‘Mountain Men’ Boss Confirms Tom Oar’s Return in ‘Daunting’ Season 12

History’s favorite Mountain Men and women show us how to master the challenge of off-the-grid living—and help us realize we’re not cut out for it! We tracked down executive producer Chris Richardson for details on the reality show’s 12th season.

First, rest assured, 80-year-old Tom Oar (above) is returning and continues his hunting and trapping. “He’s a true craftsman who has become a beloved mentor to a new generation in northwest Montana,” Richardson shares. Oar joins Eustace Conway, Jake Herak, brothers Kidd and Harry Youren, and a few newcomers.

“Eustace travels 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 is also confronted by the heavy snow and even gets stranded on the mountain for a night.”

As for the newbies, camera crews follow Ray Livingston, a survivalist putting down roots in the mountains of northeast Washington; Paul Antczak, who makes a living as an elite trapper of predators and is looking to buy a plot of land in northwest Montana; 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.

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“This winter, much of the Western U.S. and Canada received record snowfall, which proved to be daunting,” the executive producer says. “Everyone’s skills and grit were put to the test.”

Mountain Men Season 12 premieres Thursday, August 24, on the History Channel. The reality series has been running since 2012 and is executive produced by Richardson, Marc Pierce, Bridger Pierce, and Dawn Fitzgerald. It’s narrated by D.B. Sweeney. Episodes are available for next-day streaming on the History Channel website.

Mountain Men, Season 12 Premiere, Thursday, August 24, 8/7c, History