Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 603: Challenging the Great Ice Wall

After lunch, Lin Yuan, who had fully recovered, led the crew members towards the big ice wall.

Before they set off, a group of workers had already gone ahead and cleared a path.

This made the journey of Lin Yuan and his team quite smooth. It took them about 3 hours to arrive at a large ice wall at an altitude of 5500 meters.

This ice wall with a vertical height of more than 150 meters stood before them.

Standing under the ice wall, Charlize tilted her head 90 degrees, but still couldn't see the top.

"Only when we really arrived at the ice wall did we feel how insignificant we are. When we thought about the fact that this ice wall may have a history of tens of millions of years, we felt more and more that we humans are just a drop in the ocean." GAKKI-chan stretched out her right hand and stroked the hard ice wall.

"Tens of millions of years?" Charlize Theron was quite surprised.

"Well, the Hengduan Mountains where the Yala Snow Mountain is located were formed about 6500 million years ago. It used to be a low-lying ocean, but now it is part of the roof of the world. It's really sad." GAKKI replied.

"It was the bottom of the sea 6000 million years ago, and it will be the roof of the house 6000 million years later. Don't bully the young... the mountains are short." Lin Yuan, who was standing aside, told a tattered joke that only he understood.

"..."

We were already on the cold snowy mountain, and now we felt even colder.

"A-choo~" Meng Tao couldn't help but sneeze.

Lin Yuan, the culprit, unconsciously walked to the ice wall and said, "Meng Tao, please explain the technical difficulties of filming this scene."

Meng Tao nodded: "I'm not too worried about you, I'm more worried about whether Charlize can complete it."

"I will try my best and I have confidence in myself," Charlize said.

Meng Tao nodded in approval, and then continued:
"The vertical height of the ice wall is 153 meters, equivalent to the height of a 54-story building. Taking into account the outer chamfer, the final climbing distance may increase to 180 meters. This is a very difficult journey, which will severely challenge both physical fitness and courage."

"To complete a climb as high as a 54-story building, and to the top of a snowy mountain at an altitude of 5500 meters, the difficulty is several times higher than on flat ground," Lin Yuan added.

These additions were not meant for Charlize, because having undergone alpine climbing training, she already knew them by heart.

If she didn't even realize how difficult the challenge she faced was, then it would have been a failure to film this scene.

Therefore, Meng Tao's introduction to the difficulties is mainly aimed at director Cohen and the filming crew.

They must fully understand the difficulties of filming in order to shoot in a targeted manner and convey this difficulty to the audience.

Otherwise, you won’t be able to capture the effect of overcoming numerous hardships.

Meng Tao took out the test equipment in his hand and said, "Here, the temperature is -49 degrees Celsius, the wind speed is 23.7 meters per second, a force nine gale, and the oxygen content is 12.9%. Each of these factors will increase the difficulty of climbing, and when combined, the difficulty increases exponentially."

After hearing Meng Tao's explanation, the staff on the scene realized how difficult this scene was.

The extremely cold temperature of minus 49 degrees Celsius cannot be overcome simply by wearing warm clothes.

In fact, climbers have to face the test of both ice and fire inside and outside.

Externally, it is necessary to resist the extremely cold temperature invading the body and causing hypothermia. Therefore, wearing various equipment will inevitably make the body bulky and affect flexibility during movement.

Internally, it means that if you are well kept warm, such intense exercise will inevitably cause a lot of heat in the body, and sweating will wet close-fitting clothes, leading to various high-altitude diseases.

Regarding this, the climbing clothes that Meng Tao prepared for Lin Yuan and Charlize are mainly divided into three layers:

The innermost layer is a polymer material underwear with good perspiration properties, which can quickly wick away sweat and prevent sweat from accumulating on the surface of the body.

The middle layer is a soft shell treated with DWR (durable water repellent), which is mainly windproof and breathable, and also has a very good warmth retention effect.

During ice climbing, you will inevitably encounter ice debris knocked off by ice axes and other objects falling on your body, so the outermost layer is a hard shell with the strongest waterproof and windproof effects.

Meng Tao spent a lot of effort on this carefully prepared climbing suit.

