There’s an Art to fending off grizzly bears – Part 2. Survival tips from Art Mortvedt

16th March 2009 > Sport, Travel

A couple of posts ago, we featured Art Mortvedt, a survival expert and trainer based in Alaska. Art has worked as a National Park Ranger and while teaching Eskimo students in the village of Shungnak, north of the Arctic Circle, he learned subsistence, survival and dog mushing techniques from local native elders.

art-in-snow-with-plane1

We asked Art for his TOP SURVIVAL TIPS, and this is what he said:
 
1. Mother Nature is in supreme control.

2. NEVER roll up in a frozen moose hide for warmth.  It will freeze solid; and there will be no way to get out.  It will be your tomb. 

3. The only constant is change; i.e. always adapt with circumstances and conditions, which are never the same.
 
4. Always keep the glass half full; i.e. always look on the positive side of any situation, no matter how dire.
 
5. Advice from an Eskimo elder many years ago – in bear country – “keep your rifle with you all the time”.  Over the years I’ve had several bears charge me; and the elders advice was very true, and has saved my life.

art-with-bear-paw2

6. The predictable thing about bears is their unpredictability.  There are “nice bears” and “bad bears” – just like people; and one must always be ready for the bad bears.  If a person is suddenly attacked – with no chance to defend himself by shooting the bear or using pepper spray – one must, as best as is possible, roll up in a ball and protect the abdomen and neck area.  A grizzly grabbed a friend of mine by the head, and shook him around; but he survived.  Of course his facial bones were crushed – and he had some dramatic scars – but he’s back to normal, only wearing a beard now to cover the scars.

7. Hypothermia is indeed the “silent killer”.  Always have spare dry clothes and/or a place or method to dry off and warm up.

8. Birch bark is the ultimate fire starter – even in the rain.
 
9. Make every survival situation into a “camping trip” – realizing a bit of discomfort at the moment, but also realizing that with the positive attitude things will get better and that survival is then imminent.
 
10. When you’re chilled – e.g. tingly toes and fingers – don’t wait to warm them.  Do so immediately.  Waiting too long puts you over the edge; and there’s no going back.
 
11. Don’t go anywhere in winter without snowshoes, axe, knife, and matches.
 
12. Moose nose, grizzly bear foot, and boiled porcupine are quite tasty delicacies; and a human being can be quite happy eating nearly anything when truly hungry.
  
13. In a survival situation, depend on no one but yourself.  Do not depend on rescue; because conditions, such as bad weather, may not allow it.

14. Drink lots – especially warm decaffeinated drinks; and do not become dehydrated.
 
15. In a survival situation, let your imagination soar – “imagine what you can’t imagine” – i.e. there may be tools right in front of you, or ways to make them, that you otherwise would not have noticed.  “Necessity is the Mother of invention”.

art-survival-hut1 
16. Plan ahead.  Always be thinking of what you WOULD DO, IF YOU HAD TO.
 
17. Panic kills. 
 
So now we know.

For more on survival courses with Art Mortvedt, or to stay at the lodge he runs with his wife Damaris, visit www.alaskawilderness.net.

  • Share/Bookmark

> 3 Comments

 

To the Ends of the Earth – Polar Expeditions

13th March 2009 > Sport, Travel

There are loads of motivational speakers out there, but very few are as inspirational a character as Ben Saunders. It’s not often The Times describe someone as “the next Ranulph Fiennes”. He’s a record breaking polar explorer and long-distance skier, with four North Pole expeditions under his belt, and holds the record for youngest to ski solo to the North Pole and the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton.

Difficult to improve upon, you might think. Seemingly not, according to Ben – “I have a massive Antarctic project on the horizon – the first return journey to the South Pole on foot. At 1,800 miles and nearly four months, it will be the longest unsupported (i.e. human-powered) polar expedition in history.”

