Bear Grylls' Survival Skills Save Teenager
A teenager who found himself stranded on a US mountain for nine hours at -17C says he survived because of skills he learned from British adventurer Bear Grylls.
Jake Denham (L) survived by using his hero's techniques Pic: abcNEWS/US
Jake Denham, 14, was skiing with his family in Oregon when he lost one of his skis and become separated from them.
As he tried to walk down the mountain he lost his way, leading to a nine-hour ordeal where he had to cope with night-time temperatures falling dramatically.
But as the mercury dropped, the resourceful Jake recalled episodes of former SAS soldier Grylls' reality programmes about how to stay alive.
Jake built a snow cave to shelter in as darkness fell but then decided to try another technique of following ski trails down the mountain.
The teenager said the knowledge came from watching two of his favourite programmes; Man vs. Wild and Survivor Man.
"I love those shows," he said in an interview with ABC News affiliate KOHD-TV.
Jake was reported missing at 5.30pm on New Year's Eve but rescue teams and helicopters were unable to find him in the dense forest.
Bear Grylls has tips for surviving in all types of climate and terrain
"It started getting dark, and I saw the stars. I saw Venus - it was red and bigger than the North Star," he told the news channel.
"I dug a canal, and it went up a hill, so the wind would blow over it so the wind wouldn't hit me.
"I wanted to live my life and not go die. So I got up, and I found some ski tracks, and I followed those."
Around nine hours later Jake was found, suffering only from mild hypothermia.
His mum Becky said: "I feel like I've gone through something totally unreal. It's phenomenal.
"What was incredible is that Jake got out in perfect condition."
Man vs. Wild is popular in the US, while Grylls is also known in the UK for his Channel 4 show Born Survivor: Bear Grylls.
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