Man vs Wild: Bear Gylls in Copper Canyon, Mexico

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the television program "Man vs Wild," specifically focusing on an episode featuring Bear Grylls in Copper Canyon, Mexico. Participants share their thoughts on the show's portrayal of survival techniques, the risks associated with outdoor adventures, and comparisons with other survival shows like "Survivorman." The conversation includes personal anecdotes and critiques of the show's authenticity.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants describe the conditions Bear Grylls faced in Copper Canyon, including temperature fluctuations and the dangers of wildlife.
  • There are discussions about the techniques demonstrated by Grylls, such as making fire using a yucca plant and the risks of hypothermia.
  • Several participants express skepticism about the authenticity of Grylls' experiences, suggesting he may not be as isolated as portrayed and that he has a crew assisting him.
  • Comparisons are made between "Man vs Wild" and "Survivorman," with some participants preferring the latter for its perceived realism and self-sufficiency.
  • Concerns are raised about the portrayal of risks in wilderness survival, with anecdotes of tourists suffering from dehydration and sunburn in remote areas.
  • Some participants note specific instances from "Man vs Wild" that they find questionable, such as the appearance of a third hand during a scene, suggesting it undermines the show's credibility.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of opinions about the authenticity and educational value of "Man vs Wild." While some appreciate the entertainment aspect, others raise concerns about its realism and safety implications. There is no consensus on the superiority of either "Man vs Wild" or "Survivorman," as preferences vary among participants.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the potential dangers of outdoor activities and the importance of proper preparation, but there are differing views on how well these are represented in the show. The discussion reflects a range of personal experiences and interpretations of survival techniques.

Who May Find This Useful

Viewers interested in survival techniques, outdoor adventures, and reality television may find this discussion relevant. It may also appeal to those comparing different survival shows and their portrayals of wilderness experiences.

Astronuc
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I caught a really interesting program on TV - Man vs Wild.
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/manvswild/manvswild.html

The host, Bear Gylls, was dropped on top of a remote range in the Copper Canyon area of Chihuahua, Mexico - at 9400 ft (2865 m). The day time temperature was ~70+°F, but at night the temperature would drop to 15°F, so that anyone without protection would risk hypothermia.

For each 1000 ft (305 m), the night time temperature would increase a few degrees, so the objective would be to get down to the valley as quickly as possible - but the mountain sides are steep and somewhat unstable. Also, one has to be careful where one puts one's hands in order to avoid scorpions or tarantulas, and perhaps rattlesnakes. Gylls ate a scorpion that picked off the ground to indicate that they are a good source of protein.

Gylls got to about 7000 ft just before the sun went down and the temperature started to drop. He stopped and made a fire, which he demonstrated.

He used a yucca plant which was dry, and has the lowest flashpoint of any wood. He made a fire sword, which makes fire by friction. To make the fire initiator, he cut two pieces of wood and placed them in parallel with two stones separating them, and bound them with green stalks. He filled the gap with dry grass, but tinder would be suitable. He placed the sticks between some rocks, and then proceeded to rub a 'fire sword' perpendicularly across the two sticks and above the dry grass (tinder). After a few minutes a hot piece of wood lit the grass. He placed that on another bundle of grass and added some sticks.

Very practical - http://dsc.discovery.com/survival/how-to-survive/how-to-survive-tips.html

Making fire - http://dsc.discovery.com/survival/how-to-survive/how-to-survive-tips-tab-07.html
 
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Biology news on Phys.org
Have you seen Man Vs. FOOD?
 
I can attest to people (tourists) who put themselves at risk in remote places. Dehydration, sunburn, and sunstroke/heat stroke are common problems.

I encountered a girl whose legs were purple from sunburn. She was hiking in the Grand Canyon in shorts and no sunscreen. I'm sure she did severe damage to her skin.
 
Wow, sounds like a good show. I will definitely check it out.
 
Astronuc said:
I caught a really interesting program on TV - Man vs Wild.
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/manvswild/manvswild.html

The host, Bear Gylls, was dropped on top of a remote range in the Copper Canyon area of Chihuahua, Mexico - at 9400 ft (2865 m). The day time temperature was ~70+°F, but at night the temperature would drop to 15°F, so that anyone without protection would risk hypothermia.

