Angry Planet

REPORT

Angry Planet Field Report: September 2009

What a month it has been since my last report. The planet has certainly been Angry and of course, I’ve been right in the thick of it.

Southern Ontario had a recent tornado outbreak that brought a year’s worth of tornadoes in just one chaotic afternoon, and what makes this even more unusual was that many of the tornadoes were strong (rated F-2 out of 5) and many of them touched down in heavily populated areas. I was out storm chasing that day and ended up following the storm that went on to produce the very damaging Woodbridge tornado. As I got closer to it, I could see that the storm had plenty of tornado potential but the traffic in the region was snarled due to the intense rain and it got away from me. By the time I was able to catch up with the storm again, it had already produced the tornado and I found myself in the damage path, surrounded by debris and stunned residents..

Roofs had been lifted off homes, cars were flipped, it was a disaster scene, but luckily there were no serious injuries. News of the tornado spread quickly and soon I was doing interviews for every major news service in Canada. My phone never stopped ringing for 2 days but that was not the end of Nature’s fury for Canada that week. As soon as I had finished my last interview, I hit the road and began driving out to Nova Scotia for the arrival of hurricane Bill.

Bill was expected to brush the coastline of Nova Scotia, just north of Halifax and affect the Cape Breton area so I gathered a small group of fellow storm chasers and we made the long haul from Toronto to Halifax. Once in position, we travelled up and down the coastal road, trying to stay one step ahead of the storm. The best action was to be found in the Laurencetown Beach area where high winds and surging waves were making quite a spectacle. At one point, the waves demolished a set of wooden steps that led down to the beach and the sent one of the nail encrusted boards into my leg. I was fortunate in that the nails were on either side of the piece of wood that hit me. It could have been a lot worse.

From there I was off to Mexico to go deep underground into the harshest and most spectacular environment I have ever experienced... the Naica Crystal Cave. A place I had been trying to get to for almost two years.

The cave was discovered in the year 2000 by miners with the Penoles mining company in Naica which is in the Chihuahua region of north central Mexico. Three hundred meters underground, they broke into a chamber while drilling for silver, lead and zinc. This chamber just so happened to contain the largest crystals ever found. Some of them are over 11 meters long and weigh 55 tons each. The cave itself is unbearably hot due to its proximity to an underground magma chamber. The ambient air temperature is 50 degrees Celsius with a relative humidity of over 90%. That calculates into a humidex reading of about 105 Celsius!! I’ll never complain about a hot, humid day ever again.

The cave is usually off limits, but we were able to eventually secure the proper permissions and were allowed one day to explore inside the cave. To do this, we had to wear special cooling suits which consisted of an ice filled vest, protective coveralls and a respirator that allows you to breathe chilled air by blowing a fan across ice packs, then that air comes up through a hose to a face mask. Without all this equipment, you could not survive inside the cave for much longer than about 15 minutes.

Getting my first glimpse of the crystals was like setting foot in an alien world, the crystals looked more like pillars, holding up the roof and I got the sense of being inside a giant geode. The crystals here are made of gypsum, a common material found in all residential drywall, but there is nothing common about THESE crystals. They formed in near perfect conditions and grew over a half million years until they became the towering features they are today. The closest comparison would be the Fortress of Solitude where Superman mad his home, except this was real and not a Hollywood set.

The place was as beautiful as it was dangerous.

It did not take long for the heat to become unbearable, even with the protective clothing, and along with heat exhaustion comes dehydration, disorientation and loss of higher cognitive thinking. All these elements conspire to make things so incredibly difficult and hazardous. One slip and you could easily fall 2 or 3 meters and hit your head or become impaled on a sharp crystal.

In between each cave entry we would have to rest and rehydrate in the “cool” area, which was still 41 Celsius with almost 60% humidity. It would take close to an hour to recharge ourselves to the point where we were strong enough to suit up again and head back inside.

