Bear Offers Survival Wear for Men - Autographs for Women

The face of survival. No girls allowed.

Bear Grylls, for those who don't know him by name or reputation, is the host of "Man vs Wild". He's a former British SAS dude (who had to quit after three years because he broke his back in a parachuting accident) who has become the pop culture face of wilderness survival.

His show has had some flack for being "faked". Yes, there is a camera crew with him at all times. Yes, they scout out the best locations in the area to illustrate various techniques rather than Bear just finding his way out blind. Yes, he's probably not in any real danger during the taping of the shows. It's TV folks. Nobody said stuff on TV really happens the way they show it. If you're entertained, and understand that you shouldn't try most of this stuff if you really are lost, then he has done his job.

As you can see, I find his actions on TV somewhat misleading but defensible. What has really hacked me off though is his new online shop, The Bear Grylls Store. First, there's the tacky factor of a "survival expert" selling outdoor wear of no particularly impressive design. But hey, he's found a way to make some extra cash lending his name to it, so why not.

The problem comes in when you have a browse through the products on offer. For men, there is a range of shirts, fleeces, trousers, jackets etc. Not bad. Then you click on "Women's" clothing. What can the adventurous woman buy from Bear? A t-shirt or a hoodie with his autograph printed across the front! Nothing else. No useful products at all. Apparently survival is not the feminine thing to do. If lost in the wilderness, we should just curl up in a ball and hope that a man (who has been watch Bear on TV) comes to the rescue.

I think it's quite likely that Bear himself has little to do with the shop or what it sells. But when your name is on something, you should be aware of it and make sure it won't come back to bite you in the ass. Bear, if you're out there, fix your shop!

Windy vs Nimby

Makara wind farm from a distance. Ugly or acceptable?

New Zealanders like to think of their country as "clean and green", and part of this claim stems from the large proportion of the country's electricity being generated by renewable resources such as hydroelectric power, wind turbines and geothermal generation.

Wellington is one of the windiest areas of the country, so it should come as no surprise that the power companies were keen to set up a wind farm outside the city, bordering Cook Strait.

Wind generation is generally met with approval in principle by the public - but only when the turbines are to be located "somewhere else". It's the perfect example of NIMBY (not in my back yard) syndrome. Nobody wants to look out their window and see a hundred wind turbines. Not when they paid for a charming view across the mountains. So go ahead and build a wind farm - just not in my back yard!

The wind farm pictured at the top of this post was hotly debated, and is just being completed now after years of arguing. The nearby residents complained that the turbines would create too much noise. (You know, that whoosh sound the blades make as they sweep around.) In the end, the company agreed to cut back the number of planned turbines, eliminating those that were closest to homes. But don't worry, people will still complain about it.

Even when no homes are close by, people protest every proposed wind farm. "It will ruin the natural beauty of the area" they say. I say, better to look at a few wind turbines than to burn more coal and not be able to see anything through the smog! If we are lucky enough to live somewhere where wind generation is feasible, I think it's crazy not to use it. Especially when you think about the alternatives.

Even other "clean" generation like hydroelectric power has a greater impact on the environment. Dams can change the landscape significantly by making reservoirs and changing the flow of local rivers. Still better than burning gas or coal though, if you ask me.

That's my rant about wind farms. Frankly, I think they look just fine. Graceful, even. And if someone wants to put a turbine in my back yard that's OK by me. Except that my back yard is too small, and I don't actually own it.

Can't do it? Watch it!

The problem with living at the ends of the earth is that sometimes things take a while to get here. Case in point: the Banff Mountain Film Festival 2008/9 World Tour.

We're finally getting a visit from the tour next month, after it has doubtlessly made its way through most other countries. But at least it's getting here!

The festival features films of all kinds of mountain and outdoors related activities, from extreme skiing to base jumping, rock climbing, white water kayaking, and anything else you can do at altitude.

For most of us, we'll get to see things we'd never have the balls to try ourselves. So this is the closest I will ever get to speeding down an untouched slope, or leaping off a cliff in a flying squirrel suit.

For a preview, check out the You Tube version of the ad:

Trail Mix or Whatever You Call It

(Photo: Zazzle.com - you can buy the t-shirt there too!)

Frank and Sue over at Our Hiking Blog just posted their favourite recipe for scroggin (that's trail mix or GORP for those of northern hemisphere origins.) Their preference is for a sugary combination including licorice allsorts and gummy snakes.