40

“My solo expedition to the geographic North Pole in 2004 was 31 marathons back to back over the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean. I was dragging 180kg (twice my body weight) at the start, and the lowest temperature was -48 degrees c. I spent 72 days alone, camping in the polar bear’s natural habitat (I slept next to a pump-action shotgun). Without wishing to sound too gung-ho, this is a big part of the appeal. It puts fun runs, triathlons and even things like the Tough Guy into perspective…”

30

Any Close Shaves? “Too many to mention. The closest shaves were being attacked by a polar bear in 2001 and falling through the ice alone in 2004. But there are always huge periods of self-doubt, fear and loneliness, particularly on big solo expeditions – in a sense these are harder to deal with than the occasional panic.”

32

Whilst there can be no doubt of the extreme physical and mental strain involved these expeditions, there doesn’t appear to be any strategic or special philosophy that motivates Ben when things get really tough.
“There’s no one thing in particular, but it’s essentially a combination of stubbornness, pride and bloody-mindedness, the knowledge that what I’m doing is benefiting others (whether it’s through associations with charities and schools, or merely the fact that they’re enjoying following my story as it unfolds) and a large dose of positive mental attitude. Music is one of my secret weapons – both on expeditions and when I’m grinding through tough training sessions back in the UK.”

29

When he’s not testing the limits of human endurance, Ben is a leading motivational speaker and author, as well as an ambassador for numerous charities and organizations. So to what extent do his expeditionary experiences inform his advice when speaking to people?
“Massively so. I’m remarkably normal in every respect – I’m not peculiarly talented, I’m not genetically suited to the cold, I don’t have a freakish lung capacity or a vast IQ, I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth and I’m certainly not descended from a family tree of explorers. I’ve had to work hard for what I’ve achieved and there have been some soaring highs and crushing lows along the way – it’s these experiences that people seem most keen to hear about. No one has any idea what sleeping in a tent at -48 is like, or how it feels to be the only human being in hundreds of thousands of square miles, and it’s very difficult to explain these things. But we’ve all had dreams, and we’ve all experienced setbacks and challenge along the way – that’s what my story’s all about, really.”

31

For more details about the next planned expedition and forthcoming lectures, check Ben’s website at www.bensaunders.com or follow him on twitter @polarben.

 

Images used with the kind permission of Andy Ward and Ben Saunders.

  • Share/Bookmark

> No Comments

 

There’s an Art to fending off grizzly bears…Part 1

13th March 2009 > Sport, Travel

Introducing Art Mortvedt….

Rumour has it that grizzly bears are frightened of Art Mortvedt. But if there’s the odd one that isn’t, Art will have it covered. A survival expert and trainer based in Alaska, Art has worked as a National Park Ranger and while teaching Eskimo students in the village of Shungnak, north of the Arctic Circle, he learned subsistence, survival and dog mushing techniques from local native elders.

art-mortvedt1

With six expeditions to the central Arctic Ocean – based out of northern Greenland – a solo Cessna flight through the Canadian High Arctic, expeditions to Spitzbergen and Siberia, and more than twenty expeditions to Antarctica, Art now consults on a variety of polar logistical issues. He is an Alaska Registered Guide and a highly experienced bush pilot – and after landing a single engine Cessna 185 at the South Pole, is now planning a solo Cessna flight to the North Pole.

Art lives at 67N155W, in the western Brooks Range, with his wife Damaris, and owns the Peace of Selby Wilderness Lodge – a name that perfectly reflects the ethos of the place and leaves guests pledging to return time and time again.

acc1

Access to Selby Wilderness Lodge in the Alaskan Bush is by float-plane only, which naturally Art flies. Guests can spend a couple of weeks at the lodge, flying to fishing spots, learning bush skills, camping, building river floats, fishing, snow-shoeing, ice fishing, hunting, tracking the caribou migration, learning about subsistence living….or just enjoying the peace. Art and his wife Damaris will tailor-make your stay according to your needs.

arts-float-plane

Art’s survival skills really caught our imagination at Ooh and so I caught up with him during preparations for that North Pole solo flight in his Cessna 185. My interview with Art will follow shortly on the blog, and I’ll share Art’s advice on what do with a grizzly bear foot, and what NOT to do with a moose hide…..More soon. 

