BEAR’S WILD WEEKEND WITH STEPHEN FRY

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Adventurer and survival expert Bear Grylls returns with another intense and exhilarating Wild Weekend, taking Stephen Fry out of his familiar environment on a once-in-a-lifetime expedition to one of the most spectacular mountain ranges in Europe.

In Bear’s Wild Weekend With Stephen Fry, the actor and comedian will be pushed to his limits with a series of incredible challenges set by Bear. Over the course of two days, high in the Italian Dolomites, Stephen will be traveling on the skids of a helicopter, climbing down a raging 500-foot waterfall, sleeping in a First World War trench and abseiling down a towering cliff face.

The pair face treacherous conditions, as a freak summer snow storm hits the mountains, and Stephen must face up to some of his deepest fears. He also talks frankly about some of the other challenges he has faced over the years, including prison, his body image, bipolar disorder and a near fatal suicide attempt.

“I want to take him somewhere that just gives him space to be himself…somewhere way out of his comfort zone and way off the beaten track. Where he doesn’t have to be brainy and he doesn’t have to be brilliant,” says Bear before the weekend.

“I hope I might let go of some inner demon that has been with me ever since I was a tiny child when I was afraid of sports and afraid of physical activity,” says Stephen. “My hope is that I will be a little bit more proud of myself at the end of it and at least feel that I’ve accomplished something.”

On the surface, Bear and Stephen couldn’t be more different. One is an adventurer who served in the British Special Forces and has explored some of the most hostile and remote places on Earth. The other is a polymath – an actor, author, comedian and presenter, famous from roles such as Jeeves and Blackadder’s Melchett as well as the host of the quiz show QI, and better known for his brains than his brawn.

Now the two are going to spend a weekend together packed with incredible challenges, with Bear hoping he can help Stephen to push his limits, both physical and mental, and face his fears.

The Dolomite mountains in northern Italy are spectacular and dangerous. The US military bring their troops here to train in winter warfare. And, even though its mid-summer, freak weather conditions have dumped two feet of snow on top of the mountain.

This was on the front line of the First World War, with Italian and Austrian soldiers fighting bitterly in appalling conditions. At the same time, Stephen’s maternal grandfather was fighting on the Austro-Hungarian side in the Carpathian mountains in Romania, a thousand miles to the east.

Bear starts by testing Stephen’s mettle – taking him on a hair-raising trip, hanging off the side of a helicopter to get to their starting point, high in the mountains on the Austrian border. Stephen’s challenge is to get down to the valley floor.

After a tough start in the snow, Bear lays on lunch – a deer carcass from which they carve out the heart and tongue, as well as two steaks for dinner later. Bear cooks up the delicacies using one of his emergency rations – a tampon. He also shows Stephen how a condom can be equally vital inside a sock as an extra water bottle.

Bear admits that, despite now being an adventurer and Chief Scout, he was a nervous childhood Scout himself, lacking in confidence and never getting any badges. “But I found a great sense of belonging and family in it,” he says.

And they realise they have one thing in common: they were both sent away to boarding school very young and were both expelled from school. Stephen reveals his school nickname – ‘Sly Fry’ – and how he ended up running away from home, setting off on a spending spree funded by a stolen credit card.

After three months – including staying at The Ritz – he was eventually caught and sent to a young offenders’ institute. “Of course, I fitted right in – I’d been to public school, which was exactly the same,” he says.

Stephen is stunned when he sees their first challenge – descending a huge 500 foot waterfall. One foot wrong could see Stephen tumble to his death.

After a gruelling hour heading down, clipped to a steel cable, Stephen is finding it hard to continue, but digs deep. “That…was…probably…the…most…exhausting…thing…I’ve…ever…done…in…my…life,” he pants.

But at the bottom he’s elated. “Gosh – I have never felt so alive. It is an extraordinary feeling!” he says.

Bear’s chosen a former First World War trench, used by Austrian soldiers, as the best place to rest for the night. Over venison stew Stephen talks frankly about his experiences of bipolar disorder, his near-fatal suicide attempt last year and the responsibility he feels to show that it’s possible to lead a full life with serious mental health issues. And he reveals his regret that he was never a father.

In the morning there’s pine needle tea, ‘military ablutions’ (a quick wash in the river) and Bear’s ‘mountain sandwich’ – bread with chocolate spread…and ants. Meanwhile Stephen (an avowed atheist/humanist) and Bear (a committed Christian) compare the feelings their sublime surroundings evoke in them.

Then it’s time for Stephen’s final challenge – and it’s the biggest yet: to abseil down the Burgstall, a terrifying descent down a sheer 500 foot cliff face, followed by a scramble through a two mile scree slope.

On the way down the pair run out of rope. Is it a test too far? Has Bear broken one of our national treasures? Or can Stephen overcome everything thrown at him and face his demons head on?

Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/41763/

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