HistoryCould you drop all the conveniences of modern society and learn how to live off the land and survive?
Off-the-grid living is more popular than ever, and we can thank History’s favorite mountain men and women for showing us how to master the craft. Mountain Men (starting Season 12 on Thursday, Aug. 24, at 8pm ET/PT) welcomes back fan favorites, as well as a handful of new cast members and locations.
We tracked down Chris Richardson, an executive producer, former cameraman and now president of Warm Springs Productions (which shoots the series) to find out what we can expect. First, rest assured, the 80-year-old Tom Oar is returning and continues his hunting and trapping. “He’s a true craftsman who has become a beloved mentor to a new generation of mountain men and women in Northwest Montana,” Richardson shares. Oar joins Eustace Conway, Jake Herak, brothers Kidd and Harry Youren, and a few newcomers.
“Eustace takes on some new challenges traveling away from his Turtle Island homestead to complete unique projects that even he has not attempted before,” Richardson says. “Jake and his dogs chase mountain lions away from the ranches of Southwest Montana in their toughest season yet. Treeing mountain lions is wild and unpredictable, but Jake was also confronted by the heavy snow and even got stranded on the mountain for a night.”
As for the newbies, camera crews will follow Ray Livingston, an outdoor survivalist putting down roots in the mountains of Northeast Washington; Paul Antczak, who makes a living as an elite trapper of predators who is looking to further his remote life by buying a plot of land in Northwest Montana (enter Tom Oar!); and Aron Toland and his wife Jen, a Canadian couple living on a remote off-grid homestead hundreds of miles from civilization on a lake in British Columbia.
“This winter much of the western U.S. and Canada received record snowfall, which proved to be a daunting challenge for all,” Richardson says. “Everyone’s skills and grit were put to the test.”
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