Since hooking up with G, my trail mixing has been cut to a minimum. He's a big fan of keeping the elements separate. Nuts in one baggie, dried apricots in another, chocolate in another...

But I actually love a nice trail mix, and so I was inspired by Frank and Sue to list some of my favourite things to include. Let's give it a catchy name too.

Maple Kiwi Mix (contains neither maple nor kiwi)
Salted almonds
Peanut M&Ms (or peanut butter ones if I can get them)
Honey roasted peanuts
Yogurt dipped raisins
Dehydrated pineapple (not the crystallized stuff)
Dried apples
Dried peaches
Dried cranberries
Animal crackers

I aim for a good balance between sweet and salty, crunchy and chewy. A full water bottle is mandatory when the trail mix comes out!

Starlight, Star Bright

Something I've been following in the back pages of the news for a while is New Zealand's application to UNESCO to make the sky over Lake Tekapo on the South Island the world's first heritage site in the sky.

There is an observatory beside the lake (Mt John Observatory), taking advantage of the area's complete lack of urban areas and light pollution. By creating a UNESCO Heritage Site, the area will be controlled so that no major light-creating developments can move in and spoil the view.

I wish I could tell you how beautiful the starry sky above Lake Tekapo looks, but when we were there just over a year ago it was cloudy. But I just love seeing the sky full of stars when it's blacker than black and it seems like you can see the entire universe unfolding above you. If there's a way to protect that view in just one place in New Zealand, I'm all for it!

Apparently eight proposals for night sky reserves went to UNESCO from around the world. At this point they are looking at New Zealand's proposal as well as one in Spain. The final decision will be made next year.

Right now New Zealand has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Milford Sound, Tongariro, and the Sub-Antarctic Islands.

Haunted Hut?

As we all know, ghost stories are best told out in the wilderness, preferably by the dim light of a campfire, or no light at all.

It stands to reason then, that New Zealand's backcountry huts make a perfect setting for one of those spooky tales. Miles from civilization, cut off from any means of communication, dark, full of strange noises without and within - it's a ghost story waiting to happen if you spend the night alone in a hut.

And yet, I've never had anything spooky happen in a hut, or heard of any spooky happenings. But a recent story in the Timaru Herald (Timaru is a town on New Zealand's South Island between Christchurch and Dunedin) talks about strange experiences at Hooker Hut (pictured above), which is in the Southern Alps near Mt Cook Village.

The original Hooker Hut was built in 1910, and has apparently had ghost stories associated with it for decades. The hut was rebuilt in 1948, then shifted intact in 1963 due to instability in the glacial moraine, and shifted again in 1994. The collapsing moraine walls near the hut make it difficult to reach in its current location, so they are looking at moving it once again.

All of this confusion seems to have annoyed the local spirits. According to mountain guide Jane Morris, who spent a night there recently with a DoC Visitor Centre Assistant, they were not alone in Hooker Hut that night.

Shortly after going to bed, the pair heard footsteps on the deck outside, followed by what seemed to be someone rummaging through a backpack. Then they heard what sounded like an ice axe banging against corrugated iron.

They got up and looked outside, but saw no other people or wildlife. After returning to bed, various noises continued through the night, including the sound of pots clanging and someone shuffling around.

Likely candidates for haunting the hut include a man who helped to build the original hut, and later died in an avalanche in the area.

This is the problem with New Zealand - if this happened in Canada you'd just assume it was a bear! Here - well there's only so much noise birds and possums can make. Anyway, if you're headed to Mt Cook you can check it out for yourself.

New Zealand Cycleway Update

A lot of people seem to be following the possible creation of a New Zealand cycleway, so I thought an update might be in order.

First, it seems that I was correct in thinking that $50 million to build the thing seemed like an awfully low estimate. A more educated estimate from a company currently paving a shorter cycling route was that a completely paved option that ran the entire length of the country would cost at least $300 million.

Various options are now being discussed, including a network of shorter cycling routes throughout the country instead of one big one, and routes that are not paved all of the way. (ie they may be dirt or gravel.)

Still, it seems like there may be some merit in attracting more cyclists to New Zealand. A recent article in the New Zealand Herald quoted some figures from the Ministry of Tourism:

"For the year to last September 45,000 of the 2,469,064 international visitors to New Zealand took part in a cycling sport.