For each 1000 ft (305 m), the night time temperature would increase a few degrees, so the objective would be to get down to the valley as quickly as possible - but the mountain sides are steep and somewhat unstable. Also, one has to be careful where one puts one's hands in order to avoid scorpions or tarantulas, and perhaps rattlesnakes. Gylls ate a scorpion that picked off the ground to indicate that they are a good source of protein.

Gylls got to about 7000 ft just before the sun went down and the temperature started to drop. He stopped and made a fire, which he demonstrated.

He used a yucca plant which was dry, and has the lowest flashpoint of any wood. He made a fire sword, which makes fire by friction. To make the fire initiator, he cut two pieces of wood and placed them in parallel with two stones separating them, and bound them with green stalks. He filled the gap with dry grass, but tinder would be suitable. He placed the sticks between some rocks, and then proceeded to rub a 'fire sword' perpendicularly across the two sticks and above the dry grass (tinder). After a few minutes a hot piece of wood lit the grass. He placed that on another bundle of grass and added some sticks.

Very practical - http://dsc.discovery.com/survival/how-to-survive/how-to-survive-tips.html
His name is Grylls, not Gylls
I'm guessing you're not based in the UK
Over here, he has something of a reputation for 'stretching it a bit' examples include use of smoke generators to make skipping across volcanic bowls look a lot more dangerous than they really are. He is also staying in comfy hotels when he conveys to his audience the impression that he's roughing it.
Entertaining if you're into that sort of thing but his deeds of derring-do need to be taken with a pinch of salt
 
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I like Survivorman much, much better than Man vs. Wild. Man vs. Wild has some incredibly bad stuff at times. Example: A third hand appearing from offscreen to hand Bear Grylls a torch as he descends into an abandoned mine. Where did that third hand come from? (Answer: A crew member; Bear Grylls has a whole crew traveling with him doing the photography and handing him torches, etc, when needed.) What in the world is he doing descending into an abandoned mine? (Answer: There is no answer. Avoiding unnecessary risks is the number one rule in the wilderness.)

Les Stroud (Survivorman) is truly on his own. His crew drops him off with just his cameras, maybe a knife, maybe a piece of survival gear. He has one week to get out of the predicament. He carries his own cameras and does his own filmwork. That sometimes means he has to set up a camera to show him hiking out of some tough location, then hiking back to pick up the camera he left behind, and then hiking back out with the camera in tow. If you like Man vs Wild, try to catch Survivorman. It is much, much better than Man vs Wild (but at times the camera work is a bit jerkier).
 
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D H said:
I like Survivorman much, much better than Man vs. Wild. Man vs. Wild has some incredibly bad stuff at times. Example: A third hand appearing from offscreen to hand Bear Grylls a torch as he descends into an abandoned mine. Where did that third hand come from? (Answer: A crew member; Bear Grylls has a whole crew traveling with him doing the photography and handing him torches, etc, when needed.) What in the world is he doing descending into an abandoned mine? (Answer: There is no answer. Avoiding unnecessary risks is the number one rule in the wilderness.)

Les Stroud (Survivorman) is truly on his own. His crew drops him off with just his cameras, maybe a knife, maybe a piece of survival gear. He has one week to get out of the predicament. He carries his own cameras and does his own filmwork. That sometimes means he has to set up a camera to show him hiking out of some tough location, then hiking back to pick up the camera he left behind, and then hiking back out with the camera in tow. If you like Man vs Wild, try to catch Survivorman. It is much, much better than Man vs Wild (but at times the camera work is a bit jerkier).

Survivorman. Great show. I'm proud to be Canadian :biggrin:
 
  • #10
D H said:
Example: A third hand appearing from offscreen to hand Bear Grylls a torch as he descends into an abandoned mine. Where did that third hand come from?\


Obviously he has a cameraman, otherwise where is the video from? I think the cameraman is way more of a badass, I mean try traveling over the country they go through with a 10 pound camera.

It's also evident in that when Bear cooks food he normally only eats half of it.

I do prefer Les Stroud, but will watch either show, they sure beat reality TV.
 
