Bear Grylls is my hero

Lately I’ve been watching lots of Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel. The premise of the show is that a man named Bear Grylls is dropped in some remote wilderness (usually he sky dives) with only a water bottle, a knife, and a flint, and he has to find his way back to civilization.

Some of the places he’s been dropped in season two include Ecuador, the Australian Outback, Iceland, and the Everglades. In the shows that I have seen, Bear has done some pretty insane things, including: successfully hand-catching a salmon and biting into it while it was still alive; drinking his own pee for the sake of hydration; eating spiders and grubs; and peeing on his shirt and using it as a headdress to keep cool in the desert.

But Bear Grylls is not just some John Doe that the Discovery Channel hired for this television series. He served in the British Special Air Service (SAS) for several years, in which he recalls that he was “highly trained in unarmed combat, desert and winter warfare, combat survival, medics, parachuting, signals, evasive driving, climbing and explosives.” At the age of 23, he became the youngest Briton to summit Mt. Everest, which he did only two years after he broke his back in three places in a parachuting accident. He has also broken several other world records, some of which he has done for charity. He’s a straight up badass.

In response to a fan question about what he always takes with him on his expeditions, Bear replies:

Flint and striker, so I can light a fire however tough it gets — lifts my spirit always and has often saved my bacon! My Christian faith: high mountains and my time in the military taught me that it takes a proud man to say he needs nothing, and I need my faith. And, finally, a laminated picture of my family tucked inside my shoe.

In addition, he’s written several books, has his own “Bear Grylls” knife, and is an international motivational speaker.

I officially have a man crush.

Bitter cold

Decorah is currently under a Wind Chill Advisory as issued by the National Weather Service:

A wind chill advisory means that very cold air and brisk winds will combine to generate bitter cold wind chills. This will result in frost bite and lead to hypothermia if precautions are not taken. If you must venture outdoors… Be sure to dress warmly and wear a hat and gloves.

The forecasted low for the next two nights is -14º and -15º, respectively. According to this wind chill/frostbite chart, that means that during the next two evenings frostbite could set in during a 10-minute walk across campus.

Brrrr.

Winter Wonderland

From the National Weather Service:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
3:09 PM CST TUE DEC 13 2005

…WINTER STORM TO BRING SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATING SNOWS TO THE REGION…

A WINTER STORM SYSTEM CONTINUES TO ORGANIZE OVER SOUTHERN SASKATCHEWAN AND THE HIGH PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON. THE STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST REGION BY LATE TONIGHT… SPREADING SNOW INTO IOWA AND MINNESOTA AROUND MIDNIGHT. THE LOW AND ASSOCIATED SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST INTO WISCONSIN WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THERE IS PLENTY OF AVAILABLE MOISTURE FOR THIS STORM SYSTEM TO WORK WITH. CURRENT FORECASTS INDICATE THE POTENTIAL FOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF FOUR TO EIGHT INCHES ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING.

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…DECORAH…CHARLES CITY…OELWEIN… ROCHESTER…AUSTIN.

A HEAVY SNOW WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST…KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT…FOOD…AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

Snowfall

As I was leaving Marty’s tonight (Marty’s is a coffee shop on campus), I was about to head back to my dorm, but I decided that I would instead walk up to the balcony of the union and watch the snow fall. Here’s a picture I took from said balcony a while ago to give you an idea of my perspective.

I think that being outside in the middle of snow falling is perhaps one of the most beatiful and peaceful things one can experience. It’s a combination of the white purity of the snow itself, the near-silence that is created, and the flakes’ dancing descent to the earth. I’m not so keen on the days immediately following a snowfall when the snow turns dirty and such, but standing amidst a soft winter snowfall is something I could do for a long time.

Fall Foliage

While in the car returning to Decorah from Chicago this weekend, I mentioned that for some reason, I thought this fall had the deepest, most beautiful colors I can remember. It seems as though all of the colors (at least in NE Iowa) are very deep and rich. I thought that it was probably just the fact that I hadn’t seen fall colors in a year, but Kelly said that this year’s colors are deeper, and there is an explanation for it.

The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry says,

Temperature, light, and water supply have an influence on the degree and the duration of fall color. Low temperatures above freezing will favor anthocyanin formation producing bright reds in maples. However, early frost will weaken the brilliant red color. Rainy and/or overcast days tend to increase the intensity of fall colors.

Kelly said that Iowa has receieved the perfect amount of rain this year, therefore bringing out the deep colors that we see in this year’s foliage. Does anybody else think this year’s colors are especially brilliant?

Update: Kelly commented with a quote from the Wisconsin DNR:

The amount of rain in a year also affects autumn leaf color. A severe drought can delay the arrival of fall colors by a few weeks. A warm, wet period during fall will lower the intensity, or brightness, of autumn colors. A severe frost will kill the leaves, turning them brown and causing them to drop early. The best autumn colors come when there’s been:

a warm, wet spring

a summer that’s not too hot or dry, and

a fall with plenty of warm sunny days and cool nights.

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