Denver Post interview with Les Stroud

M

MG_Saldivar

Joined
Feb 5, 2005
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...available here.


Snips:

Why do you do it?

That's a good question. My original goal was just to do one, to do a film about survival that wasn't meant to be for television, originally. It just happened it was a hit on TV, and now it just drives the machine, you know? But it gave me a beautiful opportunity for adventures I wouldn't have otherwise, and it has made me a more well-rounded survivalist. It also gave me a way to practice and improve my art as a filmmaker. But in the end, to get a letter from a student saying, "I decided to major in environmental studies because of your show," or a father saying, "My daughter and I go camping together because of your show," those were unexpected results that became a reason to continue doing it.



The single most important element of wilderness survival?

The classic thing experts consider most important is that you are not going to survive if you don't have the will. You need that will to survive. And when you learn survival skills, it helps develop that will. Knowledge is power.

I'm also a big proponent of building a big fire at all times. Even in the desert. A knife or a cutting implement I can make out of rocks, but making fire is tough, even with matches. That skill can save your life. It scares away the boogie man.



The most common mistake people make?

A really big one is the lack of preparation, or the lack of giving yourself the knowledge you need when you go on an adventure. When we go out on adventures, too often we rely on our guides. The best thing you can do on a planned excursion is to say to the guide, "Can I see the maps? I'd like to see where we're going," or, "Do you have any copies of the map that I can carry?" You should trust your guide, but don't rely on him. The biggest mistake people make is they don't rely on themselves.

As an example, in my classes I'll take everybody out on a hike and ask them to show me what they have in their pockets. Sometimes it's nothing, and sometimes they are very well prepared. But the classic is with husbands and wives, where the wife says, "Oh, we have a backpack full of everything we need." Then I'll take the husband — who is usually carrying the pack — and walk away: "Now what do you have?" If something happens and you are separated, you have nothing. You're done for. So you really need to rely on yourself.
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I didn't want to start a new thread, so... Reminder that tonight (9/28) Discovery is airing a Survivorman marathon (S2's Cook Islands, plus several S1 eps) starting at 7p Eastern. For those of you who want to see/hear the re-edited Man v. Wild, Discovery airs a MvW S2 marathon Sunday, 9/30 starting at 5p Eastern.
 
It's interesting that both Les Stroud and the castigated Bear Gryllis say the same thing that "you must have the will to survive."
 
rfbadger said:
It's interesting that both Les Stroud and the castigated Bear Gryllis say the same thing that "you must have the will to survive."
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In my limited experience, all the 'major'* survival experts like Ron Hood, Lofty Wiseman, Tom Brown, and the like stress a 'will to live' as being your most important asset in a survival situation.

In this vein, I like Laurence Gonzales' book on the psychology of survival, Deep Survival (thanks to whoever it was on this forum that clued me in to this book :)).



*By 'major,' I mean 'receives a lot of attention,' not that I necessarily agree with all the views of all these survival experts.
 
"It's interesting that both Les Stroud and the castigated Bear Gryllis say the same thing that "you must have the will to survive."

Yes, but when Bear says it he's quoting Les Stroud. Mac
 
MG_Saldivar said:
I didn't want to start a new thread, so... Reminder that tonight (9/28) Discovery is airing a Survivorman marathon (S2's Cook Islands, plus several S1 eps) starting at 7p Eastern. For those of you who want to see/hear the re-edited Man v. Wild, Discovery airs a MvW S2 marathon Sunday, 9/30 starting at 5p Eastern.
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Why was Man v Wild re-edited?
 
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