02x13 - Land of Ice

[bunniefuu]

i'm bear grylls,

and I'm gonna show you
what it takes to survive

in some of the most extreme
and dangerous places on earth.

i've got to last a week
of challenges

in the sort of places
you wouldn't last a day

without the right
survival skills.

now I've come to siberia,

the coldest place
on the planet,

where temperatures can plummet
to -90 fahrenheit.

i'll be meeting the guys

who know what it takes
to survive out here

and learning some of their
extreme techniques --

how a dead yak
can save your life...

So many nomads and tribes
all around the world

Would drink the fresh blood
from their animals.

...how they hunt for food...

eat things
that will make you gag...

and I've got to find a way

through the treacherous
sayan mountains.

i'm flying across
southern siberia --

5 million square miles
of barren wilderness

with a reputation
as bitter as its weather.

this frozen landscape

is gonna be one of my
toughest challenges yet.

If you get lost in siberia,

Your chances of survival
are almost zero.

There's hardly anything to eat,

And it's one of the coldest
places on the planet.

i'm being dropped
into the sayan mountains --

a forbidding range of towering,
snow-covered peaks.

they stand between me
and my pickup point.

i've got a few basic
survival tools in my pack,

and my camera crew
is coming with me.

The heli's hovering
at about 20 foot

Above the summit
of the mountain.

And there's a cornice
straight down there.

There's gonna be soft snow
under that.

Okay.
This is it.

Whoo!

at this height, get it wrong

and you're gonna shatter
your legs or spine.

Whoa!

i've got to fight to keep
my body relaxed as I tumble.

[ Coughs ]

Fair to say I've landed.

I'm -- look at this.

it's the worst cold
I've ever experienced --

biting, bitter, -20 or more,

and it saps
every morsel of energy.

but give in to it,
and you'll die.

this is why
the vicious russian winter

defeats whatever
stands in its way.

The cold here is just intense.

It feels like it's
just biting into your skin.

And, you know,
just a bit of snot in your nose

Just freezes, you know?

And how anybody,
anything can live here

Is just extraordinary.

even the air you breathe
is superchilled.

and once you get
below -40 fahrenheit,

ice crystals form in your lungs

and you'll start
to cough up blood.

frostbitten lungs
are a death sentence.

Siberia is one of the bleakest,
coldest places I've ever been.

The temperature
is definitely made worse

By the significant altitude,
but also by this wind.

It's not very strong,

But it's enough
just to get in everywhere.

Really, my priority now

Needs to be just to get
down into the valley.

if you don't want to be a
frozen corpse within 24 hours,

you've got to keep moving.

the freezing air
sinks to the valley floor,

but at least you get
some respite

from the merciless winds.

See, the sun's just coming up
over the mountains.

And it's also tinged
with a little bit of red,

Which,
in the northern hemisphere,

Often means that there's
gonna be a break,

A change in the weather,
often for the worse.

And there's a saying that says,

"Red sky at night,
shepherd's delight.

Red sky in the morning,
shepherd's warning."

The reason for that
is all of that red

Is the pollen and the dust
held up in the high pressure.

So if you see that
in the morning,

It means the high pressure's
already past you.

If you see it in the evening,

It means the high pressure's
coming towards you.

reading the sky can show you
the danger of the weather.

but there are hazards
on the ground, too.

So much
of coming down a mountain

Is just about being positive

And the confidence
just to go for it.

You know, accidents often happen
when people are tentative.

It's then that they slip.

You want to control
your own descent

Rather than let the mountain
control it for you.

walking through the deep snow
is exhausting.

every step is like
wading through treacle.

and then there are
siberia's deadly rivers.

Almost all of these rivers
in siberia in wintertime

Are frozen over.

But what you also often get

Is water running
underneath the ice.

And if you're quiet,
you can hear that.

And that's why crossing
these rivers is so dangerous.

If you go through the ice
and get taken away under it,

You'll never come out of that.

