EXTREME COMPETITORS BATTLE HARSH TERRAIN, LIMITED RESOURCES AND AN UNFORGIVING CLOCK IN A RACE TO WIN ULTIMATE SURVIVAL ALASKA

Season Three of "Ultimate Survival Alaska" Premieres Sunday, Jan. 4, at 9 PM ET/PT on National Geographic Channel

NatGeoTV.com/SurvivalAlaska

#SurvivalAlaska

(WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dec. 4, 2014) One of the toughest competitions in the world is back for round three as 12 of the world's toughest outdoorsmen face off against each other, Mother Nature and their own will to survive. This fight to the finish isn't about money or a prize; it's about pushing the limits of human endurance. It's a dangerous test of strength and determination. And in the end, only one team will be crowned the winner.

Ultimate Survival Alaska returns to National Geographic Channel for its third and most grueling installment yet, premiering Sunday, Jan. 4, at 9 p.m. ET/PT in the U.S. and premiering in February on Nat Geo Mundo. Four teams - Military, Endurance, Alaskans and this season's new team, Lower 48 - face forbidding peaks, deadly tidal waves, massive glaciers, bottomless crevasses, man-eating predators and treacherous white water. In each of the 13 legs this season, teams have just 60 hours to make it from start to finish ... surviving off the land with only the gear on their backs. No GPS. No phones. No mercy.

Click here to view the new season trailer, visit www.natgeotv.com/SurvivalAlaska for more information, and follow us on Facebook (natgeotv, SurvivalAlaska), Twitter (@natgeochannel, @SurvivalAlaska) and Instagram (@natgeochannel).

On every episode of Ultimate Survival Alaska, each team must use raw, die-hard ingenuity to push its way through some of the most hostile territory on the planet with minimal food and provisions. At the start of each challenge, teams search for an insertion flag where they will find an expedition map showing the location of the extraction LZ (landing zone) and the winner's flag. Teammates must work together to plot a course that gives them the best chance of winning that leg of the competition. The team that wins the most legs will be crowned Alaska's ultimate survivors.

Season three introduces a host of new contenders, upping the level of competition but also creating new tensions as team dynamics start to take shape. It's not always easy for go-it-alone survivalists to swallow their pride and work cohesively with a team. But inevitably they'll have to do just that in order to succeed - not to mention survive - in this competition.

Meet the Teams:

Team Endurance: Returning Ultimate Survival Alaska champion and two-time Iditarod winner Dallas Seavey is once again at the helm of Team Endurance. Coming off his second Iditarod win (where he set the all-time speed record), Seavey is eager to defend his crown. He is joined by avalanche forecaster and heli-ski guide Lel Tone, who at just over 100 pounds is a small but deadly force to be reckoned with and one of two female competitors to join the ranks this season. The last member of the team is Ben Johns. A lifelong mountain climber and ski guide in the Canadian Rockies, Johns is an unstoppable mass of pure muscle respectfully known as "the Canadian Moose."

Team Military: After narrowly losing to Team Endurance last year, Team Military is out for revenge. Leading the team once again are former Green Beret Grady Powell and former Navy SEAL Jared Ogden. This season, they have one goal in mind: Beat Dallas Seavey. Helping their attempt to swipe the title this year is former Marine scout sniper Daniel Dean. A good ol' country boy from Tennessee who was selected to join the competition this season after he answered a nationwide National Geographic Channel casting call, Dean's backwoods knowledge of hunting and fishing proves crucial to the team's survival.

Team Alaskans: Back for their third season, mountain man Marty Raney and big-peak racer Tyler Johnson lead the all-Alaskan team. Joining them is world-renowned mountain guide Vern Tejas, who in addition to having climbed Everest 10 times, has a history of climbing with Raney. These savvy mountain veterans are in their element at high elevations. Armed with ice axes and climbing ropes, no peak can stop them from reaching their goal.

Team Lower 48: Representing the contiguous United States, Team Lower 48 team consists of all Ultimate Survival Alaska rookies. The oldest of the group, legendary mountain climber James Sweeney, brings decades of experience from scaling the world's highest peaks. He is joined by professional skier Kasha Rigby and professional kayaker Scott "Cluck" McCleskey. Although new to Alaska, collectively the team brings experience in all terrains to the competition.

Premiere Episodes Include:

Ultimate Survival Alaska: Fresh Blood (TWO-HOUR SEASON PREMIERE) Premieres Sunday, Jan. 4, at 9 p.m. ET/PT In the first leg of the 13-leg competition, four teams battle their way to the summit of Mount Gerdine. To get there, they must cross a rapidly thawing lake, traverse a crevasse-filled glacier and claw their way up walls of crumbing ice. Eager to defend his title, returning champion Dallas Seavey leads Team Endurance across thin lake ice in pursuit of Team Military, while Team Alaskans takes the steepest and most direct route up the mountain. Team Lower 48 has trouble from the start as its members struggle to find common ground in their push to the summit. On the second leg of the competition, teams are dropped near the top of a towering mountain peak and provided with skis, snowboards and climbing rope. The mission is clear: Descend the mountain in any way possible. Facing an array of life-threatening obstacles, the choice is speed versus safety. On Team Endurance, Seavey, a novice skier, struggles to get down the near-vertical slopes and costs valuable time. Team Military bypasses the skis and instead uses the rope to rappel down a series of steep cliffs. Team Alaskans has the advantage, as all three members are strong skiers, but their confidence leads to costly mistakes. Team Lower 48 continues to struggle and, after a navigational dispute, one team member threatens to quit.

Ultimate Survival Alaska: Crash Course Premieres Sunday, Jan. 11, at 9 p.m. ET/PT On leg three, teams descend 2,000 feet of snowy ridges, bush-covered slopes and spongy swamps to reach the LZ (landing zone) at Talachulitna Lake. At the insertion flag, the adventurers find a cache of dogsleds, skis, snowshoes and packrafts. For Dallas Seavey, the two-time Iditarod champion, there's no question - Team Endurance is taking the dogsleds. Seavey coaches his team across the highlands, but Lel Tone's rookie mistake leaves the crew immobilized in the snow. Team Military mounts the dogsleds and chases its rivals. Just when the team gets confident, disaster strikes and Jared Ogden loses a dog in the tundra. Team Alaskans grabs all-terrain skis and sets off across the snowy plateau to do what it does best - bush skiing. Getting caught up in deep snow, Vern Tejas devises a strategy to get the team quickly across the tundra. At the cache, Team Lower 48 grabs packrafts and heads for the nearest river. Cluck, the professional kayaker, coaches his team through turbulent white water, but suddenly things take a turn for the worse.

Ultimate Survival Alaska is produced by Brian Catalina Entertainment for National Geographic Channels. For Brian Catalina Entertainment, executive producer is Brian Catalina. For National Geographic Channels, executive producer is Robert Palumbo; senior vice president of programming and development is Alan Eyres; and president, original programming & production, National Geographic Channel U.S. is Tim Pastore.

# # #

National Geographic Channels

Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Networks. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission. Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD. In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled. The Channels have carriage with all of the nation's major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in over 85 million U.S. homes. Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 45 languages. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.