There's this moment during survival situations that people struggle to explain, where time

seems to both accelerate and slow down at once.

This disequilibrium has a neurobiological explanation.

When we experience a potential threat, our primitive reptilian brain activates our fight,

light or freeze response, enabling us to jump away from that slithering shape on the

trail before our rational brain has a chance to scream, snake.

People in careers where life or death scenarios are part of the job undergo rigorous training

to make good use of this brain function.

Their goal is to take life-saving action automatically, even as they process something

terrifying before them.

Doctors perform emergency procedures on patients who are dying.

Firefighters rush towards burning buildings, and every so often pilots.

Pilots land airplanes when the only runway is the open ocean.

I made a decision to survive in that survival mode.

The idea of dying wasn't in my head.

I knew immediately it was the worst case scenario.

I was in a fight for my life situation.

Whenever you walk out on these trails, you're in their house.

I'm Louisa Albinese, and you're listening to Out-Alive by Backpacker.

In each episode of this podcast, we'll bring you real stories of real people who survived

the unsurvivable.

I saw the ropes sift through the repellring, and I couldn't do anything.

...