But what I can use
are just these boulders.

They're covered in snow,
and you can just hop and jump

From one to the other
to get across.

one slip on these boulders,
and you're gonna get injured

or you're gonna
crash through the ice

into the freezing water.

And really, this is like
a giant game of chess,

Where you need to, like,
plan your moves

And trusting that they are rock
and they're not ice.

Ow.

one mistake out here,

and you wouldn't stand
much chance of surviving.

there's hardly a soul around,

and there's almost zero chance
of rescue.

I can really hear the water
running straight under here.

Whew.
Out of that maze.

Okay.
And carry on.

i'm across the river,
and I'm on my way.

it's easy to forget
how much you sweat

when you're struggling
in this cold.

it makes your
blood pressure rise,

and then you pee more.

losing this much fluid

means you can quickly
get dehydrated.

before you know it,
your body starts to shut down.

your brain suffers,
then your kidneys,

before your heart
finally stops.

This is one of the few things
that I've seen

That isn't frozen solid.

There's obviously enough force
of water running down here

To stop it freezing,

Which means I can drink
from this.

You really want to resist
the temptation just to eat snow.

It can actually burn your mouth
and give you blisters.

So when you can fill up, do so.

but don't be tempted
to gulp the water.

it'll quickly drop
your core temperature,

putting you in danger of shock.

instead, just take little sips

and keep your bottle
close to your chest

or tucked well inside
your rucksack

to stop it freezing.

but a river is more
than just about water.

buried beneath the snow
are plants that can help you.

Look.
This is all sphagnum moss, this.

I'll pull this off
and get a look at it.

And this has actually got
antiseptic properties.

It's got iodine in it.

Soldiers during the world wars
would use this.

What they would do --
they'd grab it, big wound,

Stick it on it, and
the antiseptic and the iodine

Would help clean it and heal it.

There's masses of it,
so I keep seeing it around.

but ahead of me,
the siberian winter

still has challenges
that will test me to my limits.

Survival time
in these sort of conditions

Now is minimal.

i'm in siberia
in one of the most desolate

and godforsaken places
on earth.

temperatures here can plunge
to -90 fahrenheit.

it's the coldest
I've ever been.

but it's the rivers
I dread the most.

in the winter,
rivers freeze solid,

but this one
is moving so quickly,

there's a fast-flowing channel
in the middle.

it's too wide to jump,
and if I miss it and fall in,

i'll be out of control and
at the mercy of the icy water.

it's a long way 'round, too,
so I'm gonna try and swim it.

but you need to make sure
you can survive

once you get to the other side.

If you had to cross
a fast-flowing river like this

In these sort of conditions,

The most important thing
is to keep your clothes dry.

If you end up in there, even if
you're out the other side,

Your soaking-wet clothes --

They're gonna freeze around you
within minutes, and you'll die.

So what I'm gonna do
is strip all my clothes off,

Stick them in the rucksack,
throw them across,

And then swim for it.

just a few seconds
in this water

will put your body into shock,
and you'll soon go hypothermic.

if you don't make it across
quickly,

you'll pass out
through the cold,

and your heart
will just shut down.

I feel my, like, feet just
beginning to stick to the ice.

I want to be in here
and out the other side quickly.

[ Grunts ]

I've got just seconds in this.

Oh, man, that is cold.

Bear, that's so stupid.

It's like dipping your foot
in a cold swimming pool

Before you go in --

But a thousand times worse.

Sometimes you just need to
get on and do it.

And the way I psych myself up
for these sort of things

Is I just take a second,
slow everything down,

Get in that zone, and when
I've made the decision to do it,

I just get on and stick with it.

Are you ready?
Here we go.

[ Exhales sharply ]

Wha! Man alive!

[ Speaking indistinctly ]

it's so cold, the camera
has frozen up immediately,

and I can feel myself
going the same way.

Okay, I got it.