But low temperature is only the simplest of the three major challenges.

The second most difficult thing is the strong wind. Lin Yuan has long experienced how dangerous a level 23.7 wind of 9 meters per second is.

He also encountered such strong winds when climbing the Burj Khalifa.

The strong wind at that time was able to blow his body and affect his falling trajectory.

Lin Yuan had already thought of it. When he and Charlize were hung on the safety rope, even Charlize didn't have to do anything. He would be blown back and forth quickly like a pendulum.

The last and most unsolvable problem is the oxygen content of 12.9%.

Considering that many crew members may not have an idea of ​​this oxygen content, Meng Tao explained: "In the plains, the oxygen content can reach 20.95%. The oxygen content here is 61% of that in the plains.

When oxygen levels drop sharply, intense exercise consumes more energy. I cautiously estimate that climbing the Yala Snow Mountain ice wall consumes the same amount of energy as scaling a 120-story building on the plains.

After hearing Meng Tao's explanation, the crew members were shocked.

They didn't expect that the challenge Charlize would face would be so astonishing?

Can she really climb such a high ice wall?
You know, even climbing experts who have received years of professional training would probably feel very stressed by such a challenge.

Charlize is just an ordinary Hollywood actress, not a climbing athlete.

Although she started targeted physical exercise eight months ago after accepting Lin Yuan's invitation in New York's Central Park.

This year, we conducted 50 days of intensive high-altitude climbing training.

But will this allow her to conquer the ice wall standing at an altitude of 5500 meters?
"Charlize, if you encounter difficulties that you can't overcome, don't try to be stubborn. It's not shameful to fail in challenging such an ice wall." Meng Tao said.

Charlize Theron nodded: "I won't try to be tough."

"Okay, let's try out your climbing equipment." Meng Tao opened his carry-on bag and took out the climbing equipment one by one:

Ice axes, crampons, climbing ropes, helmets, safety belts, warm sports gloves, ice bolts...more than a dozen tools were displayed in a dazzling array.

So many equipment can be roughly divided into climbing auxiliary equipment and safety protection equipment according to their uses.

Just put it all out like this and it immediately looks quite professional.

But Lin Yuan knew that most of these equipment belonged to Charlize Theron, and he only had a few of the climbing equipment and almost no safety protection equipment.

Seeing the crew members' curious eyes, Meng Tao began to introduce: "Listen carefully to the uses of these equipment. You must grasp their characteristics and achieve the best effect."

Meng Tao picked up a pair of ice axes.

Ice axes come in pairs, each with a sharp, curved ice pick at one end and a hammer or ice shovel at the other.

"First of all, there is the ice axe. The ice axe is the climber's claw and an extension of their hand. Without the ice axe, the athlete cannot exert force on the smooth ice wall with just his fingers," said Meng Tao.

He then picked up a pair of "shoe covers" with sharp teeth and said, "These are crampons. They are tied to your shoes and used to allow your feet to dig into the smooth ice when climbing, providing support for your body."

Obviously, ice axes and crampons correspond to the climber's hands and feet, and together they provide support and upward force for climbing.

The crew members can already imagine the scene of climbing:
Charlize swung her right arm with all her might.

"Crack!"

The broken ice chips smashed out by the ice pick penetrated deeply into the ice wall.

Then she used her arms to pull her body upwards with the support of the ice pick.

At the same time, the crampons on her feet were firmly inserted into the ice wall.

Push your legs vigorously and use the strength of your hands to climb upwards.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

With the sound of breaking ice, Charlize's body rose up little by little.

The broken ice chips that fell from the chisel landed on his face.

The icy ice melted on his face, turning into a stream of cold air that flowed down his face and slid into the gap in his collar...

This situation is obviously not allowed.

Meng Tao took out a mountaineering helmet and said, "This is a special helmet for ice climbing. The transparent mask can not only block the flying ice fragments, but also prevent the strong wind from blowing directly into the eyes, which acts like goggles."

It can be said that Meng Tao's preparations were quite thorough and detailed, but that was not all. He pointed at the remaining equipment and introduced them one by one:
"This is a special ice climbing rope. It is moderately light and has low water absorption, which can prevent the rope from freezing and making it impossible to pass the belay device."

