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A listener note. Against the Odds features dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, may be invented.

But everything is based on research. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game had no role in the production of this podcast.

The Black Sea

The Black Sea

The Black Sea

Barth Peachool takes a deep breath, letting the freezing air burn as lungs. His legs ache from the effort of hiking uphill through deep snow.

As he exhales, his breath clouds in front of him. And he can't help but smile.

It's early afternoon on February 6, 2021, 10 miles outside of Haines, Alaska.

Haines is a small community located along Alaska's inside passage. A marine waterway that connects the state's southeastern coast to British Columbia and Washington state.

It's geographically isolated, to say the least. The primary way to get to Haines is by boat. A ferry runs a couple times a week from Juneau, the state capital. About 90 miles away.

Otherwise, there's one road that winds over a rugged mountain pass into a remote corner of Canada.

Haines calls itself the adventure capital of Alaska. It draws intrepid souls who are happy to trade the perks of big city life for its remoteness and stunning beauty.

For Barth, a tall 38-year-old from Poland, it's heaven.

His first glimpse of Haines was from a snowboarding video he saw as a teenager.

Instantly, he fell in love. The icy blue waters, the soaring eagles, the snow-covered mountains. All of it drew him.

When he announced that one day he would move there, his friends and family scoffed. But in 2013, at the age of 30, that's exactly what he did.

And it's been everything he dreamed it would be. He's happiest where he is right now in unspoiled backcountry, far from civilization, surrounded by towering hemlock and spruce trees, traversing over pristine snow.

Ahead of him, his friend Jeff Moskowitz trudges up the incline. They're planning to follow the ridge above the tree line and then make their way back down.

Moskowitz has his skis strapped to his backpack as they hike. Barth Snowboard is tied to his own backpack. Ahead of both men and out of sight at the moment is their other friend, Graham Craft.

The three men have been friends for over five years and logged hundreds of hours in the backcountry, both together and separately.

As Barth continues to climb, he spots something brown and furry about 50 feet in front of him. It's a little bigger than a soccer ball. He squints trying to see what it might be.

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