This is why I had all these
clothes in this rucksack --

So I've got something dry
to put on,

'Cause really, survival time
in these sort of conditions

Now is minimal.

i've got to get warm fast.

i can get frostbite,

and already, I'm getting to the
first stages of hypothermia.

I can literally
hardly feel my toes now.

And those are
the part of my body

That I'm most worried about.

You know,
the core of me is cold,

But it's surviving.

It's the extremities --
those are the dangerous bits.

And that includes
the family jewels.

I'll deal with my feet

Once I've got a base layer
of clothes on at least.

Literally, my toes now
are, like, beyond cold.

They're now numb.

They just feel like
blocks of ice.

I know that feeling.

I've had frostbite
on big mountains before,

And it's
a very frightening thing.

And what happens -- you just
sense a big loss of feeling.

And it's at that stage the
temptation's just to do nothing.

But that is a dangerous time.
You've got to rewarm them.

Use whatever you can.

If you've got a buddy,

Stick your toes
under someone's armpits,

Down their pants -- anything.

All I've got are my fingers.

Come on.

Okay.

Now my fingers are
beginning to seize as well.

And what happens when
your fingers begin to go,

You then just can't do anything.

Can't put boots on,
can't do laces up,

Can't open rucksacks,
can't start fires.

You've got to keep movement
and feeling in your fingers.

It is arctic cold.

I can see your hands there, lee.

You got ice just
over your fingers.

Show the camera that.

Just keep moving your fingers,
all right?

Make it a discipline.
Just keep moving them.

We're gonna run.

And in five minutes,
we'll all feel human.

Let's go.

my next challenge

is grappling with the
treacherous sayan mountains.

Go for it.
Go, go.

i'm in siberia in winter,

showing how to stay alive
in the coldest place on earth.

my challenge now
is to get through

the treacherous peaks
of the sayan mountains.

These russian mountains
really can be K*llers.

And already this year,

Three students have been k*lled
in an avalanche,

And other climbers and tourists
have lost their lives.

You know, you just can't mess
with this place.

my way ahead is now barred

by a 100-foot
vertical rock face.

the mix of rock, snow, and ice
is gonna make it a tough climb.

This forest is proving
quite hard work.

You see this, like,
snow and rock gully

Going all the way up that.

But it looks quite technical,

So I'm gonna use
my ice axe for this.

the way to climb
difficult rock faces like this

is to plan your route
carefully.

The key with doing
this sort of thing

Is just not rushing it,
you know?

Making sure
you've got good holds.

If you look,
I pull all of this snow away.

You can see
what I'm dealing with.

Oh, that's nice.
That's a good hold.

get it wrong,
and it can be fatal.

We're at halfway here.

Got quite a nice little ledge.

This, like,
bank of snow's accumulated,

And it's given me a chance
just to get my breath back,

Try and get some feeling
back in my fingers.

This next bit
is looking quite gnarly.

[ Coughs ]

All we have to do here
is just, like, chimney up this

And use my backpack
to lean against

And then to push me out.

Ease up.
That's it.

Okay. Now go for it.
Go, go.

That's it.
Got it?

Last little bit
just across here.

All right.
We're safe here.

Come on, then.
You all right?

Nice.

Brilliant!
And that was a great climb.

There's a nice little weakness
in the rock

All the way up here that I used,
and I'm up.

Good job, eh?

i'm at the top,
and I'm on my way.

survival in siberia

will test anyone
to the limits of endurance.

and whenever I'm struggling,
I remind myself of the story

of a young german soldier
captured by the russians

at the end
of the second world w*r.

Despite being innocent,

He was sentenced
to 25 years hard labor

Down a siberian lead mine.

And after a year down this mine,

With only an ounce of strength
left in his dying body,

He managed to escape.

And this guy walked his way

Through three siberian
brutal winters,

But he talked about
the importance

Of breaking goals down
into manageable sizes

And about that need

For just a sense of progression
and achievement.

And what he did is he had


And every thousand steps,
he'd transfer one,

And another thousand steps,
another one.

