Music can also change our perceptions of what we are looking at. Here is a great example of that, YouTube user Mscharosch has edited some BBC Life footage to Lux Æterna from Requiem For a Dream and the result is, well…..epic. It is worth putting on full screen and turning your sound up.

Epic Frog

e.g.

Climbing, Canoeing, Swimming, Falling, Sliding, Catching, Carrying, Paddling, Shaking….

Alternatively, have them collect them on a flipchart, or white board.

I also find this useful in encouraging people to move from “task” to “process”, by guiding their thoughts towards the non-obvious verbs.

e.g.

Sharing, Arguing, Discussing, Leading, Learning, Helping, Supporting, Plotting, Scheming, etc

It’s a quick, lively, thought provoking exercise that can take on a life of it’s own!

However, Dave from Boulder Adventures called and said he had a new gorge to explore and would I like to tag along. Jumping, swimming, climbing and sliding, all mixed up with a little adventure, of course I would!

Multiple layers of wetsuit warded off the worst of the cold as the four of us waded into the Afon Cynfal. The slow seep of frigid water in through the zips and up the cuffs caused occasional curses but, once moving, the temperature was bearable, if not comfortable.

As we headed downstream, the river quickly gorged up, with a series of waterfalls from the knee high to well overhead. Each one took careful inspection, both for safety and the extraction of maximum fun. Some provided jumps into deep pools, others slides or mini rollercoaster rides through a series of waves and drops.

It was great to be out and about, functioning as a team and exercising judgment in the stunning but hazardous environment. For two hours only two things mattered, the safety of the group and having fun.

The sides of the gorge began to steepen and narrow. We scrambled up onto one side and peered down ahead of us. The river plunged over a spectacular 40ft waterfall and then disappeared through a slot less than 3 ft wide. Glad we’d exercised caution we continued downstream.

A small foot bridge crossed the gorge and provided an ideal platform for scouting ahead. The river once again narrowed and disappeared from view. A trip along the cliff edge 100ft above the river showed a series of increasingly large and impassable waterfalls. We scrambled on until a 50ft waterfall into a pool less that 8ft wide convinced us that our exploration was at an end. As Dave put it, this river changes quickly from “gentle to mental”.

Photo: Dave Crombie, Boulder Adventures

In 1967 a journalist is wandering round NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory talking to people involved in the Apollo missions.

He encounters a man wearing the default engineer’s uniform of a white shirt and blue tie, a slide rule sticking out of his top pocket.

“Sorry to interrupt” says the journalist, “but do you mind me asking what you your job is?”

“No problem” replies the engineer, “my job is to calculate the mass flow rate of RP-1 fuel through each of the engines of the Saturn rocket”.

The journalist dutifully writes this down in his note book and thanks the engineer. In the office across the hallway he finds another man, dressed in a dark suit. He knocks politely then asks,

“Hello, I’m doing an article on the staff at NASA and I am trying to find out what peoples jobs are.”

“I’m the Lunar Module Flight Plan Director.” says the man in the suit,  “I manage and approve all changes the the LMFP.”

Again the journalist writes down what the man says and wanders off to find someone else. At the end of the corridor is a man in NASA overalls sweeping the floor. Under the blue and red logo is the word ‘Janitor’.

Sensing the possibility of a human interest story the journalist approaches the man

“I can see you are a janitor”, he says “but what does your job involve?”

“That’s easy”, replies the janitor “I’m putting man on the moon”.

Jamie Neal has. Christopher Columbus has. Macaulay Culkin has.

We’d love to hear your story, comment below or mail me.

From tales of accidents and examples of extreme courage to silly stories and beginners luck, Fitz does a great job of getting to the soul of the outdoor person. He comes closer than most to explaining why we go into the hills or onto the river and push ourselves beyond our comfort zone.

There is also an environmental theme running through the episodes but thankfully this is not allowed to overshadow the stories themselves. The narration is peppered with short sections of music from wide variety of sources and frequently with audio recorded on trips and adventures.

I defy anyone to listen to these podcasts and not be day-dreaming about their next adventure.

If you have the time, all the episodes are worth listening to but a couple stand out from the crowd. “Datos Insuficientes” is an account of the first descent of Peru’s isolated Apurimac River and the high level of commitment it required.

“Anatomy of an Accident” inspects an near-miss that Cahall had on a peak in Oregon which is told so graphically that you will feel like you too have slid down 200ft of sheer ice.

Unlike many podcasts you can download mp3s of the episodes directly from the website or subscribe by RSS or through iTunes.

Despite their suspicion, curiosity overcomes one of the villager and he casually asks the traveller what he is doing. “Cooking stone soup” comes the reply. “I’ve never heard of stone soup” says the villager. “It’s the tastiest soup you’ll ever eat” says the traveller stirring the pot, “would you like some?”. Food has been short so the villager eagerly reaches out for the ladle. Just as he is about to take it the traveller pulls it away. “Actually, stone soup tastes even better with a little bit of turnip” he says, “You wouldn’t have a turnip we could add have you?”. Reluctantly the villager admits he may have and returns a few minutes later with the turnip and his neighbour, who would also like to try the soup.

“It’s pretty good” says the traveller after adding the turnip, “but it would be even better with some potatoes”. The neighbour sheepishly admits that he has some and heads off to get them. In the mean time, word has been spreading around the village about the stone soup and the local priest comes by. He asks to try the soup and is told that it is almost ready but, as the traveller explains, it “would be rounded off nicely by some meat”. The priest, who is an honest man, admits to having some dried beef put aside and agrees that if it will perfect the soup then he can spare some of it.

The traveller adds the potatoes and beef to soup and with a flourish serves up several bowls. Just as he is ladling it out, the baker comes over to see what is going on. The traveller, quick as a flash says “We were just sitting down with our stone soup, but we have no bread to eat with it”. The baker has never tried stone soup but the neighbour explains that it is the finest soup known and the baker agrees to provide a loaf of bread to eat with it in return for a bowl.

Shortly afterwards the traveller, villager, his neighbour, the priest and the baker are all sitting down around the fire with empty bowls in front of them. “Stone soup is the finest soup I have ever tasted” said the villager. “Thank-you” says the traveller, reaching into the empty pot and taking the stone out. Wiping the stone, he puts it back into his pocket and begins to pack his belongings.

Picture from NeilsPhotography under Creative Commons.