Mount DOOM indeed!
Ah well, here I am, feeling down right awful, though I think a few had it just as rough. We tried to be careful, but when on location and at the will of nature, one can't be perfectly safe.
We've been in Tongariro National Park for three days now. At the base of Mt Tongariro when not filming. That's where I am now. We're hauled up here waiting for this storm to pass.
I don't think I've ever been so scared as we were yesterday. We had been given a warning that a windstorm would hit two days from now. Peter was assured that we could film yesterday by the Park's weather center. They keep a close watch on the conditions. You can't get on the mountain without their approval.
We got through most of the day fine. The sun was shining down on us and helped to keep the chill from setting in. We had been shooting on the main crater of Mt Tongariro. All was going well and Peter was pleased with the shots he'd gotten so far. Then within a matter of fifteen minutes we went from sunny skies to having crawl on all fours to get to some sort of safety. The wind came in out of nowhere! We had to huddle up against the rocks until the gusts died down enough to head for the helicopters.
Bean would have passed out on that ride! Holy fuck! I don't think Peter is going to have a very co-operative crew when it comes to going back up there!
When we got to the base camp, paramedics were there to help those that had been banged up. I'm not too bad, just some badly scraped knees, hands and a bit of a knock to the head. They put a couple stitches in where the rock cut my scalp. That wig is a write off! I would have had a severe gash had it not been for Sam's curls. The wind had me half crawling, half tumbling. The ground in that crater is like shards, nothing smooth about it! Being that we were filming in the base of a Volcano, that rock is agonizing to crawl on.
They have us set to evacuate any minute. God, I need to see Dom! My nerves are shot!
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I wrote all that in my paper journal while we waited out the storm. I'm too tired to write any thing else. Nor is my head too clear to think straight. I'll just say I'm home, and Dom is with me. I've got the next week off. Need to let my head and cuts heal.
We've been in Tongariro National Park for three days now. At the base of Mt Tongariro when not filming. That's where I am now. We're hauled up here waiting for this storm to pass.
I don't think I've ever been so scared as we were yesterday. We had been given a warning that a windstorm would hit two days from now. Peter was assured that we could film yesterday by the Park's weather center. They keep a close watch on the conditions. You can't get on the mountain without their approval.
We got through most of the day fine. The sun was shining down on us and helped to keep the chill from setting in. We had been shooting on the main crater of Mt Tongariro. All was going well and Peter was pleased with the shots he'd gotten so far. Then within a matter of fifteen minutes we went from sunny skies to having crawl on all fours to get to some sort of safety. The wind came in out of nowhere! We had to huddle up against the rocks until the gusts died down enough to head for the helicopters.
Bean would have passed out on that ride! Holy fuck! I don't think Peter is going to have a very co-operative crew when it comes to going back up there!
When we got to the base camp, paramedics were there to help those that had been banged up. I'm not too bad, just some badly scraped knees, hands and a bit of a knock to the head. They put a couple stitches in where the rock cut my scalp. That wig is a write off! I would have had a severe gash had it not been for Sam's curls. The wind had me half crawling, half tumbling. The ground in that crater is like shards, nothing smooth about it! Being that we were filming in the base of a Volcano, that rock is agonizing to crawl on.
They have us set to evacuate any minute. God, I need to see Dom! My nerves are shot!
********************************
I wrote all that in my paper journal while we waited out the storm. I'm too tired to write any thing else. Nor is my head too clear to think straight. I'll just say I'm home, and Dom is with me. I've got the next week off. Need to let my head and cuts heal.