And he'd just keep doing this.

And he did it until he literally
walked his way out of hell.

Whenever I've been struggling
out here in siberia,

I just remind myself
of what he went through

Night after night in these
subzero, freezing temperatures,

No fire, no tent.

And, you know,
it just reminds me

Of the lengths
that the human spirit can go to

When that desire for freedom
is strong enough.

survival is as much about
strength of mind

as strength of body.

it's about finding
that fire within you.

Check that out -- upstream.

You see, it's an old line up
across the river.

This is probably put here
by hunters,

And they probably use this
as a tyrolean traverse

To haul their supplies across

When this river,
in the summertime,

Is full and swollen.

And it's kind of irresistible

Not to have a little bit of fun
with this.

i'm gonna use an old commando
technique to get across.

Sometimes you just get tired
and lose your balance.

And if that happens, you need to
know how to get back on.

And you want to
swing your leg up,

Elbow over, arm over,

Leg up, and then on down.

Whew!
And that's called a regain.

and like so many things,

this is more
about good technique

than just brute strength.

Whew!

God, my nuts.

That's meant to be done
on a nice, thick rope,

Not a blooming cheese wire.

Ugh.

but this wire means
that people should be nearby.

the tuvans have lived here
for generations,

and they know
all there is to know

about surviving
in this brutal environment.

All of this down below
is a small tuvan settlement.

And these guys really are
the masters of staying alive

In this sort of
subzero conditions.

What I want to do, though,
is find out

Some of their secrets
of how they survive here.

next, the tuvans show me

an extreme side
of siberian survival.

Another thing
the tuvans said they often eat,

Which is the eyeball.

i'm in siberia,

surviving the challenges
of this frozen wilderness.

i'm above a tuvan settlement

and want to learn
some local survival knowledge

from these
cold-climate experts.

First of all, I've got to
get down this cliff.

it's a 150-foot drop.

i could take the long way
and walk around,

but I'm gonna do it
the bear way -- forward.

What I'm using here

Is a technique called
a forward abseil.

And it's a commando technique

For building
and testing confidence,

'Cause facing down is scary.

Scary...but fun.

i can't wait to find out
how the tuvans have adapted

to survive day to day
in this hostile cold.

privyet.

Hi.

Hello.

Olja. And?

Beya.
Beya. Hi, beya.

over thousands of years,

the tuvans have honed
their survival skills

to somehow carve out
an existence here.

home is a yurt made of birch

and covered with deerskin
or canvas.

with a fire in the middle,

it's a perfect shelter
from the savage conditions.

Really is just such a refuge
in here.

It's so warm
compared to outside,

Where it really is
just freezing cold.

But this is these guys'
permanent home, you know?

They're not nomadic.
They live here all the time.

And this is serat,
who's the elder of the family.

He's 84 years old.

Nine children,
loads of grandchildren.

All of these guys are descended
from genghis khan.

We're very close
to the mongolian border here.

But I think they're gonna
give me something to eat.

I'm not quite sure
what's brewing over there.

serat is making
a kind of blood sausage

from boiled sheep's intestines
and blood.

it may not look appetizing,

but the tuvans make use
of every bit of available food.

You know, they believe
it's really bad, bad karma

To waste anything.

They believe it angers
the spirits.

So you can see all of the guts,
the blood, the intestines

They're cooking and they'll eat.

Let's see what it tastes like.

It really is kind of just strong
and salty and thick.

But this is really good
survival food --

Really calorifically dense,
loads of energy,

Loads of good minerals
and vitamins.

And actually, once you get past
the first couple of bites,

It's not too bad.

These guys are wolfing it down.

Thank you, serat.

the tuvans are yak herders,

and serat wants to show me
how important yaks are

to their survival
in this barren land.

What these guys have done
is lasso one of them

That they're then
gonna slaughter.

And what I'm gonna do

Is see what I can then
get out of that yak

That I can use for survival.