As soon as you step inside, your body begins to die. You cannot shed the excess heat and your sweat cannot evaporate. If you remain long enough, you will perish. Luckily, your body gives you plenty of warning... You sweat so much that your hands become slick, your heart rate jumps, breathing becomes rapid and you feel every cell in your body screaming at you to “Get out!” but the cave is so captivating that you hold on every second you can, as if caught by the Sirens spell, luring you towards your doom.

Despite all the suffering involved, it was totally worth it and I will never forget my time in the magical Crystal Cave.

Angry Planet Field Report: August 2009

Gravity? We don't need no stinkin' gravity...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly through the air like Superman, or to float effortlessly the way astronauts do while orbiting the Earth? Well, now I know.

 I may not get the chance to actually blast into space, but I know what the sensation of weightlessness is like... And it is amazing!

The Angry Planet crew flew out to San Jose, California where I got the chance to take a flight aboard G-Force One, a specially modified Boeing 727 jet, operated by the Zero-G company. They specialize in commercial weightlessness flights for the general public. They also rent out time in the jet to scientific researchers and even NASA for training purposes. Half the plane has regular seating; the other half is stripped of all overhead compartments and seats and has padded floors, walls and ceiling. I would soon learn the importance of this padding.

Here's how it worked: The jet levelled off at an altitude of 24,000 feet. The victims, uh, I mean passengers, got up out of our seats and proceed to the "float area" where we were instructed to lie down flat on our backs and keep our heads still. The pilot then pulled back on the stick and up we went in a steep climb to 32,000 feet. During this ascent, I could feel my own body weight increase by 1.8 times. I had trouble lifting my arms, it felt like an unseen hand was pinning me to the mat. As we reached the top of the arc, the pilot then pushed the plane up and over in a roller coaster like manoeuvre.

What happened next is hard to put into words.

As the plane started to drop, so did the passengers inside. We were actually free-falling INSIDE the plane, but without the rushing wind and noise of a parachute jump. The net result of this freefall is weightlessness. Since we were all falling at the same speed as the plane, it was now possible to float, glide and soar throughout the cabin. What a rush! The hoots and hollers from my fellow passengers echoed through the fuselage like kindergarten kids at recess. None of us had experienced anything like this before. There was no "up" there was no "down", just the odd sensation of somewhat uncontrolled floating. It was difficult to resist the urge to try "swimming" in mid air, and each kick proved useless since there was no water to push back against. For the next 20 seconds we all laughed and played in true amazement. Then we bottomed out.

It is impossible to sustain this freefall for very long without crashing our perfectly good plane into some unsuspecting hillside. When the "feet down" announcement came, we all scrambled to get as upright as possible before the gravity rudely returned and the jet started to arc back up for the next parabola. It reminded me of Wile E. Coyote running out over a cliff side, suspended in mid air until that fateful moment when he finally looks down and gravity takes over.

After a less than graceful drop to the floor, it was time to repeat the process. Up and down we'd go, each time getting a little more used to the experience and a little more proficient at keeping control and not just drifting off and accidentally kicking someone else in the head.  Catching floating candies in my mouth was particularly fun, as was watching globs of water effortlessly float through the plane, the surface tension holding the fluid together as it jiggled and drifted through the air. I even tried crawling up one wall, across the ceiling and back down the other wall. Spiderman, eat your heart out.

In total, we did 15 or so complete parabolas for a total of about 6 minutes of combined zero gravity which was great, but as some regular Angry Planet viewers might know, I've always been prone to motion sickness and these flights are notorious for it. So much so that the term "Vomit Comet" has been used as a nickname for the similar plane used to train astronauts. After about 9 parabolas, my body had decided that enough was enough. Luckily, each flight suit they gave us came equipped with a standard issue airsick bag.

... I think I filled two of them.

It didn't really matter though. This was the real deal. True weightlessness.

