Question about climbing and Bear Gryhlls (sp)

darkestthicket

darkestthicket

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Nov 30, 2002
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ok, is it just me or does it seem a little illogical to always climb down the CENTER of a waterfall? is there some practical reason for doing this? i genearally skirt them and go down the sides grabbing sapplings and rocks and such... given i live in WV and its not exactly a jungle so could there be a reason for hitting the waterfall dead center on the way down?


any answers appreciated!
 
We touched on this before. We need A Bear Grylls thread, all Bear Grylls and nothing else!

In a jungle, oyu can't imagine how thick the vegetation is. I'm in Maryland spent pletny of time in West-by-Gawd VA., also been in a real jungle or two in my life.
Multiply the vegetation by a factor of 10 to 100, and thats the difference.

He goes down the center of the waterfall because it's the ONLY open area to rapel down for miles.
 
Why he didn't die I don't know. I used to do a little free climbing a long time ago and that was one of the most insane things I have seen someone do. I know he is supposed to be a pretty good climber but what we used to say about climbers like that is they do things like that as long as they get away with it. Which usually isn't too long.

This is a remarkably bad idea to show people to do. He may be skilled/lucky enough to get away with it once or twice but the average person who climbs would never take a chance like that. It is also true that when you are that young and that strong you can get away with a lot of things that most can't. I can say I do remember the days as I am sure most here can.

I will also say it is very difficult on a tv to tell exactly what was available in the form of foot and handholds but I doubt I would have ever tried it without a rope.

Like someone said, he is entertaining. I just hope he lives through more than one season. :D ;)

SkunkWerX - I didn't think he rappeled, I thought he free climbed.

KR
 
The middle of the falls is also generally above the deepest part of the pool at their base! If yer gonna fall, yer'd rather fall there!:D

I used to do a lot of climbing in and around the streams along the North Shore of Lake Superior and we'd always free climb above the deep pools so when we did slip, it'd just be a big splash, not a splat.

J-
 
kr1, he used vines as rope to rappel down the one set of falls, then, I think he free climbed climbed up a shorter falls, to go back to find something.
I think the actual climb was not a lot of altitude. It would be easy for the audience to think they were the same exact falls, as they didn't really go into detail, nor explain it.

Prior to the rappeling the falls, he had shown where it took about an hour to go just 30 feet through thick vegetation. Now, I know they don't take time to insert explanations (which may do them some good for the audience's sake).
But what I took away from it, was, the vegeatation was so thick, that he really had no other choice to follow the water.
 
Thanks everyone for the answers hehe. i figured it might be thick vegetation but still in the alaska episode i believe the temperature was something like -4, and i cant imagine free climbing (he didnt rapell in this episode with vines or anything, just free climbed down the center) in freezing water, he must be an excellent climber that is for sure. I cant help thinking that some alternate route would be less dangerous, although as Homebru said maybe he was hoping for a splash rather than a splat!
 
I too thought he was making a bad, and potentially disasterous move when he pulled that stunt. Of course I also have problems with his jumping in the freezing waters as well, and question the entire boat stunt. Neither were 100% necesary, especially the former. But, it's a fun show to watch, and most people could care less beyond that.

I also question his only taking a single salmon as well. If he didn't know when he would get more acess to food, it would have been wise to get a couple when he could. Even if he didn't eat it then, I think he should have preserved them if possible.

It's also idiotic to go out where he was without some sort of firearm. As he admitted, theree have been attacks there in the past, and bears were near by. Obviously, it was good that he kept the bears at bay, and he should do that even if carrying. An appropriate hadngun, like Smith's new .460 and .500 survival revolvers or the Ruger .454/.45LC Alaskan are easily carryiable, and don't take up the space that a traditional weapon in that caliber range would. Of course, he was trying to go minimalist, and I have no clue what his status is in the US (US Citizen, Resident Alien, Tourist, etc....), which could also effect the legality of him packing heat. I pray that somebody on his film crew was carrying.
 
mp510 said:
It's also idiotic to go out where he was without some sort of firearm. As he admitted, theree have been attacks there in the past, and bears were near by. Obviously, it was good that he kept the bears at bay, and he should do that even if carrying. An appropriate hadngun, like Smith's new .460 and .500 survival revolvers or the Ruger .454/.45LC Alaskan are easily carryiable, and don't take up the space that a traditional weapon in that caliber range would. Of course, he was trying to go minimalist, and I have no clue what his status is in the US (US Citizen, Resident Alien, Tourist, etc....), which could also effect the legality of him packing heat. I pray that somebody on his film crew was carrying.
Click to expand...

I fully agree with you and this statement but my guess is that even if the rest of the crew didn't have some sort of long gun. He (Bear) was subscribing to the "I can almost certainly outrun the rest of this camera crew and this is where my safety lies" theory of self preservation. :D :thumbup:

KR
 
kr1, right on. :D

Reminds me of the 2 men and a bear joke.

2 men being chased full tilt by a pissed off Grizzly bear.
They are running as fast as they can.
One says to the other, "Do you think we can outrun this bear?"
The other answers back. "I'm not worried about outrunning the bear, I only want to outrun YOU!" :thumbup:
 
OK, maybe Bear and Les Stroud are both a bit nuts, and sure, there's a bit of showmanship. But those two shows are about the most intelligent and interesting things I've seen on the tube lately.

Besides, you gotta admit it's a wicked cool job! Get paid to get lost? :thumbup:
 
Was channel surfing one night and caught a bit of a survivor type guy , made his own "knife" out of rock and his own fire , then knabbed a squirrel and cooked it and ate it , pretended it was tasty lol. I thought it was an interesting show.

IMO , the folks that free climb are absolute nutbars but I gotta take my hat off to them because they have larger testes than I ever will :eek: I love to watch it but it freaks me out the whole time. :D
 
IMO why waste your time watching this show. IMO it is ALL done for the camera and effects !
 
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