The cycling tourists spent $199 million on their trips - excluding international airfares - an average of $4386 each. The average spending of all international tourists is $2692.

Cycling tourists on average stayed in New Zealand for 49.2 nights, more than twice the average length of stay of 20.9 nights.

Britons make up the biggest number of cyclists at 19 per cent, followed by Australians at 17 per cent and Americans at 9 per cent."

So cyclists are a small percentage of New Zealand's tourists, but they are good value tourists because of their long stays in the country. Having longer touring routes available can only help to keep them here even longer, so it does seem like a good investment. Maybe not worth $300 million though. That's a pretty tough call.

More as the story unfolds...

Topping Up the Calorie Count

I'm always reading about how long-distance hikers (especially those in cold conditions) have trouble consuming enough calories to make up for the energy they're burning every day. They tend to lose weight over the course of their journey, in extreme cases to the point of near starvation. Those who can leave the trail for resupply often try to eat as much as possible while they're in civilization, downing huge plates of steak and fries and as many donuts as they can stomach.

Well, if you're looking for the ultimate energy source, I have a recipe for you. Pictured above is a 30,000 calorie sandwich. I kid you not. That's about ten day's worth of calories for the average adult male. Someone not only made this sandwich, but claims to have eaten the whole thing over a 12 hour period. Not a hiker - just a student with a hollow leg and too much time on his hands.

If you're curious, you can read about it (including the ingredients and preparation) here.

I never come back from my hikes any lighter than when I left. Clearly I'm not walking far enough. Ah well.

Thanks to Little Houdini for the link!

Cycling to Save the NZ Economy?

Not long ago, New Zealand's Prime Minister, John Key, held a "job summit" to try to find ways to save jobs during this global recession. He gathered together a bunch of business and labour leaders to see if a day of brainstorming could produce a miracle solution.

While many ideas were bounced around, one of the ones that seems to have really caught the PM's attention is a proposal to build a cycleway the entire length of New Zealand. This would become a major tourist draw, and help to boost falling visitor numbers. It would also create jobs building the trail, which was estimated to cost around $50 million. (Sounds low to me.)

There's no doubt it would be great to be able to cycle New Zealand from north to south (I don't know why, but that sounds easier than going south to north. For no apparent reason heading north equates in my brain with going uphill.) Is it the best way for the government to spend taxpayer money when people are having trouble paying rent and putting food on the table? I'm not so convinced. In the grand scheme of things, it would make more sense to me if they put the public works money into improving public transit. But then again, I wasn't invited to the "job summit" - probably for very good reasons.

The cycleway idea has also ruffled the feathers of the folks at Te Araroa Trust. Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is a long-planned hiking route that will run the entire length of New Zealand. Sort of an Appalachian Trail or LEJOG for the Southern Hemisphere. They've been working on it for over a decade, with the major problems being access through private land, and funding.

Certainly the funding needed to complete Te Araroa would be far less than that needed to create a whole new cycleway. On the other hand, it would not require as much manpower, so fewer jobs would be created. Also, as you and I and the whole world have realised, you don't make as much cash from tourists who spend all of their time hiking as you do from people cycling who are more likely to be staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.

I can see where the cycleway may be a winning idea, depending on the cost. But I would also love to see the government throw a bit of cash at Te Araroa to get the damn thing finished. New Zealand is arguably the hiking capital of the world - a title it would really deserve if it had a long distance walkway.

Keeping Track of Tourists

I'm not sure what the numbers are, but every year New Zealand's police and search and rescue units spend a whole lot of time looking for lost tourists in the bush. People from around the world have heard about how magnificent the hiking is down here, and so they are determined to see it for themselves, whether or not they've done much hiking before.

Now New Zealand is mulling over ways to keep better track of visitors who may be wandering aimlessly around the back country, ill-prepared and without any proper understanding of local conditions. The latest proposal is an online service where visitors can register their intentions before they even arrive in the country.

The registry and other information (such as the availability of locator beacons) would be available in several languages, and users would be able to update their intentions as needed. The idea is to get people to take responsibility for their own safety. This isn't Disneyland. You can't expect barriers in place to prevent you from falling down a cliff, or slipping into a crevasse, if you don't have the skills to be there.

I'm guessing this is going to take some time to set up - if it happens. But if it cuts down on the number of people who are genuinely surprised when their cell phones don't work in the middle of a national park to call in a rescue because they forgot to pack a fleece - well, that would be a step in the right direction.