Most astronauts experience motion discomfort for a while before they acclimatize to a zero gravity environment. I must add; that this term they use "motion discomfort" is the worst euphemism ever. There's world of difference between discomfort and throwing up all the food I've eaten over the last two weeks. Luckily, I was able to make it through most of the flight before I got sick, but if you've ever been sick in a place with no gravity, let me tell you, it is NOT easy.

Would I do it again?
You betcha' I would.

Angry Planet field report: July 2009

A Mixed Bag of Adventure.

Since returning from my epic, 6 week storm chasing marathon across the central U.S., I've been busy with a series of small trips which have been no less interesting.

It began with a visit to the Waterloo Regional Airport in Southern Ontario where I was able to hitch a ride aboard an L-39 fighter jet. This cold war relic was built in Czechoslovakia in 1974 (when I was just getting ready for
kindergarten) and was commonly used as a training jet for the Soviet air force. The one that I was going up in has been expertly restored and maintained as a privately owned plane. How cool is that? The owner and pilot, Steve Miligan agreed to take me up and show me what this incredible machine was capable of.

The entire flight was filmed by several cameras strategically mounted throughout the cockpit and fuselage and it will become part of a new Angry Planet episode. This segment will be combined with footage of me in the giant NASTAR centrifuge as part of my extreme g-force testing in the space-themed episode.

Just seeing the jet parked on the tarmac was impressive enough, it looked like it was already going fast before I even had the chance to hop in. I climbed into the cockpit after a very brief safety briefing which consisted mainly of long lists of what not to touch (especially the ejection seat) and closed the canopy. There was no turning back now. As we took off, Steve wasted no time in trying to scare the crap out of me. He started with a high g-force banking turn that thrust me down into the seat. It was a good thing that I had just recently learned anti-g straining techniques from my time in the centrifuge. The next part of my aerial roller-coaster ride was a few rolls. With each 360 degree roll, I'd watch in amazement as the horizon would spin in circles. All I could muster was the occasional "wow" through the helmet mounted microphone.

Steve then asked if I had ever flown upside down before. "Uh... No" was all I could get out before he flipped the jet onto its back, my camera equipment, now dropping to the ceiling of the acrylic canopy. I'm no expert in aerodynamics, but I'm pretty sure that planes were designed to be flown RIGHT SIDE UP!

I was enjoying the thrill of the flight with the wild manoeuvres, the tricks and the plain old awe of being in a fighter jet but the rolling and diving had done a number on my stomach and the last thing I wanted was to lose my breakfast all over the inside of Steve's fancy plane. It was time to head back to the runway. With plastic bag in hand, I was thankful to be flying flat and straight again. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to operate one of these jets in a combat situation where your life depends on you keeping control of such a sophisticated machine while your body is being subjected to such extreme forces. Kudos to all military pilots out there.

After a few days of rare, at home time, I flew out to Vancouver to film some more material for yet another episode. This one will be focussing on the extreme hazards of travelling into the deep oceans. The best person to talk to about this is Phil Nuytton, who designs deep sea submarines and is one of the world's leading underwater technologists. He has worked on projects ranging from big budget Hollywood blockbusters to scientific research projects and more. I met up with Phil in his North Vancouver workshop which looks like Captain Nemo's garage sale. There were at least a half dozen submarines, antique diving equipment, remote operated vehicles and so much more. Jacques Cousteau was a huge influence on me when I was growing up and seeing all this deep sea equipment brought back fond memories of watching Cousteau and his crew explore the oceans in ways that nobody had done at the time.

Phil not only constructs submarines, but personal diving suits as well. His "Newt Suit" design has already been in service for years and his latest project is something he calls the "Exo-Suit". It looks like something out of a science fiction movie with silver rotating arm and leg joints, a clear face-wrapping visor and back mounted life support tanks that could sustain a diver for days if needed. The current version is a mock up, but prototypes are being constructed right now and they'll eventually allow a diver to "swim" down to depths of 1000 feet and work away as if breathing at sea level. The immense water pressure from the depths is totally negated by the suit and the diver never has to worry about diving ailments such as The Bends or Nitrogen Narcosis. Phil's new suit is at the cutting edge of this kind of technology and of course, I had to try it on for size.