In the meantime, visit www.alaskawilderness.net to find out more about one of the most peaceful places on earth.

  • Share/Bookmark

> 1 Comment

 

Riding Wood…

11th March 2009 > Craft & Creative, Ooh.com Stuff, Sport

Rich Blundell grew up in New England, Boston. In 1981, he repaired an old wooden surfboard and caught the bug for surfboard engineering. A while after he fixed that first board, he became curious about the construction of sustainable, wooden boards. “There were several established techniques for board building. I had a go at it, but it wasn’t perfect; the problem is how you build the rails, so I invented the strip and feather method. It’s flexible and light and it fills all the gaps between the strips of wood at once – it solves loads of problems in one go.”

rich-blundell-working

“They must be pretty heavy?” I query. “It weighs about a third more than a foam board. But duck-diving (swimming under broken waves to get further out) under waves is so easy, because the wood has great momentum. Plus they catch and power through messy breaks really easily, unlike foam boards.”

For those not in the know, English surf is often messy. So in the UK, wooden boards with this magic ability to harness that power and turn it into forward motion are exciting news. Their use isn’t limited to the UK though, they’re also common in Hawaii and Australia and growing into a global phenomenon.

“Unlike Balsa wood, Cedar has a proper cell structure, so it’s got a really visible grain,” explains Rich with infectious excitement, “when you put a layer of fiberglass over it, the cells in the grain just glow…”

You can build one of Rich’s boards yourself. When you visit his site and make a donation Rich plants one cedar tree for each dollar you donate, then he sends you a pdf template for building a board from a range of different styles: fish-tails, guns and long-boards. You’ll need a good workshop, but there’s no sorcery. The most important things are a bench saw and a router. Failing the completeness of your garage, your local university or college almost certainly has these tools in their woodshop.


rich-blundell-finished-board

“If you had all the wood stocked up, you could build one in a week,” Rich says, “…as a basement hobbyist maybe a month. If you bought the wood for a 9ft board it’s about £50, but you can often get it free.”

Rich is currently seeking people who know their way round a workshop to start making wooden boards with him. He’s going to teach people his technique and informally provide surf instruction on the side. He’s building a board live at the Wood Festival later this year, and again at the Truck Festival in Oxfordshire on the 20th July.


rich-blundell-surfing

‘What interests you about surfing?’ I ask. “I’m into the phenomenology of it – thinking about the lived experience. It’s intense, sensuous and contemplative being immersed in that medium. You’re at the interface of the sky, the sea and the land; such a dynamic place. I had attention problems at college but surfing is so different. Your back is to the land and you’re intensely focused on that horizon.”

Rich is looking for joiners and surf enthusiasts to team up with to take his work further and he’s putting together a documentary about how surf culture might answer some of tomorrow’s big questions. Have a look at his thriving website, www.grainsurf.com, and forum, or email him with any questions you have.

rich-wooden

  • Share/Bookmark

> No Comments

 

Ditch the GPS and navigate naturally

11th March 2009 > Leisure, Travel

Tristan Gooley has a very full passport. I caught up with him just as he was unpacking from a trip to  Libya.

tristan-gooley2

Tristan has led expeditions in five continents, climbed mountains in Europe, Africa and Asia, sailed small boats across oceans and piloted small aircraft to Africa and the Arctic. He has recently been awarded the Royal Institute of Navigation’s Certificate of Achievement by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh for becoming the first European and only living person to have both flown solo and sailed singlehanded across the Atlantic. And when, briefly, he puts his passport down, he’s also non-executive Vice Chairman of Trailfinders.

What really interests us is that Tristan is the only person in the world working full time in natural navigation. He has set up The Natural Navigator School and runs courses all over the world.