The climbing rope needs to roll and shuttle between the holes in the ascender. If it gets wet and freezes, causing its volume to increase, it will get stuck and become unusable. This is obviously a specially made anti-ice climbing rope.

"These climbing gloves are warm and windproof, yet highly flexible. You don't have to worry about not being able to perform delicate tasks like drilling holes or tightening screws while wearing them."

"This is an ice bolt, used to secure the carabiner after drilling a hole in the ice wall."

"This is a safety belt, connected to the safety buckle fixed to the ice wall. It can save your life in case of an accidental fall."

……

Meng Tao explained these equipment one by one, and the crew members gradually understood the various precautions during filming.

They can set up the camera position in a targeted manner and use better shooting angles to capture those details:

Ice fragments splashed when an ice axe hits the ice wall.

Melting snow and ice on climbers' masks and jackets.

Every step is taken with trepidation, and the concerted efforts of both hands and feet are used.

……

Only with these details can the ice climbing be filmed more realistically, delicately and convincingly.

Director Cohen began to discuss the specific shooting plan with the crew members based on the situation on the scene.

This is the job responsibility of the director and photography crew. Lin Yuan is not directly involved. He and Charlize came to the ice wall and began to test the use of various equipment.

Unlike Charlize's place, which has ice bolts and a protection station system, Lin Yuan only has ice axes, ice screws, helmets and gloves, nothing else.

Well, at most there's a safety rope.

This safety rope connects him and Charlize, and this prop was used to shoot the thrilling scene of the fall.

Otherwise, he really doesn't have any safety equipment at all.

I remember when he climbed the Burj Khalifa, although he climbed with his bare hands, the safety rope was quite secure.

This time, his protection was far more lacking than before.

Lin Yuan tried the ice pick and found that the most suitable depth for him was to drill into the ice about one finger deep with each swing, which was about 6 centimeters.

This provides sufficient stable support and consumes the least amount of energy when pulling out the ice axe, making it the most cost-effective strength for him.

After a few simple attempts, Lin Yuan had nothing to do.

Charlize, who was standing by, was too busy because there were too many equipment and props and she needed to test their usage one by one.

Lin Yuan did not go forward to disturb her. At this time, she needed to concentrate on testing the equipment on site.

So Lin Yuan took GAKKI-chan to the side.

"Are you worried?" GAKKI asked.

Lin Yuan knew she was asking about Charlize, so he shook his head: "Don't worry, if I find that she really can't hold on physically, I will pull her up."

GAKKI was stunned when she heard Lin Yuan’s words.

It sounds outrageous at first: you, a person without any safety measures, are planning to use your own safety rope to pull people with safety measures up?
But after a closer look, it turns out that it was Lin Yuan who came up with this idea, which makes sense. Who said that safety ropes can only be used to catch falling teammates when they fall?

In Lin Yuan's view, this is an ascender that pulls up teammates.

"So do you think Charlize can climb up on her own?" asked GAKKI.

She was also quite curious about the answer to this question.

GAKKI knew that she definitely couldn't do it, she was a complete physical weakling.

Judging from the battles between men and women in the past few days, Charlize's physical fitness can at least match that of 3 to 4 of hers.

This is also due to the fact that she had undergone long-term dance training before her debut. Even after becoming an actor, she maintained a long-term high-intensity outdoor sports habit and did not live the lifestyle of an office worker.

In response to GAKKI-chan's question, Lin Yuan said, "I don't know either, although Charlize has completed a 200-meter ice wall challenge while training in the Rocky Mountains.

However, the natural conditions at the training site are far less severe than those at the Yala Snow Mountain.

This ice climb may take three hours, which is indeed a huge challenge. But if she can complete it on her own, I will not undermine her efforts."

After saying that, Lin Yuan changed the subject: "I want to make some changes to my ice axe. Can you give me a hand?"

"change?"

"Yeah, I'm going to make some personal changes for myself. I hope I don't need them, but it's better to be prepared."

"okay!"

