of the show's first season, July 2025. Photo by A Little late Films /Supplied

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Fort McMurray — What would you do if you had 72 hours to survive in the wilderness?

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Between the boreal forest, wetlands and endless trails, many Canadian outdoor enthusiasts embark on a discovery at all seasons throughout the year — sometimes, not very prepared for what they may face during their travels.

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Adventurist and bushcraft survival expert Dale Kiselyk is taking viewers through a rip-roaring journey of skill-building in the new season of 72 Hours to Survive — a wilderness survival television series — and this time, northern Alberta is at its centre.

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Officially into its second season, 72 Hours to Survive features six episodes and aims to educate viewers on how critical the first three days are to being found when lost in the wilderness.

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Show producer Tim McKort from A Little Late Films said the intention behind the new season is to create “a show that really talks about the immediacy of finding yourself lost in the wilderness and what you would do to be successfully rescued.”

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The episodes will focus on six different ways a person may be lost in the wilderness, from snowshoeing, to hiking, driving, hunting or even canoeing.

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The show will be broadcast nationally on Wild TV and Eutelsat — a European satellite television provider with more than 200 million subscribers.

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Kiselyk, who has been teaching bushcraft survival and outdoor skills for over 30 years, said this was not an activity he took very seriously until a decade ago, when he began making a full-time career out of his craft.

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McKort said the goal of the show is to be less reactionary than many other wildlife survival shows, and rather aim to teach viewers real and practical survival skills.

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Over the past months, from Peace River to Manning, crews have set up filming gear, capturing host Kiselyk doing what he does best — surviving. Their next stop is Fort McMurray in October.

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Beyond its city borders, Fort McMurray is surrounded by acres of nature, from rivers to trails, boreal forests and the bright northern lights.

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McKort shared his excitement for filming the new season in the region, saying Alberta’s biodiversity is just what the show needed to come to life.

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A bird’s-eye view of Dale Kiselyk riding a snowmobile through a forest in Woodlands County. Photo by A Little late Films /Postmedia Network

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“We’re using Alberta’s biodiversity as a backdrop. It’s a beautiful province to shoot this kind of show,” he said.

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“We chose six different areas, everything from boreal forest to lakes, to all sorts of environments that would give people an idea of what they might be up against.”

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A “dynamic and picturesque” landscape, McKort describes the region, saying shooting across northern Alberta has allowed the show to truly experience all four seasons in full effect.

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Without giving too much away, McKort said the episode being filmed mid-October will be “fall-themed,” thanking the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo Economic Development and Tourism team for their support with the show.