Bear Grylls films in NH

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Oh crap, now we will have to contend with people from away looking for the Frankenstein Monster. Not knowing that the cliff from which everything in the area is named for was named for landscape painter/artist Godfrey Frankenstein.
 
Hey, you never know when you will find yourself stranded on a RR trestle and the only way down will be to rap down...
 
Bear, Everest Summitter, cool. Bear, injured when glissading with crampons, really????????
 
So it appears that Bear and Don were choppered into Lost Pond across from Pinkham. It appears that they hiked down the trail to Glen Ellis Falls (you can tell they are on a trail although it looks like the film crew was trying to make it look like they were off trail). Don throws a cord with a small deer antler across the top of Glen Ellis Falls and somehow next you see a very taut double static rope that is well anchored on both sides. The duo then tyrolean traverse over the top of the falls. After an uneventful night in the woods, they appear at the top of Frankenstein over what appears to be the ice climb Chia, which they rap down with much drama. Rather than simply hike one of the side trails a few hundred yards to either end of the trestle, bear appears to free solo the trestle and bring Don up. They then jump on a hand car and crank down to the Arethusa Falls parking lot. An hour of my life I can't get back, though I surfed the net for most of it.
 
I especially liked the fire just on top of a bed of dry leaves with no way to contain it. Think the 18 wheelers going through the notch kept them up all night?
 
How did Bear Gryllis come to be famous for his outdoor skills and reputation? All of his shows are total nonsense. Wife's father must work at a TV network or something....
 
There is no reality in reality TV, whether it's homes, home repair, relationships, wives, being outdoors or survival with teams on islands.
 
He has a legit resume, he just sold out to the media to earn a living. Network TV and cable shows need cheap readily packaged content and he and his production company is just supplying it as many other folks do. If they get the eyeballs on a consistent basis then they can laugh their way to bank. Beats staring at typically substance addicted folks pulling up crabpots or evangelical hicks playing in a gravel pit for gold.
 
I love that he was choppered into Lost Pond. It's closer to the A-Team than reality. Bears Grylls has had this reputation a long time. Makes for a good laugh, especially when you know he could walk 10 minutes behind the film crew and buy a Junior Naturalist Patch at the PNVC.

The hunts for Sasquatch have less facade.
 
How about all the drama about BEARS!! ... ? And yeah, the dear antler. My wife says, "Wait a minute, where did the double rope line come from? And check out all the gear set up on the tree behind them now!"
The complete silliness of the whole episode aside, I will say I expect that Tyrolean traverse was actually pretty heady for a guy that doesn't do any climbing. Same with the rap and the climb up the trestle. Whether one could simply walk up, around, or over any of these obstacles, I think Don Cheadle had a fairly gripping adventure! I suppose that's what the show is all about. Well, that and the 'chatty time,' which my kids had basically no patience for... "Uuuugh, when are they going to stop talking?!"
 
So it appears that Bear and Don were choppered into Lost Pond across from Pinkham. It appears that they hiked down the trail to Glen Ellis Falls (you can tell they are on a trail although it looks like the film crew was trying to make it look like they were off trail). Don throws a cord with a small deer antler across the top of Glen Ellis Falls and somehow next you see a very taut double static rope that is well anchored on both sides. The duo then tyrolean traverse over the top of the falls. After an uneventful night in the woods, they appear at the top of Frankenstein over what appears to be the ice climb Chia, which they rap down with much drama. Rather than simply hike one of the side trails a few hundred yards to either end of the trestle, bear appears to free solo the trestle and bring Don up. They then jump on a hand car and crank down to the Arethusa Falls parking lot. An hour of my life I can't get back, though I surfed the net for most of it.

So, not much change from his previous show, just with an admiring sidekick this time.
 
Bear actually is pretty tough. He climbed Everest at 23 and this was after recovering from a broken back. He is also former British SAS. His TV show is beyond corny and I don't care to watch it, its so bad. That being said, I don't fault him for making a buck, I mean the same people who tune into his show. Think profession wrestling is real.:eek: Did he really use an antler to catch his rope? lmao.
 
How about all the drama about BEARS!! ... ? And yeah, the dear antler. My wife says, "Wait a minute, where did the double rope line come from? And check out all the gear set up on the tree behind them now!"
It's an entertainment show, not a realistic how-to show*. However, one can easily imagine a beginner copying "Bear's way" and getting into serious trouble. (This is my primary fear about the program.)

* Any experienced climber can spot things like extra ropes magically appearing etc. And, of course, someone is holding the camera so extra trained personnel are always close by.

Also his "living off the land" is inappropriate in some places (eg the WMNF) and the quantity of food that he typically obtains is generally woefully inadequate to sustain one for any length of time.

FWIW, Bear does sometimes break the fantasy and state that some piece of gear was pre-placed. (Clearly all of his routes are scouted and pre-planned before the cameras arrive. And, as others have noted, some of these routes are rather contrived...)

Doug
 
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FWIW, Bear does sometimes break the fantasy and state that some piece of gear was pre-placed. (Clearly all of his routes are scouted and pre-planned before the cameras arrive. And, as others have noted, some of these routes are rather contrived...)

Doug

Like part of an episode I saw the other night with Shaq where he takes along a grappling hook cannon so they can rope up an incline? I think that is the 11th essential - climbing bazookas. :)
 
Bear is a total whimp compared to Stallone in "Cliffhanger".:D
 
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