I like how he handles it when things don't work (like when his igloo fell in one season). Comforting to realize not everything is going to work just so, and survival involves making do. My first flight on Southwest Airlines for instance--during the preflight instructions they were telling how to use the oxygen masks, and they said, "When everyone stops screaming, you take the mask. . . ." and I found that really comforting. I figured the first thing I would do is start screaming.

It would be fascinating to hear Les' evaluation.

What an awesome episode! This had to be by far his best work. Lots of good referential info. This is precisely the sort of thing folks need to see. It's amazing how effective SAR can be. I would've prefered that he not destroy his headlight to start a fire, but it is a good example of thinking out of the box.

This should be a good season.

That really was a good episode...that guitar trap was pretty weird.

Hear, hear. Just watched it myself. One of the things that makes the show work (but always gives me a headache) is that someone who is ill-prepared (as built-in by his scenarios) can improvise so much of what they need. I think in many ways this show is spiritual kin to MacGuyver.

Concur. Killing your headlamp for a fire is a rough call, not sure I agreed with it. But other than that, I was really glad to see someone using a mirror for once. The aerial view of a signal mirror was something I'd only seen in stills before.

I do think he missed a golden opportunity to give good advice on being prepared (slip a mini bic in your pocket) and how to react when things go wrong (backtrack to last known position). Also, a simple itinerary could have started a search much earlier.

But then the show would have only been 5 minutes long. I think he's trying to teach things to do in a bad situation. Avoiding the situation in the first place or carrying the gear to be prepared for it is the best idea, but that makes for a very short and boring TV show.

I suspect that there will be an abundance of more good information like this given out through the rest of the season.

Kudos to Les. I was a bit shaken that he destroyed his guitar, but he made a good point. Now if he ever destroys his harmonica again, I am gonna cry.

I know why he killed his light as a demonstration- but he was shorting two wires until they got hot enough to ignite cotton. He could have angled them away from the case, and saved his light. Or used the guitar strings, if metal, to extend them just enough.

I'm just saying, there could have been more optimal solutions.