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Joel Balsam

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Tag: time

December 7, 2018December 7, 2018 joelbalsam Blog

TIME: He Saved the Largest Venomous Snake in the Americas. Now, He Hopes It Could Save Human Lives.

Which would you rather save, a cuddly panda or a deadly viper? The snake is more valuable than you think. I’m proud to finally share this story I’ve been working on since early 2018 about a man saving the world’s largest pit viper. Photos by Stephanie Foden Story on TIME

TL;DR: I got really hurt, but the cold ain’t so bad. When I was a kid, winter was my favourite season. I played competitive hockey and loved to snowboard. But endless winters soured my love for the coldest season and over the past few years I’ve generally spent my winters in warmer climates. . On Saturday during my brief month-long stopover in Canada, I ignored the weather forecast and went snowboarding under -20C temperatures (-29C with the wind chill). The cold didn’t bother me and the snow conditions were perfect! If you are going to be in winter, you simply have no choice but to enjoy it and MOVE. . On my last run of the day, I was confidently swerving between trees through a glade and saw an exit back to the main run. I went for it, but I didn’t realize on one side was a huge metal snowblower and an electricity box jutting out of it. I crashed into the box and was spun around. As I lay on the ground, my life flashed before my eyes. I’d felt a crack and I didn’t want to move in case my spine had been damaged. As a backpacker journalist, my back is literally my everything. . As I gingerly stood up, my brother saw my jacket dangling at my feet — the box had shredded it. After stretching a bit I realized I could move my spine, but I still felt lots of pain. It turns out I’d been hit right in between my spinal cord and shoulder. An inch over and I might not be able to walk, or worse. I’m also sure that if Iwasn’t wearing so many layers to face the -29C weather this could have been much worse. . The last couple days have been really painful, but I know I’m lucky and it’s going to be better soon. Suffice to say, enjoy every moment –– even if it’s winter. As I’ve heard people say here, there’s no such thing as too cold, just not enough layers. #winter #digitalnomad #snowboarding #cold #adventure #wintertravel #move #snow

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Recent Posts

  • Adventure.com: The patients who said ‘f*ck cancer’ and went to Burning Man instead
  • TIME: He Saved the Largest Venomous Snake in the Americas. Now, He Hopes It Could Save Human Lives.
  • National Geographic Travel: Oaxaca welcomes spirits home with “bread of the dead”
  • Guardian: Black cowboys – Creole trail rides showcase unique culture
  • ESPN: Chasing River Monsters In The Brazilian Amazon

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