……

……

After exploring the ice wall, the crew began to return to Camp 3.

When we returned to the camp, night had already fallen.

After a simple dinner, everyone returned to their tents to rest.

Tomorrow is the shooting day. They have overcome so many difficulties just to shoot this scene, so naturally they need to conserve their energy and stay in the best condition.

This was Lin Yuan and his friends' third night on the Yala Snow Mountain, and also their second night staying in the silkworm chrysalis tent.

The tent is warm and romantic, while outside the tent the wind is howling and snow and rocks are flying.

One night passed...

……

……

The next morning, before daybreak, the crew members had already eaten and were ready to set off.

Lin Yuan and the crew members spent three hours and arrived at the bottom of the ice wall again at 3 am, and then began intensive preparations for filming.

It took another hour or so until all departments were ready.

The time is quite tight as the whole journey is expected to take about 3 hours.

It may be 2 o'clock in the afternoon before the shooting is finished, so time is very tight and we have to make the most of every minute.

The shooting of this scene was very special. It can be said to be the most special one in Lin Yuan’s filming career over the years.

In the past, filming a scene would only take a few minutes or ten minutes at most.

But today's scene spanned three hours, and the entire process of climbing the ice wall needed to be recorded.

Although only about 10 minutes of footage will be edited into the final movie, the three hours must be filmed without missing a minute during the filming process.

On the one hand, the greatest value of filming the three-hour climbing process is to prove that it is a real scene. After the entire process is fully recorded, this segment can also be turned into a documentary.

On the other hand, although the film only requires 10 minutes of footage, the gradual changes shown by him and Charlize during the continuous climbing process will present the details to the greatest extent and increase the sense of reality.

The audience can see that they are suffering from lack of oxygen, severe cold, fatigue, and exhaustion after climbing the ice wall for a long time.

If you don't actually go through the 3-hour climb, you will never be able to achieve this sense of reality just by acting and makeup.

And truth is the most shocking killer move.

At this time, Lin Yuan and Charlize, who had already put on their equipment in front of the big ice wall, were being checked again by Meng Tao.

In fact, the main person to be examined was Charlize. After all, according to the plot of the movie, Lin Yuan had almost no equipment, so naturally he did not need any examination.

Both of them were eating energy bars to replenish their energy before climbing again.

This journey will take 3 hours and will consume a lot of physical energy, so it is necessary to replenish energy before departure.

"No problem, everything is perfect." Meng Tao clapped his hands and said after completing the examination.

"It's okay, you have finished the second check." Lin Yuan said with a smile.

"If I wasn't afraid that you would think I was nosy, I would check it a third time," said Meng Tao.

Lin Yuan was about to say something when Director Cohen's voice came from his headset: "The shoot is about to begin. All departments are ready."

"The camera crew is ready!"

"The sound crew is ready!"

"The prop team is ready!"

"The rescue team is ready!"

……

Lin Yuan and Charlize also came to the ice wall and took their positions.

After making sure all preparations were complete, Director Cohen gave the shooting instructions:
"Action!"

Following the director's command, Lin Yuan and Charlize simultaneously waved their ice picks and chiseled hard on the ice wall.

"Crack!"

Accompanied by the sound of ice chips splashing, the two climbed up one after the other.

Lin Yuan is in the front and Charlize is in the back.

When the two climbed to a height of 7 or 8 meters, they had to start hammering ice bolts into the ice wall to provide a safe fulcrum.

The three-point fixing method is adopted, that is, three ice bolts are arranged in a triangle.

This will ensure that there is sufficient support in case of a fall.

At the same time, the distance between the three ice bolts should be about 40 cm to ensure that the three fixing points are not hit on the same unstable ice wall.

Lin Yuan and Charlize will work together to complete the work of hammering ice bolts. This is not only a plot requirement for the two protagonists to cooperate with each other in the movie, but also a need to speed up the climbing speed.

Lin Yuan quickly selected a suitable spot on the ice wall. There should be no bubbles, cracks, melted ice or broken ice.

After finding a suitable spot, he used the other end of the ice pick to shovel the ice wall vigorously a few times.