They don't k*ll yaks very often,

But in the wintertime
they'll do it

To give them all of the meat
and furs that they so depend on.

I may not like this, but for
these guys, it's a livelihood,

And it's a necessary part
of their survival.

as their lives depend on them,

the tuvans have enormous
respect for their animals,

and the k*ll is achieved in the
most humane way that they know.

And you see all of the blood
coming out of its jugular there,

And that really, in an emergency
survival situation,

Is food and life.

[ Speaking
native language ]

Warm, salty.

But if you hadn't eaten
and came across this,

This literally would save you.

And really fresh blood like that

Is so rich in minerals,
vitamins, energy --

Everything you need to survive.

And so many nomads and tribes
all around the world

Would drink the fresh blood
from their animals

As a source of energy
and survival food.

Thanks, serat.

serat's left me to butcher
the carcass the tuvan way.

Okay. Time to get to business
with this.

the yak is one of the largest
animals in these parts,

renowned
for its immensely thick coat,

which keeps it warm.

but you could use it, too,
as clothing or bedding.

Stick your finger
over the end of the knife

So you don't pierce the guts,

And then just let it run up
its belly.

whenever I've skinned animals
before,

i've rarely had to deal with
the threat of frostbite, too.

At -25 degrees, it becomes
another job altogether.

You know, the knife is just --

Touch that with your bare skin,
it would just stick to it.

And it really becomes
just a race against time...

Before this carcass freezes
and i freeze.

this carcass will freeze solid
in 20 minutes,

and it feels like
I could go the same way.

the temperature hasn't risen
above -25 all day,

and every little effort
is an ordeal.

You know, I'm already...
[ Coughs ]

...starting to lose the feeling
in my fingers.

The crew have just told me,
"hurry up!"

That's the nasty side,

But that is the warm side.

Whew.

That is gonna make a difference.

Okay.
Now to gut him.

it's exhausting work,
but you've got to keep going.

the rewards
will be worth the effort.

That's amazing.
Look.

That fat has already
congealed almost solid.

[ Air hisses ]

Don't want to even know
what that smells like.

Ugh.

i'm after the most
protein-rich survival food

i can get from this yak.

just like the tuvans,
it's the liver I want.

it's packed full of nutrients.

There we go.
That's what I'm after.

Here we go.

Bit of the liver.

And this has got loads
of good iron in it.

And the tuvans actually believe
this cleanses the blood

And also lowers cholesterol.

But I've never eaten liver raw
before -- and warm.

Oh.

Well, it's nice to have
something at least warm,

But it really
kind of puts you off

What's essentially
delicious food.

But survival food at its best.

You know, it's an awful lot
of effort to get to this,

But this has got masses
of good energy.

But really,
it's not quite my cup of tea.

Right, the last thing
I want off this carcass, though,

Is another thing
the tuvans said they often eat,

Which is the eyeball.

And there you go.

You can see his eyeball
coming out.

try not to be squeamish here,
'cause ounce for ounce,

eyeballs will give you
more protein than a steak.

and in the battle for survival,

you've got to have
a strong stomach.

And there you go.
You see it there.

Looks just like a giant marble.

And I have no idea
what this is gonna taste like.

Ugh.

Short answer or long answer?

Short -- awful!

It's like an eruption
of just cold, fluid,

Gristle, blood.

I've had it
with this yak carcass.

I'm cold.
I feel like throwing up.

I'm just gonna get moving now.

Okay.

now the tuvans are gonna
help me build a shelter

where I'll spend the night

in the icy grip
of the siberian winter.

I am freezing, freezing cold.

And really, at the moment,

This is just becoming
an endurance exercise.

i'm in the frozen heart
of siberia

with tuvan yak herders.

before I head off
to my pickup point

in the treacherous
sayan mountains,

i'm first gonna learn about
how the tuvans survive

in one of the harshest places
on earth.

Before we go hunting, serat's
got a little tip he's gonna do

Just to keep the worst
of the cold away from us.