Tristan explains, ‘Natural navigation is about finding your way without using map, compass, gps or any other navigational tool at all. It’s not just about getting from A to B, it also makes you feel better connected to the world. It can be very powerful on an emotional as well as physical and practical level.’

Tristan runs one day, classroom-based courses and then likes to follow these with outdoor courses. ‘Even at the end of a one-day course people will be able to orientate themselves at a basic level on land, sea or in the air, both by day and by night,’ he says.

stars

So apart from stars, wind and sun, how else can we navigate our way around? ‘All the senses are incredibly important. For example, smell – so the smell of the sea from land, or land from sea. I remember coming in to the Caribbean after a month at sea and it smelt to me like cut grass mixed with a teaspoon of honey and one ground clove! We can also use sight, sound and taste. With taste, you can, for example, taste the difference between estuary and river by the salt levels in the water. With sound, two sides of a path will often sound different as you walk over them. This is due to moisture levels in the earth and the wetter side will usually be on the southern side.’

We’re fully on board for getting back to basics and having a go at one of these courses. And there’s one thing you can be sure of, you’ll never feel lost again.

sahara

  • Share/Bookmark

> 1 Comment

 

We’re all funny… some of us just don’t know it yet.

10th March 2009 > Craft & Creative, Ooh.com Stuff

Bored of the doom and gloom that seems to have enveloped planet Earth, we set out to find someone who could lift our lowly spirits. We threw some serious resources at the problem, and after several long minutes of research we tracked down Rich Stimbra.

sfccstaff

Rich is the assistant director of the San Francisco Comedy College, one of the most famous comedy schools in the US. “It certainly beats having a 9-5 job,” he tells Ooh, “I wake up and go to work when I want and I’m constantly surrounded by creativity, opportunity, and the most interesting people.”

“It’s great to have a job where people clap when you show up to work; they pay to listen to your view of the world and then they clap when you’re done with work,” he says, arousing mild jealousy.

Rich is very enthusiastic about teaching and embraces life as a comedian. He loves “ living a life that is outside of what is considered normal and watching the joy one can give to people by performing,and helping students find out about themselves through comedic expression.”

Rich Stimbra

Curious about the way the comedy college works, I ask Rich how he teaches comedy. “We let people know that you can’t teach someone to have a sense of humor, but there are fundamental mechanics to how jokes are created. We also tell our students to only talk about what is important to them and not what they imagine an audience will find funny. We all have interesting lives and we should explore who we are and find out what’s funny about it. ”

“Comedy is not as easy as some people make it look. There’s a lot of self exploration involved and in the beginning comedians deal with a tremendous amount of rejection. Also, the other half of this is business and comedians who are serious need to learn early on how to market themselves. If done correctly though, the rewards are amazing.”

Courses at the SFCC cost from $250 for beginners, getting students 5 weeks of classes, a workbook, 3 opportunities to perform at open mic shows per week, free entry to professional comedy shows on Friday and Saturday nights and membership of their regularly updated online community. The SFCC also runs an advanced class, helping turn comic material into a well-finished act. Fancy trying your hand at comedy? You can find out more by emailing Rich here.

  • Share/Bookmark

> No Comments

 

Unwinding in the Bahamas

10th March 2009 > Leisure, Ooh.com Stuff, Travel

Given how hard most people are likely to be working this year, with global economies gyrating like angry drunks, we thought it best to dig out somewhere tucked away, where you can really escape from it all. Where better than a little known holiday cottage in the Bahamas?

