Episode list

Meet the Kilcher family, who live on a 600-acre homestead in Alaska. With another brutal winter approaching, and bears having killed two of the family's cattle, they are forced to pin all of their hopes of surviving the winter on one last hunting trip.

The first storm of the winter is fast approaching so the entire Kilcher homestead must race to finish preparing for the next eight months. Atz Sr. races ahead of the storm to lead a herd of cattle on a dangerous trek across flooded glacial rivers.

The early winter storms have left the entire homestead unprepared. A desperate search for a newborn calf and its mother forces Otto's wife and their youngest son into a night snowstorm while Otto is away building shelter for his herd.

The extended Kilcher family struggle to get through a record-breaking harsh winter. Desperate for food, Atz Lee and Jane venture onto the ice to try fishing. Patriarchs Otto and Atz embark on a dangerous mission to bring aid to a fellow homesteader.

The Kilchers rally and call in favors to tackle their largest project this season. They have 48 hours to build a long cattle fence and rebuild a cabin, or the treacherous river's tide will trap their barge full of critical equipment for another month.

Summer half over, the Kilchers head out fishing, but it's not for fun ... at least not entirely. They need 100s of pounds of fish to eat and barter with during winter. Each couple has their own time-proven technique for catching salmon, halibut and trout.

Atz Lee and Eivin travel 160 miles and brave the bears of "Terrible Island" to hunt deer. Otto refuses to admit defeat and will use all the blackpowder he has to remove a pesky stump blocking his progress. Eve helps Charlotte solve a swarming bee problem.

Fall arrives; the Kilchers scramble to finish their winter prep. Otto confronts a predator killing calves from inside his herd. Atz Lee and Jane catch and smoke salmon in their secret fish camp. Eivin uses a samurai sword to prepare Thanksgiving dinner.

Cattleman Otto Kilcher sees life a little differently with a willingness to accept whatever life brings him. Otto's sense of humor is infectious and his ingenuity inspires family and neighbor alike.

Homestead holidays bring gifts of kindness: Otto decides to give his "Wacky Yak" to a friend, but the gift rejects the idea of being given. Atz Lee gathers lumps of coal--for the nice--as his gift. Atz deals with cows on ice to bring a friend's herd home.