And what he's got here
is a bowl of boar fat.

smearing yourself
with animal fat

is an ancient
survival technique.

it will protect you against
some of the worst effects

of the biting wind, which can
flay your skin in minutes.

Ugh.

I don't know how long ago
this boar was k*lled.

Ugh.

But I have a sneaking suspicion
the smell of this

Is gonna stay with me
for quite some time.

But let's see if it works
and keeps the cold off my face.

Ugh.

[ Barking ]

Tuvans will hunt,
often on horseback,

But also with a pack of dogs.

And what serat's looking for

Are, like, squirrels,
hares, wild boar, deer.

And they use the dogs
to flush them out.

These guys really are
expert hunters.

They know all of this ground
intimately.

But they're also experts
at hunting very efficiently,

Using the least amount of energy
for the maximum results.

and what that means here

is tracking and setting traps
for their quarry.

[ Speaking
native language ]

Serat reckons this is gonna be

A good place
to set some of his traps.

He's seen a few tracks
of what he thinks is sable,

And together we'll set these.

sable are
ground-dwelling mammals

very similar
to american marten.

and if you know where to look,

there are plenty of them
here in the siberian forests.

good for food and good for fur.

You can see he's just set this
small iron trap down there.

And you see what he's doing --
he's just covering it

With a load of leaves
and, like, just rotting wood.

And that will mask our scent.
It will also hide the trap.

sable are wary creatures,

so we'll need every bit
of cunning to catch them.

It's not about sport.
It's about survival.

It's about subsistence living.

They need to catch meat
and food to live off.

That looks pretty good now.

How he does this
without gloves on

I do not know.

It's about -25 degrees here.

I've just got thin gloves on,

And I can no longer now feel
the tips of my fingers.

Good job.
Mm-hmm.

Okay.
Yeah.

it's amazing how the tuvans
have adapted to surviving here.

the skills needed
to live off the land

have been passed down from
father to son for generations.

it's these same skills
that serat has passed on

to his children
and grandchildren.

For 84 years old,

Serat, in my book,
is a bit of an inspiration.

Amazing -- out hunting,
walking long distances.

Very content, very peaceful,
you know,

And actually amazingly fit
still.

Not easy conditions
to do anything here.

tuvan hunting parties

can cover a large area
of many square miles.

they travel light,
and to protect them overnight,

they put up a shelter
using whatever's lying around.

Here? Yeah?

I'm not quite sure
what he's gonna do,

But I can bet you
it's tried and tested.

And I'm quite excited about
seeing what he comes up with.

I'm really, really cold now.
The sun's gone down.

I thought it was cold before,

But this is like
a different league.

So whatever he's gonna build,

I just want to do it quick,
get a fire going.

i've known extreme low
temperatures before on everest,

but in this cold,
I'm really starting to suffer.

It's beginning to take shape.

At the moment, though,
it looks a bit drafty.

And what they're doing
is insulating it

With all of this brushwood

And then weighting that down
with more of the logs.

But actually, it looks
quite nicely insulated now.

We just keep going with it.

you've got to cover the floor

to conserve body heat
when you lie down.

the tuvans use dry grass
as bedding.

And we've built up
quite a nice mattress

Of all of this dry grass,
like a foot thick,

And that will give me
really good insulation.

then I'm bringing in a big log

to keep a fire going
through the night.

Burn it.

Thanks.

serat and his family
are heading back to their yurt,

leaving me to fend for myself.

[ Groans ]

Whoo-hoo!

Gah.

I can't remember a time
I was so grateful to have fire.

My fingers
are absolutely writhing.

I'm actually
quite looking forward

To spending the night
in this tuvan shelter.

It looks pretty good,
and I'm hoping

That I should stay at least
quite well insulated in there.

But we'll see in the morning.

'Cause one thing's
for certain --

These siberian nights are long.


The sun goes down,

And it's not up again
until about 8:30.

