Worlds Toughest Expeditions, with James Cracknell.

[Ross Bowyer]

Morning Guys,

Just thought I would give a heads up that there is a new documentary on the Discovery Channel. It started last night and will be on next sunday at 9. The show looks at the defining moments of some of the toughest expeditions, including, Col. Percy Fawcett, Livingston, the 49's and the shipwrecked crew of the Dundonald.

There will be loads of bushcraft skills, which were used by the originals as well as some challenging and amazing environments.

We provided Survival consultancy, medical cover, managed the risk assessments and looked after the crew in some tough locations.

Here is a link to a clip of last nights show in the Amazon.

[video=youtube;Jl6na0TXqig]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl6na0TXqig[/video]

Enjoy!

Ross

 

[DUCky]

I saw that clip a couple of days ago. They sure made him earn his keep
As a rower it was a bit of a suprise his hands got blisters like that. Imagine what it would have done to normal mortals. Must have been sore for quite a few days.

 

[Jinsin456]

I watched this last night I I have to say, he is NOT prepared for the environment he is going into and a few times I thought he was just a danger to himself.

The reason he got blisters on his hands were from bucking a log by hitting it square on everytime rather than cutting a V and using angled strokes, this to me is a very basic skill that everyone who handles an axe should know.

Also the river crossings he was doing, while bleeding, knowing there were predators in the water just seems like a stupid risk to be taking.

Also you can see by the size of his rucksack that knowledge weighs nothing

I will keep watching but have been very unimpressed thus far.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Also the river crossings he was doing, while bleeding, knowing there were predators in the water just seems like a stupid risk to be taking.

What sort of predators are we talking here?

 

[Jinsin456]

What sort of predators are we talking here?

Caymans and piranhas I think, basically stuff you don't want to be swimming with.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Caymans and piranhas I think, basically stuff you don't want to be swimming with.

They aren't much of a threat, I've swam in rivers containing them.

 

[wattsy]

piranhas hardly ever attack people the only attacks occur when the water levels are low and around areas where refuse is thrown into the water that can attract them

 

[Jinsin456]

Probably wasn't too risky after all then, just the way it was narrated suggested that it was a high risk thing.

 

[atross]

Ross, having had a chance to learn from in the past it was great to see you getting some well deserved exposure last night! Very much enjoyed the program and you were and evil bugger with the Iodine! Always interesting to see Crackers on the telly, they guy pushes himself like you wouldn't believe! He seems to have the ability to ignore all pain causing himself quite substantial damage, I am guessing telling him what to do in any situation is quite tough!

Looking forward to seeing more!

 

[knifefan]

Was really looking forward to this since I first saw it advertised. I was very dissappointed with the whole programme. After the fourth time, I was sick of being reminded what the programme was about!!! From the outset, you knew that he would not find out anything new about the explorer in question and as for experiencing the "Jungle" well the less said about that the better!! Overall, not very informative (Unless you want to know "how not to" chop firewood!!!) and looks like just another platform for Mr Cracknell to prove what a superhero he is!!!

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

I watched it but there dint seem to be much substance to it. Cracknel goes for walk in water, chops a log badly and fires a bees nest. Seemed to lack a story line and ended with a wimper. I hope theyre not pinning their hopes on him as a Bear replacement!

 

[Ross Bowyer]

Some interesting points. The aim of the series was not how a survival expert, or for that matter anyone with survival skills could cope in these environments, more for James, who has a well deserved reputation for pushing his body to, and often beyond the limits, to get a real glimpse of what these explorers went through and what motivated them. The type of experience you could never get by sifting through journals in the comfortable library at the RGS. Col. Fawcett for example was well known for having an almost super-human endurance and was able to continue going, while other members of his expedition fell by the wayside.

With regards to the wood chopping, I fully agree. When the village elder described what he wanted James to do and how he wanted to split the wood, I thought that it would be ineffective. However, these guys cut wood like this every single day and I was sure they had found the most effective way to do it. The wood was much more dense than any Uk hardwood and James managed to split it effectively. The blisters were a result of James' 'soft' hands and a very rough axe handle, not everyone has access to high quality Swedish tools . I was just pleased to learn a new way of splitting wood from real masters of their environment.

Looking forward to hearing more of your comments and hope you find the rest of the series interesting.

Ps I haven't seen the shows yet, so am not sure what made it in to the final edit.

Best,

Ross

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

I take your point Ross but for me it fell between two stalls. James didnt really seem to be pushing himself beyond the log chopping blisters and getting cut with the tooth comb. It seemed to me the connection with the original explorer wasnt made strongly enough. I felt a bit like I was watching a cross between Bruce Parry's Tribe and Bare Grylls Born Survivor but on a watered down basis which lacked 'oomph'

I will continue to watch though

 

[redneck]

I liked it.

 

[Jinsin456]

I give him credit for sticking it out, as mentioned the guy is a machine, I've watched the majority of his programmes on discovery and have really enjoyed them all. This one just seems a bit lacking in some departments, the guys stamina and respect to the tribes was outstanding but other than that it just seemed lacking.

 

[Gray1100]

Thanks for the heads up, I missed this last night but will find the repeat - should be on soon.

 

[Bushwhacker]

I was going to mention that clip Ross, as I too had to administer some iodine to a couple of wounds when I got run over by a 4x4 last weekend!

 

[rik_uk3]

Looks like a well worth watching show, at least the guy is actually out there (film crew included) rather than looking at kit and daydreaming.

 

[knifefan]

Looks like a well worth watching show, at least the guy is actually out there (film crew included) rather than looking at kit and daydreaming.

Thats about all !!! He's "out there" but no mention of kit, camp, food (oh!! apperantly you can fend off jaguar attacks by leaving it a fish!!!!)

 

[Bushwhacker]

Thats about all !!! He's "out there" but no mention of kit, camp, food (oh!! apperantly you can fend off jaguar attacks by leaving it a fish!!!!)

A jaguar won't do anything. They might watch you from a distance and follow on but that's about it in the main.