威尔·史密斯，火山学家. 杰夫•约翰逊, and Erik Weihenmayer on the set of "欢迎来到地球.照片由斯凯勒·威廉姆斯提供.
Sitting in the backseat of a four-wheel-drive vehicle speeding towards one of the most active volcanoes on earth, Erik Weihenmayer, 91年, H’03 and Academy Award-nominated actor 威尔史密斯 made a surprising discovery.
“We found out I was exactly two days older than him,魏亨迈耶说, 他去年9月就53岁了, 像史密斯. “I joked that I’m so much more mature than him. 那两天真的教会了我很多.”
The scene, captured by cameras, appears in the opening minutes of National Geographic’s new series "欢迎来到地球", which debuted on the streaming platform Disney+ in December. Its six episodes follow Smith—who admits to never having slept in a tent or swum in a lake—on a tour of some of the planet’s most remarkable (and remote) locations, from glacial crevasses in Iceland to underwater caves in Namibia.
Filming at Mount Yasur was "the most intense thing I've ever experienced," said Weihenmayer. "Will and I stood at the rim and listened to those [magma] bombs exploding, the size of cars."
Joining him (and joking with him) along the way are professional explorers like Weihenmayer, who has made a career out of experiencing the outdoors, despite losing his vision at the age of 14. 在节目的第一集中, Weihenmayer and Smith hike to the rim of Mount Yasur, 南太平洋的一座活火山, 然后绳降到火山口, helping researcher 杰夫•约翰逊 install sound equipment to help predict future eruptions.
“It sounds like the beginning of a really bad joke: a rapper, 一个盲人, and a volcanologist rappel into a volcano,史密斯紧张地说, as boulder-sized globs of molten lava shoot into the air behind them.
Filming in extreme conditions was old hat for Weihenmayer, who has appeared in dozens of films and TV shows since becoming the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 2001. 但与2018年的电影不同 水的重量, inspired by his solo kayak of the Grand Canyon, "欢迎来到地球" was made to educate as well as inspire.
“I loved the idea that this was a science-based show,魏亨迈耶说. “这与人们的自我无关, going out and conquering a mountain for the sake of doing it, 我已经做过无数次了. 这是对科学和学问的追求.”
内心深处是个教育者
Education has always been of interest to Weihenmayer, who taught middle school math and English for six years after graduating from 太阳城网赌平台 in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in English and communication. 在那些日子, he satisfied his urge to climb on weekends and during summer vacations, scaling El Capitan in Yosemite National Park and Denali, 它是北美的最高峰. When teaching began to get in the way of his climbing schedule, Weihenmayer made a career change that even he admits was risky.
“How the heck is 一个盲人 going to climb mountains and make a life?他回忆道。. “这是开玩笑吗??”
In 2001, Weihenmayer’s history-making Everest ascent landed him on the cover of TIME magazine, beside the headline “Blind Faith.“在接下来的七年里, 他完成了七次高峰, joining an elite group of mountaineers who have climbed the highest point on every continent. 因为他的故事引起了人们的注意, Weihenmayer received endorsements and added professional speaker to his resume (he delivered the Commencement address at 太阳城网赌平台 in 2003, 并获得了荣誉学位), 然后是出版作者. 2005年，他共同创立了该组织 没有障碍, offering a range of outdoor programming and retreats to help people of all backgrounds and abilities overcome challenges.
Looking back, “it’s been crazy, the good fortune that I’ve had,” he said. “I’ve had some bad fortune too, of course, but so much good.”
一种联系感
Weihenmayer met Smith for the first time on the set of "欢迎来到地球" and spent a week getting to know the 独立日 明星, 他说他是个"正常人, unlike the characters he portrays on screen, “从未真正见过世界吗?.”
Smith, Weihenmayer, and Skyler Williams of Touch the Top, Inc. 有一次我告诉他, 'You could totally hang on one of my climbing teams,' because he was really easy to get along with,魏亨迈耶这样评价这位著名演员.
“He’s been saving the world repeatedly in movies but he’ll fully admit that’s a branded image,魏亨迈耶说. “I asked him on a car ride somewhere, ‘What’s harder, this or films?’他说，‘这就难多了. 这才是真正的我.’”
In the series’ fourth episode, Weihenmayer leads Smith on a three-day packrafting trip in Alaska. Grizzly bears wade casually nearby, attracted to the salmon-packed water. 不像第一集, 专注于声音, the Alaskan segment explores the power of scent and the interconnectedness that exists within ecosystems, which allow the salmon to travel hundreds of miles back to their home river to spawn.
即使作为一个经验丰富的户外运动者, Weihenmayer recalls being “blown away” by the episode, 一个提醒, 他认为, that everyone can benefit from getting out of their comfort zones and taking a closer look at the world around them.
“We all feel a little bit disconnected from Earth sometimes,” he said. “我尤其希望孩子们, even if they don’t have a rainforest or a volcano to explore, 他们可以爬过他们的栅栏, 去筑坝吧, 爬树, 发展自己的创造力, 他们自己的想象, 以及他们自己的探索意识. 我认为这非常重要.”
Alix Hackett, University Communications, January 2022