  • #11
binzing said:
Obviously he has a cameraman, otherwise where is the video from? I think the cameraman is way more of a badass, I mean try traveling over the country they go through with a 10 pound camera.

It's also evident in that when Bear cooks food he normally only eats half of it.

I do prefer Les Stroud, but will watch either show, they sure beat reality TV.

Some of them film themselves.
 
  • #12
I agree bear Grylls isn't as bad *** as the survivorman guy in their shows but the intent of man vs wild is to show you how to survive. He obviously has help (they even set up artificial situations such as falling through ice or jumping in a bog), but its not totally about him simply surviving.

Personally I prefer man vs wild simply because of the shots they get. I enjoy seeing the broad landscapes of nature around the world shot from helicopters and such.
 
  • #13
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  • #14
binzing said:
It's also evident in that when Bear cooks food he normally only eats half of it...
Mmmmmmmmmm...left-over scorpion.
 
  • #15
Colin1 said:
His name is Grylls, not Gylls
I'm guessing you're not based in the UK
Over here, he has something of a reputation for 'stretching it a bit' examples include use of smoke generators to make skipping across volcanic bowls look a lot more dangerous than they really are. He is also staying in comfy hotels when he conveys to his audience the impression that he's roughing it.
Entertaining if you're into that sort of thing but his deeds of derring-do need to be taken with a pinch of salt
Heh, didn't know this. Nevertheless, I've learned some cool tricks from just the 3 or 4 episodes I've watched.
 
  • #16
Cyrus said:
Some of them film themselves.

Yes, but it's evident to anyone with half a brain that Bear isn't filming himself when the camera is panning and moving and he's remaining in frame...
 
  • #17
binzing said:
Yes, but it's evident to anyone with half a brain that Bear isn't filming himself when the camera is panning and moving and he's remaining in frame...

Monkey film crews.
 
  • #19
Cyrus said:
Monkey film crews.

Mhmm...
 
  • #20
At the beginning of every episode it says that there is a flim crew and such
 
  • #21
mbisCool said:
...the intent of man vs wild is to show you how to survive...

...I enjoy seeing the broad landscapes of nature around the world shot from helicopters and such
So which?
Survival or stunning vistas?
 
  • #22
mbisCool said:
Ibut the intent of man vs wild is to show you how to survive.
I've watched a handful of episodes, and each time there has been something completely antithetical to surviving in the wild. E.g., walking into an abandoned mine with only a torch made out of strips of cloth soaked in kerosene.
 
  • #23
Well he demonstrated the art of torch making :o Does he really need to actually drink the liquid from elephant poo to show you how to survive?

The intent of the show is not the main reason I enjoy it, so both.
 
  • #25
I'd be impressed if he hadn't squeezed its guts out of his mouth. About all he MIGHT have swallowed was the skin. But there is a cut at that point, so who knows how much of it he actually ate?
 
  • #26
I wouldn't let that one clip swade your opinion; in other episodes he drinks piss, elephant poo, eats an eyeball etc. and the guts don't come out...

I'm pretty sure he is eating these things, whether he survives off of them I do not know.
 
  • #27
mbisCool said:
I wouldn't let that one clip swade your opinion; in other episodes he drinks piss, elephant poo, eats an eyeball etc. and the guts don't come out...

I'm pretty sure he is eating these things, whether he survives off of them I do not know.

Why the hell would he drink piss for?
 
  • #28
Cyrus said:
Why the hell would he drink piss for?
It was that or American Beer?

(ps. Yes I know if you are from San Fransisco/Oregon/or anywhere that Budweiser doesn't have 100% market penetration - that there are many delightful Amercian microbrews, and I deeply apologise)
 
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  • #29
Survivorman is painful to watch. But real. He films himself and actually has to make do with next to nothing. His wilderness survival tips and skills are incredible.
 
  • #30
mbisCool said:
I wouldn't let that one clip swade your opinion; in other episodes he drinks piss, elephant poo, eats an eyeball etc. and the guts don't come out...

I'm pretty sure he is eating these things, whether he survives off of them I do not know.

http://www.daughtersoftiresias.org/bearwiki/Evidence
-Is this the same guy?
 
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