Pete’s Pub, as the unassuming name suggests, is a pub run by a man named Pete. But it’s not just any pub. This is a pub on the seafront of the beautiful Abaco Island in the Bahams, featuring a restaurant where you can book a table for dinner by VHF radio while you’re out fishing, snorkeling, or swimming with dolphins.

petes-pub-1

The pub is linked to a small haven of creative energy, The Foundry. Manager and daughter-in-law to Pete, Heather Moore, tells me: “The pub is a couple of hundred feet from the Foundry where we cast bronze art & jewelry, the only Art Foundry in the Bahamas.” Between Pete’s Pub and the Foundry, there is a gallery full of works produced at the Foundry: “Mostly my own art, my sons’, Greg and Tyler, my father’s, Randolph Johnston and our resident artist Richard Appaldo.”

petes-pub-gallery-1

Although a stay in one of their holiday cottages promises unbridled relaxation, there’s no shortage of cool stuff to do locally: “North of us lies Hopetown and the other outlying islands with hundreds of years of history, great restaurants, museums & ocean life from snorkeling to big game fishing, which we can organize.”

the-foundry

“There’s great surfing right behind the pub,” Heather tells me, “people most enjoy visiting in the spring, when the dolphin are running like mad, and in summer all you want to do is snorkel or just dive in the water,” which we don’t find too hard to believe.

petes-pub-fish-photo

Like all the best places to escape from it all, Pete’s Pub attracts most visitors by word of mouth, whilst others find out about this balmy island getaway from their thriving website: www.petespub.com. Lucky you, now you’re in the know, you can email for more info here!

The photography in this article is courtesy of Heather Moore.

  • Share/Bookmark

> No Comments

 

Hold Your Breath…

10th March 2009 > Sport

Emma Farrell is at the forefront of an extraordinary sport: freediving.  Involving underwater descent without breathing assistance, freediving can be both challenging and relaxing, and, perhaps surprisingly, it need not only be for the super-fit – “It’s more about relaxation than fitness. Some very fit people just can’t do it, whilst some very out of condition people take to it very easily. Saying that, it obviously does help if you are reasonably fit, as you can recover from deep dives quicker.”

2140194723_c0c8399c7a

Emma left a stressful career in the film industry to freedive upon learning of its availability in the UK.  However, whilst there was a facility at which she could dive, there was no formal training organisation to maintain quality of training and safety. 

“There wasn’t an organised and recognised education system and so a group of us in the UK got together to make a series of courses that could be taught. I was keen that people learn how to enjoy freediving safely to teach a generation how to do it properly and avoid dangerous diving. I was then one of the founding members of the AIDA Education Commission who took the course materials and expanded them worldwide.”

2140175141_581ee4ab68

Having competed nationally and internationally between 2003 and 2006, coming 3rd in the 2003 UK Championships, 3rd in the 2006 Swiss Championships and 2nd in the 2004 Kalymnos International Championships despite being the only female in the competition, Emma’s passion lies in tuition – “Teaching is way more important to me than competing! I really struggled when I started freediving and I love being able to help people learn and avoid all the mistakes I made!”

2140957344_744b921be7

As well as being a freediving author, and having chaired the British Freediving Association, Emma frequently appears in magazines and on television.  Whilst she may be whisked to glamorous locations, the realities of these trips are sometimes a little different – “It may appear to be glamorous but beautiful images and locations can be deceiving! I did a photo shoot for my book in Monaco and got very badly stung by a jellyfish that scarred my hand for a few years. I also did a TV commercial where I was so cold that I became violently ill for a week! Teaching in the United Arab Emirates last year was about teaching in a sea of jellyfish and then an oil slick which took 3 hours in a shower with a bottle of detergent to get rid of. Saying that, I have done some beautiful dives in Greece and the UK when teaching courses so that helps to make up for it!”

Emma runs a variety of courses in the UK and offers freediving holidays at a summer school in Greece.  For more information, visit www.emma-freediver.co.uk or www.deeperblue.com.

 

Photos used with the kind permission of Simon Reid.

