What's On vs Wild

Six survival tips from our time at the Bear Grylls Explorers Camp in Ras Al Khaimah

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With the Mad Max origin story that seems to be 2020’s main running theme, knowing how to survive in the wilderness no longer feels like such an eccentric indulgence.

So, when the invite came to experience the UAE’s new Bear Grylls Explorers Camp, we barrel-rolled at the chance.

Out there, in the hinterland of Jebel Jais’ via ferrata, What’s On made a pact with nature and emerged sporting a bandana and endowed with a new respect for the great outdoors.

01 That’s not a knife

After setting off on a trek across a shadowed wadi, our first survival checkpoint was a sit-down knife skills class with Ben, a man whose real-life experiences in facing extremities and mentoring teenagers have left him wary, and with a healthy regard for hidden peril. Your blade is your lifeline, but it comes with its own dangers. Ben teaches us how to whittle primitive, but potentially life-saving tools such as pegs and trap parts.