That's a long time
to be shivering.

this is gonna be

one of the longest nights
I've had for a while.

i feel as though someone's
locked me in a deep freeze

and chucked away the key.

the temperature keeps dropping,

and I can feel the heat
just draining out of my body.

in this sort of situation,

people have fallen asleep
and never woken up again.

I am freezing, freezing cold.

And I just looked at the
thermometer on the camera,

And have a look,
see what it's reading.

It's saying -30 degrees.

And really, at the moment,

This is just becoming
an endurance exercise

To keep moving
my toes and my fingers.

Just trying to keep...

[ Sighs ]
...keep them moving.

This is not fun.
No fun.

I've never wanted to see
the morning so much.

but there's 16 hours
of icy darkness to survive

before I climb in
for sayan mountains

to make my pickup.

Heli's due
in about five minutes,

And I do not want them
to miss me.

i'm in the sayan mountains
of siberia,

showing how to stay alive
in this giant freezer.

i spent the night
in a tuvan shelter,

where the temperature
went below -30 degrees.

I've never wanted to see
the morning so much.

now I'm up, and I've
got to cover some ground

to meet up with my helicopter.

After 16 hours of darkness,
quite a long night,

It's finally daylight.

And I'm gonna leave
this tuvan camp here like this.

You never know -- a hunter
one day might use this.

after a freezing-cold night,

i need to get moving
and get warm.

but I've got a problem.

no one's gonna see me
from the air in this valley.

Really, to stand any chance of
being spotted in these forests,

You need to reach higher ground.

So what I'm gonna do

Is try and get to the top
of this ridge up there.

walking in deep snow
drains every ounce of energy.

up here, as much as 4 feet
can fall in one day.

you've just got to keep focused
and plod on.

You really notice

Just how hard work it is
wading through all of this.

You know?

Just a few hundred meters,
and you need to take a break.

there's barely anything to eat,

so when you
come across something,

you've got to go for it.

Yeah, it's definitely badan.

Look at this --
these two leaves.

And you can actually eat these.

Not so much the green ones,
'cause they're quite bitter.

But the brown ones.

And...you know,
they're not gonna taste great,

But they're a little bit
of energy.

But what these will also do

Is help cure,
like, stomach problems.

So, if you've got, like --
here you go --

If you've got diarrhea
and you eat a load of this,

It will bung you up.

Don't eat too much of it,
though.

Otherwise you'll end up
constipated.

i've got to push on, though,
to meet with the heli.

but climbing this steep ground
is proving hard work.

It looks like there's a break
in the cliffs there.

See this gully going up?

And I reckon if I can reach
the top of that onto the ridge,

That would be a good place
to signal from.

Cross this log, and I'll be
at the foot of the gully.

Go on that last burst of energy.

you've got to
keep pushing yourself.

nearly there.

Use the grass as much as you can

And use these bushes
to pull your way up.

it's a steep scramble, but I'm
definitely making progress.

It's getting narrower now.

Look, you can
really use your foot,

Jab in the side,
give yourself some grip.

climbing straight up
is harder and more dangerous,

so zigzag instead.

Okay, we're up.
I can see the top of the ridge.

This area's
looking pretty clear.

This is about as high
as I can get around here.

The heli
should be able to spot me.

the whole point
of a signal fire

is to get
as much smoke as possible

so it can be seen
from a long distance.

the smoke also helps
any aircraft

get an idea
of the wind direction.

I want to pile on as much
of this living wood as I can

So it's gonna smoke.

Heli's due
in about five minutes,

And I do not
want them to miss me.

and then I can hear the rotors.

There you go!

and they've spotted
my smoke signal.

the challenges of siberia
have been extreme,

but it's been a privilege
to meet the tuvans

and to learn from them

just what it takes
to survive out here.

it's determination
and willpower that will

help you make it through
the coldest place on earth.

but I wouldn't have missed it
for the world.

See you later!

Whoo-hoo!

Whoo!