A "crackling" sound was heard, and a large amount of broken ice chips splashed down, dotted with stars under the sunlight, as if it was raining crystals.

Lin Yuan flattened the tiny bumps on the ice wall in just a few strokes. This was to prevent the scraper from blocking the ice bolt and to avoid uneven force.

The next step was that Lin Yuan gripped the ice bolt tightly, perpendicular to the ice surface, and then exerted force with his right hand.

Under the force of Lin Yuan, the tip of the ice bolt slightly penetrated into the ice wall.

Seeing that the ice bolt was firmly fixed, Lin Yuan began to rotate it slowly, causing the ice bolt to penetrate deeper into the ice wall.

Next, he can use the crank to quickly screw the entire ice bolt in while keeping the bolt vertically downward.

This step is quite a test of patience and experience. Sometimes the hanging piece cannot be screwed down. At this time, you cannot force it, otherwise it will damage the internal threads of the ice layer, resulting in reduced friction between the ice screw and the ice, or cause the surface of the ice layer to be squeezed and cracked. Both of these situations will eventually reduce the strength of the ice screw.

The correct way to handle this situation is to turn the ice bolt back a little bit until the hanging piece is vertically downward.

Of course, twisting it back may also cause the ice bolt to not be completely embedded in the ice wall, but as long as the gap between the hanging piece and the ice layer can be kept within 1 cm, it is acceptable and there is no need to worry about affecting the bearing capacity.

After the ice bolt was installed, Lin Yuan buckled the quickdraw into the ice bolt hanging plate, and then buckled the climbing rope into the quickdraw buckle, thus setting up a protection point.

Then he continued to climb upwards.

In ice climbing, Lin Yuan, who climbs at the front and sets ice bolts (ice screws) along the way, is also called pioneer climbing. He is the pioneer of the entire climbing team and is usually led by the most experienced and capable member.

This is obviously very suitable for Lin Yuan, and it is not like he is working in vain.

Although he wasn't wearing a safety harness directly, there was a safety line connected to Charlize in the event of a fall.

So if Charlize has a seatbelt, then so does he, which is only fair.

Lin Yuan's natural ability determines that he can master it as soon as he starts, and mastery is the optimal solution.

Under normal circumstances, an ice climber may need 1 minute to drive an ice bolt at the beginning.

After becoming proficient, even hanging on an ice wall at an upward angle with one arm can be completed in about 30 seconds.

But Lin Yuan was even faster, and every move he made seemed to be controlled by super artificial intelligence, allowing him to perform the most perfect movements.

In just 10 seconds, he can set up an ice bolt.

Complete a protection point in 15 seconds.

Such a fast speed even exceeded Charlize's climbing speed.

Seeing this scene, the filming crews below were all amazed:

"I originally thought that the ice bolts would affect the climbing speed. But now it seems that Charlize's climbing speed may not be able to keep up with the speed of the Source God's ice bolts."

"With Yuan Shen's skills and proficiency, I would believe you if you said he was a veteran of ice climbing for decades. It's incredible."

"If we can maintain this pace, we won't need three hours, maybe only one and a half hours to reach the summit."

Seeing the crew members grinning in surprise again, Meng Tao said that he was used to it.

He just silently stared at the two people while they were climbing, always paying attention to the condition of the ice wall. If any unexpected situation occurred, he would be able to notify Lin Yuan immediately so that he could make targeted responses in advance.

At the moment, everything seems to be going quite smoothly. Lin Yuan and Charlize are seen quickly shooting ice bolts all the way up.

With ice chips flying all the way, they had climbed to a height of 50 meters in just twenty minutes.

This is a height that would make one's legs weak just looking down, it is as high as a 16-story building.

If we look at it in terms of vertical height, we can say that we have completed one-third of the journey.

But Lin Yuan knew that the real challenge was just about to begin, and the closer he got to the top, the greater the challenge would be.

Below him, Charlize's heavy breathing could be heard.

"Huh~"

The strong wind whistled past their ears, but it couldn't drown out Charlize's panting.

It was obvious that her physical energy was exhausted quite severely, and the high altitude effect of Mount Raya began to appear.

(End of this chapter)