Even though it was a mock up, as I climbed in I could get the real sense of what it would be like to work in what is basically a one man submarine that you wear like a suit. If you are at all claustrophobic, then this is certainly not for you, but in the right hands, the Exo-Suit will revolutionize deep sea exploration, industry and scientific research.

Coming up in next month's report... Flying like Superman in zero gravity!

Angry Planet field report: June 2009

Mother Nature sure can be fickle.

May, which is typically the busiest time of year for tornadoes, failed to perform this year. A ridge of high pressure over the central U.S. combined with a jet stream that decided to migrate up to Canada kept us storm chasers sitting around for days at a time getting sunburn. Add to this, the torrential rains that have been plaguing Florida from a stationary low has robbed us of all our Gulf of Mexico moisture. Put these elements together and you had the recipe for a storm chaser's worst nightmare.

This "Death Ridge" scenario may have been a blessing for the residents of Kansas and Nebraska but for me and the other storm chasers, it was the most frustrating month in memory. Even the federal government was lamenting the weather. This year a research project known as Vortex 2 is spending 6 weeks driving about 40 instrumented vehicles with about 100 scientists with the goal of gathering data to better understand the origin of rotation in thunderstorms and tornadoes. This 12 million dollar project has been spending its days the same way I have, waiting for the weather pattern to take a turn for the worse...

Well it finally did.

The beginning of June ushered in the change we had been waiting for. By this point, my obligation to Cloud 9 Tours was complete. I could now get out of "tornado tour guide mode" and get back into "Angry Planet mode". This time my focus would be geared towards hail storms since we were filming an episode which I half jokingly refer to as "Highway to Hail". The objective: To get up underneath huge hail storms and see just how big some of these hail stones can get. To do this I risked personal injury and was almost guaranteeing damage of some kind to my storm chase vehicle.

Almost every day for the first two weeks of June had storms in the forecast and even though I was looking for hail, my 2009 tornado drought was about to be broken.

June 5th brought severe weather to eastern Wyoming and Goshen County in particular. As I blasted towards the area with my crew, I got the report of a tornado on the ground. This was it! Time to get closer. As we approached from the east it came into view. A large, cone shaped tornado that was partially obscured by rain. The closer we got, the more clearly it came into view until we found ourselves on top of a hill near the town of La Grange. I didn't want to precede ant further because there were too many trees and I didn't want to lose our perfect view of the tornado. Losing sight of the tornado is frustrating but it can also be very dangerous.

It kept changing shape, morphing into an elongated cigar form, then back to a cone, then to a truncated funnel. As we watched in awe, the large hail began to come down at our location. I scrambled to find my helmet in the cramped back of my truck, all the while keeping one eye on the tornado that was still grinding away. Typically when a tornado comes to the end of its life cycle, it goes through a roping out phase where it takes on a slender, snake-like appearance as it winds down. This tornado had one of the most photogenic rope outs I've ever seen. It twisted and contorted until it finally vanished from site.

The Vortex 2 team was also there. They finally got the tornado they had been so desperate for. This is likely the most well studied tornado in history. The scientists will be analyzing the data for years to come.

As June progressed, the tornado potential diminished but the hail encounters seemed to get better and better. My team and I criss-crossed the central U.S. from Colorado to Missouri, from Texas to Nebraska and then back again. All the miles were worth it whenever we'd encounter another huge hail storm. It is hard to describe what it's like to be in a vehicle that is being pounded by hail stones that are golf ball size or larger. Each impact makes you flinch, especially when they hit the windshield right in front of you. The relentless clacking is so loud that I'm sure I lost some of the hearing in my left ear.

