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SALT LAKE CITY — Usually when you see him, he is staying warm in ice caves, skinning animals, finding food among bugs and foliage and — generally — surviving extreme conditions and scenarios that would cause most people to wilt and die.
Bear Grylls, star of Discovery Channel's series "Man vs. Wild," was in Salt Lake City Thursday to promote his self- titled clothing line at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market Trade Show and chat about Utah and lessons learned "roughing it."
Bottom line: Grylls loves Utah's diverse landscape.
"We've filmed some cool shows in Utah over the years," Grylls said. "That's an amazing privilege to be able to go to a wilderness terrain where you get so much so quickly."
Case in point, one episode of "Man vs. Wild" found on Youtube. Grylls visits the slot canyons of southern Utah, explores high mountain terrain and hangs from sheer cliffs.
Grylls also said he appreciates Utahns' spirit of adventure.
"Utah guys always get it because adventure runs through so many people's blood here," Grylls said.
Grylls, who once served as a soldier with British Special Forces and reached the summit of Everest following months of rehab for a broken back, spoke at length about what he has learned from life on the edge.
"The main thing is about staying safe, having that good instinct about where danger comes from," Grylls said. "That's something I take super seriously."
Grills told reporters he had "mellowed" over the years, and he cautioned others to be wary of the "little things" that get people in the wilderness when they let their guard down.
He admitted even he gets in over his head regularly. "Most of the shows we do are me trying to get my backside out of those situations, but I think you're not human if you sometimes don't feel that," Grylls said.
