Working as the guide on the current series of Channel 5's 10,000 BC, Klint Janulis is a survival expert who knows exactly what he's doing when it comes to spending time in an environment you're not used to.
Credit: Channel 5
We got the opportunity to put some questions to Klint about the series, some of his most memorable experiences and more - read on to find out what he had to say...
You've got some incredible experience in survival - what can you tell us about some of your most memorable moments in your career to-date?
I can say that the most memorable moments happened when I least expected them, and there are a lot of seemingly stupid reasons to die. The difference between being in a survival situation and being warm and comfy can just be a matter of lacking something like a lighter or a torch.
One particularly memorable event occurred when two friends and I were on an extended backpacking trip in Colorado in the middle of winter. We did not bring tents with us as we planned the trip to take advantage of caves we knew of along the route. One night we arrived at our site a little later than we wanted and we were exhausted and got lazy in setting up our camping spot inside a rock shelter. The fire was built in a spot close to the ceiling, and initially my instinct told me it wasn't right, but I didn't say anything as I was tired and thought I was being overcautious.
Later in the evening after eating and having a bit of whiskey, the three of us were sitting around the fire in our sleeping bags and we heard a loud cracking noise that sounded like it was coming from inside the mountain. We all realised what was happening and dove out of the overhang into the snow barefoot and in shorts and shirts, just in time for the ceiling of the cave structure to collapse onto the fire and where we were sleeping.
The fire under the ceiling had heated moistures in cracks in the ceiling and split a section off. So, it was pitch dark in the middle of the night, we are in the snow in light clothes and no shoes and all of our stuff was buried under rock.
Fortunately I had fallen asleep with my headlamp around my neck, and I managed to pull my trousers out of the mess and retrieve my lighter. We quickly got a fire going by lighting dead evergreen limbs that had collected in an area with a lot of deadfall wood. In short order we were able to warm ourselves up enough to go back and salvage our shoes and sleeping bags and set up a temporary camp next to the fire. If I had not had a lighter or my headlamp handy however, that evening could have turned very ugly very quickly.
You worked as the guide for the 10,000 BC cast this year, what did you make of the characters this series?
This year we had a group of people who were really committed to making it work and they were a lot of fun to work with.
Did any of the cast surprise you in any way and why?
A few of them surprised me quite a bit. Aimee and Sam had a lot of mental resiliancy and always seemed to have a good attitude about the situation regardless of how bad things got.
John Lambert was a big surprise, he had a bit of trouble bringing his team together, but towards the end, he made some smart calls on setting up a new camp and was able to assess what needed [to be] done and get his group to successfully do it. I really enjoyed watching people learn from their mistakes and progress.
Could you immediately pick out the people you knew wouldn't be up to the challenge?
It is difficult to play that game as it is not always obvious who has the mental strength to fight to the end, but there were a few, yeah.
What would you say to those people who might be thinking about taking part in something like this in the future?
I would say to practice bushcraft skills, foraging skills, and take any opportunity you can to learn about fishing, trapping, and hunting. The UK has a lot of highly skilled bushcraft practitioners, take advantage of them.
You're also currently researching Palaeolithic Archaeology - can you tell us a little bit about that and why you find it so interesting?
I research the relationships between human subsistence and how human intelligence developed over the last several hundred thousand years. I love this field because there are still a lot of 'big' questions about human evolution that have not been answered.
What's next for you in the coming weeks and months?
I teach a field school at the University of Colorado in the summers, and I have to finish my current research which is due soon, so I have to focus back on my academic life.
10,000BC: Two Tribes The Final, tonight, Wednesday February 17 at 11pm on Channel 5.