It was inevitable that my trusty storm chase vehicle, which I've had for well over ten years, would not fare too well in this kind of onslaught. The hood no longer has any flat spots; it is more of a golf ball texture. There are dents in the doors, and side panels, the roof has cracked away where the force of the hail has chipped away at some previous repair work and the windshield... Well let's just say that I'm booking an appointment with the glass repair specialists.

It's one thing to endure these ice assaults from the relative safety of a car, but to go outside into the barrage is a lot more tricky and dangerous. Each time we'd encounter large hail, I'd put on my rock climbing helmet and dash out into the melee to grab samples. It is hard to demonstrate to a TV camera just how big the hail stones are without going out and grabbing some to bring back and show the viewers. Hail this big can be fatal and I took several hard hits to the helmet that would've landed me in the hospital had I not been wearing it.

I did take a few other hits to the hands, back, and shoulder though. These chunks of ice are a lot harder than you might expect and they come down with tremendous force. I've been hit by hail before but never like this, I could only endure a few minutes at a time before having to retreat back to the vehicle, bruised and battered.

Sometimes I wonder why I put myself through these kinds of situations.

It is so incredible to see what nature is capable of. The amount of force required to keep thousands of pieces of ice the size of baseballs suspended up inside these thunderstorms is mind boggling. No matter where in the world I go, no matter what I've already seen. Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me. She is the real star of the show. I'm just along for the ride.

Angry Planet field report: May 2009

The past few months have been extremely busy for me. Mother Nature has been doing her best to put on numerous spectacular displays in various far-flung corners of the globe and I’ve been right there, documenting the action. Since the new year began, I’ve been filming numerous brand new episodes of Angry Planet in such varied locations as Antarctica, Baffin Island, New Zealand and I was even able to (eventually) make it to the world’s newest volcanic island that recently erupted out of the sea in the South Pacific near Tonga. How did that expedition go? Well, you’ll have to tune in to see for yourself!

Spring has now sprung and that can only mean one thing, my annual storm chasing pilgrimage to Tornado Alley has begun. Every spring I head down to the central U.S. states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska to live like a nomad, driving to wherever I expect the worst weather to be and then get close enough to document it but not close enough to get sucked up like Dorothy’s house in the Wizard of Oz.

It’s instinctive to run... We storm chasers just run TOWARDS it !!

For the past six years I’ve been helping out with a storm chasing tour company called Cloud 9 Tours. We take weather enthusiasts from all over the world and bring them along with us as we try for a front row view of severe thunderstorms which can produce giant hailstones, deadly lightning, incredible winds and rain and of course the icing on the cake, the elusive tornado. Since I’m typically driving the lead vehicle, I get to be the first one of our 3 vehicle convoy to venture into the danger zones such as the “bear’s cage”. This is the area of rain and hail that often wraps around the tornado, obscuring it from sight and making an intercept extremely dangerous. Encountering the “bear” is the last thing I want to do so we must keep a very close eye on our weather radar while watching for shifting winds or flying debris.

So far this year, the pattern has been relatively slow. The usual parade of low pressure systems that roll off the Rockies has been absent since I arrived, giving us only sporadic storms intermixed with far too many blue sky days.

We dodged a bullet near the town of Breckenridge, Texas. The storm that we were on was really starting to look like it had the potential to put down a significant tornado. As we skirted around the edge of it, we started to hear reports coming in about hail to the size of softballs and even grapefruits!! Yikes!, we had to get out of the way FAST. As we blasted south a few stray stones began whacking the roof of our vehicle, it was mostly nickel to quarter size with a few ping pong balls thrown in but all it takes is on big one to ruin your day. The damage total after this barrage was one cracked windshield and one cracked headlight. Not bad considering that if we hadn’t been able to get out of the storm’s path in time, it would’ve been a LOT worse.

I still have another month out here so there will be plenty more opportunities for seeing big storms and tornadoes.

Keep checking back to read the latest reports from my expeditions to the most extreme places on Earth.