Update: Thanks for all your help. $36,000 have been turned over to Jake and Kathy, for which they are EXTREMELY grateful! You can of course still contribute. Please contact me for details at steffen | at | Adventure-Antarctica.de. (You know how to put that one together).

Please help! Jake Speed, world famous in Sweden and New Zealand, needs your help. Join the many friends from around the world who have helped Jake and Kathy as they face this difficult time.

The headline perhaps could have read “Man Lost in Whiteout Survives 58-Hour Ordeal in Sub-Zero Temps.” It is an amazing saga. On April 15, Jake was caught in a whiteout without survival equipment while working near Summit Camp, the highest point of Greenland’s ice cap. He had just checked equipment several kilometers from the main station, intending to return before an impending storm hit. However, a faulty fuel gauge meant his Ski-Doo ran out of petrol about 5km from safety. He dug himself a snow hole and spent the next three nights and two days fighting to keep his blood flowing by standing and walking, as well as forcing himself not to drift into an eternal sleep. When he spotted a plane he followed its direction until he met one of the search vehicles and asked for a lift.

Although he managed to walk out on his own two feet, there was extensive nerve damage. Jake was transported to Nuuk, Greenland for preliminary examination. He was then flown to the UC Davis hospital burn unit in Sacramento for extensive evaluation and treatment. After multiple surgeries, and attempts to partially save his original feet, he has now undergone full amputation of his right hand and both feet. He is currently undergoing an abdominal flap procedure to save full use of the left hand.

It’s easy to help … just send a check payable to “The Jake Speed Fund c/o Beth Watson” to:

The Jake Speed Fund c/o Beth Watson
7722 East Phillips Circle
Centennial, Colorado 80112

For wire transfer/deposit/European account information, please contact me at steffen | at | Adventure-Antarctica.de. (You know how to put that one together).

Update: The fund has been turned over to Jake. You can still contribute. Please contact me for details at steffen | at | Adventure-Antarctica.de. (You know how to put that one together).

Click on an image to launch the gallery (21 pictures)

Jake Speed (Joseph Gibbons) started with the U. S. Antarctic Program in 1999 as a Utility Technician …starting the first of five consecutive winters at Pole, from 2000 to 2004. He began seasonal work in Greenland in 2004, while still returning to Pole during austral summers as an equipment operator. He set a record for consecutive winters at the South Pole at 5. Jake is very good at his work, and has said, “When I’m on, I’m on, and when I’m off, I just want to chill on the beach and hang with my friends and family.”

Jake was married in 2007 to Kathy Blumm, They’d met at Pole during the 2004 winter and have done several deployments to Greenland together. Kathy was in New York State, preparing for the trip to Greenland, when Jake was medevaced out…. Jake has done extensive traveling, and has done extensive walking on those travels. His wife Kathy stated, “His feet have taken him a long long way over the years; walking the Pacific Crest Trail, across China, Africa and wherever the hell else. The Poles. So, he has maybe gone beyond warrantable miles anyway. Time for something new. As we go into this next phase, I want to take a second here to say thanks. Thanks to all the folks that have been there for us in so many ways and on so many levels. It has been amazing. The flood of mail has been so heartwarming and the donations to the ice fund have blown us away. Thank you.”

Thanks to Bill Spindler who has gathered the facts and photos for this fundraising page while I was on the road in Iran. Please head on over to his original page for the latest updates. Also many, many thanks to Beth Watson, South Pole majordomo and kind spirit for getting the fundraiser started!

Not much has happened here because I have been traveling since I left South Pole last November.

After a bit of snowboarding in Canada, USA, Germany, Austria, Italy, Lebanon, and Iran I am now on a motorbike trip, roughly headed for Shiraz, Iran.

I have finally managed to put a travelogue for my family and friends together. While you are waiting for new posts here go ahead and kill some time and head over to OnTheRoad.Adventure-Antarctica.de

A sample of the latest posts:

On The Road

Ankara to Cumalıkızık
I leave Ankara fairly early, but apparently not early enough to avoid the rush hour. However, once I make it out of the city center proper the traffic eases up and I find my way easily. There is a detour through one of the far out suburbs and I get to see [...]
Ankara
By pure accident I ended up in a nice lively neighborhood of Ankara. Just around the corner are a bunch of used book sellers. This finally gives me the chance to update my treeware. I see a couple of outdoor places where people play PS3, mostly football, on huge flatscreens. Others [...]
Göreme to Ankara
In the morning a chat a bit with my new neighbors, a couple on a GS. We talk about tire karma and I admit that I haven’t had a flat yet. I say me goodbyes and start breaking down camp. As usual I do a quick inspection of the bike and notice [...]
Cappadocia II
Cappadocia was an early center of Christianity and many of the early followers were forced into hiding in underground cities at times. I visit a large one in Derinkuyu, which consists of eight levels. The doors could be closed from the inside by rolling huge grindstones in front of the opening. [...]
Cappadocia I
My favorite döner kebab place in Christchurch has a very faded poster of Cappadocia. I’ve stared at it many times and dreamed of going there while munching a döner after a night out in town. I’m a big believer in using cheesy tourist posters in fast food joints to guide your travel [...]
Kemaliye to Göreme
I start the day by riding the Tasyol once again and continue on to Divriği, where I visit the Great Mosque and Hospital (Divriği Ulu Cami ve Darüşşifa), a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was built in the 13th century under a Seljuk ruler. Outside shots would have been great in the [...]
Kemaliye
Kemaliye is obviously named after some very famous Mustafa Kemal and was formerly known as Eğin. The reason I chose to come here is the Kemaliyeliler Tasyolu, the “Rock Road”. The road was cut by the locals with no government support over a 130 period. By the time it was finally [...]
Erzurum to Kemaliye
The Ten and I check out of the holy Kral hotel in the morning . It’s fast going on a four lane highway all the way to Erzincan. The landscape isn’t boring but it’s hard to stop once you get going fast. In Erzincan I fuel up again and have a lunch [...]
Yusufeli to Erzurum
Near Yusufeli is the 8th century Georgian church of the Mother of God. A 7 km dirt road forks from the main road and leads to village of Ishan in which the church is located. As I ride the dirt road back down I realize I left my phone in [...]
Yusufeli
There are rivers in the mountains all around Yusufeli and it is a bit of a whitewater Mecca in Turkey. Supposedly the town will go under with a new dam being built in a few years. Opinions about this differ and there is a bit of new construction going on [...]

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The injured Davis Station chef was successfully airlifted to Hobart by a LC-130 aircraft. The crew at the station rushed to build a temporary 3000m sea ice runway. After flying from McMurdo the aircraft remained at Davis overnight before continuing on to Hobart.

Read press release

It is finally happening. We are getting flights! The very first LC-130 of the season just landed. It carried a bunch of firefighters and our ARFF vehicle, both now a requirement for any passenger flights.

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Finally, things are looking up! Obama has won the election and we are getting flights in!

Our satellite connection went down before the polls closed and we had to get the results via phone from McMurdo. They were put on the big displays in the galley during dinner time and people were positively cheerful.

I think most of the people here took this election more serious than most and made an effort to cast their votes. Absentee ballots came in on the first Basler flight and left with the next one, to make it back to the US in time for the election.

I have a feeling that South Pole was very strongly in favor of Obama. This is the place were Ralph Nader won the mock election eight years ago in a land slide.

A very optimistic feeling was permeating the Station last night. On top of the election results we had a good weather forecast and two LC-130, one Basler, and one Twin Otter flights were scheduled. Looks like most of the winter-overs will be leaving.

A few days ago we had the traditional winter-over ceremony. Since only a couple of Basler flights had made it in we were basically congratulating ourselves in one of the lamest ceremonies in Antarctic history.

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Yesterday morning we established our last communication link to MARISAT F-2. Today Intelsat initiated the de-orbit maneuver. The satellite was launched in October of 1976 and performed for 32 years. We have used MARISAT F-2 for number of years from the South Pole and it has been one of our most reliable links to the outside world. The end has come suddenly. Deterioration of the telecommand link caused concerns for the operator INTELSAT and they scheduled de-orbit for the end of November but moved it forward to October 30 with a week’s notice.

The first commercial mobile communications satellite, MARISAT, in 1975, built by Hughes for Comsat and used by both U.S. Navy and merchant marine ships. (Courtesy of Hughes Space and Communications Company)

I work on the BICEP telescope and thus observe a sidereal schedule, which means I shift forward roughly four minutes a day, just like the satellite schedule. For two years MARISAT F-2 has been my steady companion, becoming visible form the South Pole roughly the same time I get up. I’ll miss it! No more reading the daily news while having a cup of coffee in the morning :-(

MARISAT F-2 offered global maritime communications when launched in October of 1976 and was the second member of a three satellite system all launched that year. The satellites were manufactured by Hughes Aircraft Company and became the first global maritime system. It was launched aboard a Delta-2914 from Cape Canaveral by NASA.

After a few days of weather delays we received the first plane load of passengers. Most of them were seasoned veterans who, along with the FNGs, received the typical warm South Pole welcome right on the flight deck.

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The crews of the Kenn Borek Basler and Twin Otter were nice enough to pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables in Chile. It was great to shock the system with some vitamins after eight months. We had grilled pineapple for dinner, with tomato and avocado salad and fresh oranges and apples for desert, washed down by a Gin tonic with fresh lime.

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A few minutes ago a Basler made the first landing of the 2008/2009 season, bringing our winter officially to a close. The flight had been delayed by bad weather at Rothera Station. When the weather cleared up enough around 1am they decided to go for it. It is a beautiful day down here and the temperature was just above the cutoff of -54°C. They touched down shortly after 8am and took off for McMurdo after a very brief fuel stop. We expect to see them again with 16 passengers tomorrow.

[more...]