  • Share/Bookmark

> No Comments

 

Rapperazzi

6th March 2009 > Craft & Creative, Ooh.com Stuff

Jorge Peniche is the man to go to in LA if you’re a world-famous rapper or a beautiful model. At twenty one years old, he’s emerged in only a few short years as one of the West Coast’s most in-demand photographers.

jp3

Painting an honest picture of the many faces of Los Angeles, Jorge’s affinity for the city is borne out in his images – “I love Los Angeles because it’s such a unique city, rightfully in its own lane. The elements that exist in our culture our so diverse, many of the people who live here for the most part are transplants from other cities around the world. I paint the picture of the issues we face in LA such as poverty, sex, glamour, gangs, success, and struggle.”

jorge1

At eighteen, through a series of encounters with industry individuals, Jorge got his first big break shooting rapper The Game, and has gone on to shoot such artists as Ice Cube, Lil’ Wayne and Ne-yo. Where from here? “I’ve been blessed with many opportunities to link up with some major hitters in the game, but I believe I’ve only touched the tip of the ice berg. I love hip-hop music and I owe a great deal of my current success to it. There is definitely a unique dynamic to the industry that has allowed me to partake in it, and for that reason I’m forever loyal to the hip-hop game. The next steps from here are to branch out into other genres of music and photography. I’d like to be the photographer that can be shooting in the Rolling 60s in South Central L.A. one day, and the next day be in St. Tropez shooting beautiful high-fashion models.”

jp4

There is of course another, more elusive, modern icon that is on Jorge’s list for the future. “I would love to photograph President Barack Obama, he’s such an inspirational individual and his swagger is off the charts.”

jp2

Recognising the internet as a vitally important platform for his art and business, Jorge is yet mindful of the primacy of quality content – “At the end of the day you can have a million dollar site, but if you work isn’t up to par the people will let you know. I make sure I come correct in both my work and presentation via the internet, and this has proven very effective for me.”

You can in find and book Jorge at www.jorgepeniche.com, and contact him here.

  • Share/Bookmark

> No Comments

 

Nuclear Tourism

5th March 2009 > Ooh.com Stuff, Travel

Sergi runs a business in Ukraine taking tourists to the abandoned Chernobyl site and the surrounding devastated landscape. You can visit it for $125, or $500 for a private tour. “We don’t call these tours, but visits to the exclusion zone,” he comments wryly, “the government started to allow them in 2000.”

Chernobyl Scaffold

The radiation levels in the worst-hit areas of the reactor building were estimated at 5.6 röntgen per second, equivalent to 20,000 röntgen per hour. A lethal dose is around 500 röntgen (5 Gy) over 5 hours. Plenty of emergency workers called to the site immediately after the accident in April 1986 received fatal doses within minutes of arriving.

broken-ships

The blast sent a cloud of radioactive smoke into the air that forced over 336,000 people to flee their homes, many of which are now in the deserted exclusion zone that Sergi’s team of four can take you to. “We started the project in 2000 as an incoming travel operator, to make money of course” he says as we ask how he became involved in the business. Sergi tells us that he takes between fifty and sixty groups a year varying in size from one to fifty people but usually between 4 and 12.

So how dangerous is nuclear tourism? “It’s safe during the tour but people are naturally very scared of the radiation.” And what’s the best bit? “Everybody is amazed by Ghost Town or Atomic City,” says Sergi, referring to Prypiat which was literally bathed in radioactive ash after the blast and has been uninhabited since. “In Prypiat we can enter some buildings still. But you can’t take any souvenirs,” he adds. Pilfering radioactive possessions hadn’t really crossed my mind.

Piano

Any amusing stories you can tell me? “They never detected any changes (mutations) in the wild life – but we definitely see changes in nature, especially in Prypiat – it looks like trees were kicked off their clocks – the spring comes much earlier there and the same happens with the fall.”

swimming-pool

Sergi gets visitors from UK, Northern Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and most of them hear about his company online. Visit his website at www.tourkiev.com or you can email him if you’ve got any questions about visits to the exclusion zone. Sergi took all the photos in this article himself; see more here.

  • Share/Bookmark

> No Comments