Prival USA founder Tony Pavlantos does not go for the obvious when it comes to life goals. Elliot Bernhagen photo.
If you know Tony Pavlantos or remember our 2014 interview with the Salt Lake-based snowboarder, it should not surprise you that he's taking it to the extreme—again.
Tony has in the past pedaled a bike from Salt Lake to Jackson Hole in February, towing a wood-fired hot tub the whole time, moving so slowly in the snow and rain that insects on the shoulder of the road were moving faster than he was.
He's aridden a binding-less snowboard off the summit of Little Cottonwood Canyon's Mount Superior. He's hiked and ridden it 30 times in a row to raise money for charity. And he has operated without a car for years, always fueled by an ethos that's a swill of self-sufficiency mixed with environmentalism.
The company he founded, Prival USA, has put out some incredibly lightweight and scaled-down avalanche safety gear while offering companion rescue and first aid courses to the Salt Lake outdoor crowd.
Tony is promoting Prival's new NWS multitool and firestarter living off the land for 10 days with no sleeping bag or tent and minimal food.
In an effort to both promote the launch the Kickstarer of Prival's new business card-sized multitool and firestarter and offset the carbon footprint of its prototype production, Tony is currently surviving off the land in the Wasatch backcountry for 10 days, with the intent of covering 71 miles with just three days' worth of food, no matches, no tent, and no sleeping bag, cutting his carbon footprint way down by forsaking grocery store-bought sustenance and heat and electricity.
Hunker down..
Posted by Prival on Saturday, October 29, 2016
Posted by Prival on Sunday, October 30, 2016
He's also posting live on Facebook as he goes to show how he's finding and treating snow for drinking water, where and how he builds shelter to keep him warm and rested in just a jacket and pants, and all other kinds of wilderness survival tips and tricks. "It's something I'm beginning to admit..." he says in a video while showing the kit he's packing for his trip, "...that this is a psychotic endeavor."
Snow to water
Posted by Prival on Sunday, October 30, 2016
But Tony's driven by a special blend of creativity and his own rationale of what's possible and reasonable, and it should be a blast to follow along. I had never thought of putting a fire's coals under your bedding if you're stuck in the woods with no shelter. Score!
Follow the project on Prival's Facebook page and be sure to contribute to the Kickstarter, with prizes for donors from a wide selection of the company's self-sufficiency products.
About The Author
stash member Ryan Dunfee
Former Managing Editor at Teton Gravity Research, current Senior Contributor, current professional hippy at the Sierra Club, and avid weekend recreationalist.