Bear Grylls, the survivalist on the Discovery Channel's "Man vs. Wild," is giving fans the opportunity to learn how to endure in the wild, opening the Bear Grylls Survival Academy.
Grylls will open his first survivalist academy in New York's Catskills Mountains in November, according to UPI.com. A second academy will open in Texas at a later date.
Editor's Note: Do You Support Obamacare? Vote in Urgent National Poll
"The Catskills provide the perfect backdrop for Bear Grylls Survival Academy course to launch," said lead instructor and course developer Scott Heffield, adding that Grylls designed both of the academies himself. "Topography, rivers, lakes, extreme weather conditions and wildlife are all important factors to consider and the Catskills provides the perfect setting to recreate an environment that simulates real life Bear Grylls survival situations."
Grylls will run the course with a team of highly trained survival experts. Dates and other details have yet to be released.
Grylls, a former member of the British Special Forces, is the star of the Emmy-nominated survivalist show "Man vs. Wild" and the new NBC reality series "Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls." "Man vs. Wild" has been on the air since 2006, and "Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls" debuted this month.
"So many people have asked me over the years where they can learn extreme, practical survival – the type that requires spirit, determination and the skills to self-rescue against the odds, in some of the harshest terrain around," Grylls said. "So it is with great pride that we can now finally launch the Bear Grylls Survival Academy in the U.S.A. to be able to share some of these skills. Oh, and it may hurt a little."
Participants will learn remote land and water survival techniques, fire lighting, emergency shelter building, knife skills, rappelling, remote medical trauma, river crossings, and a "Gross Eat Challenge."
The academy course will wrap up with a wilderness expedition.
The academy will accept applicants age 18 and older who are in good physical shape, can jog 25 minutes without stopping, walk for an hour in boots carrying 20-pound packs, and can swim competently.
Grylls already runs a five-day course in Scotland that costs about $3,000 per person.
Editor's Note: Get the Navy SEALs Cap – Celebrate Our Heroes
Related stories:
British Firm Denies Bugging Ecuador Embassy
American, British Sources: Benghazi Attack Result of 'Complete Incompetence'