Officer Down - One Man Epic

[rc_sam]

Great to see you posting Tom.
Thank you so much for allowing us to read about your amazing adventure. Truely inspiring.

[FJ Steve]

Welcome back to PSB Tom.

Hope we weren't too heavy to carry, on your journey. We were all riding on your shoulders mate. Well done.

[Commander Keen]

Welcome back Tom.

[Cam]

Every time I think about the magnitude of what you've accomplished Tom, I'm completely floored.

You're an inspiration to me, and I'm sure many others.

[02keilj]

Only just heard about this after being away for a few weeks. So sorry to hear, great effort put in, well done to all involved.

[Orson]

Gah! website is down (Bandwidth exceeded)

[Desmo]

FFS.
Cheers mate.

[Orson]

No worries.

[Desmo]

From here.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, by chance I happened to be in Alert, Nunavut – at the very tip of the High Arctic – as the story broke about Australian Tom Smitheringale being successfully rescued by Canadian Forces after plunging through the frigid Arctic ice as part of his One Man Epic expedition.
The morning after he was brought into base for medicial attention I sat down to chat with Tom, and then went to document his injuries – which although frightening (he suffered bad frost bite on numerous fingers and toes) – were small considering the price he could have paid.
“The body’s smashed”, said Tom, “but it’s great to be alive. I didn’t achieve my goal, but I won’t carry that with me. I refuse to be disappointed with it.”
I touched on this in my last post, but although I’m sure many wonder why people take risks such as these, I should say that I didn’t find Tom, in the least, to be a big-headed thrill seeker. Rather he is about as unassuming as a driven, athletic, 6-foot, 7-inch man can get, and he refused to be disappointed in his efforts. I had somewhat expected ego, and found none.
“What did I want to achieve? I wanted to live. I squeezed every minute out of every hour out of every day”.
Here’s some images depicting the harsh power of the Arctic, and I sincerely wish Tom the best of luck in his recovery, his future endeavours (and hope someday he meets his goal of being the first Australian to reach the North Pole, solo and unsupported), and in successfully navigating the media throng upon his return back home.
A special kudos to the efforts of the Canadian Forces search-and-rescue efforts, which brought Tom to safety within six hours of receiving his distress signal. I’ve had the opportunity to witness the efforts of the Canadian military in the High Arctic over the past week, and I can stand as testament to the care and outpouring of support that Tom has received from the men and women stationed in Alert.
NOTE: ALL IMAGES COPRIGHT DAVE BROSHA – these cannot be used without the written permission. For media inquiries, please contact ebrosha@gmail.com.

[Yagadan]

What a brute of a man, his strength in both body and mind is an inspiration to us all.

[Professor Redfern]

Ripped.

[Eddie???]

I heard a mention of him on ACA last night..! Is he planning another interview??

[BERT]

Hard to say properly from the photo's but his toes look worse than his fingers/thumbs.
When talking to Jim we were both concerned about his thumbs, losing thumbs would be life changing.

Good to see and hear from him, excellent that he is in good spirits.
Mental toughness is clearly not a weak point.

Bert
Is there an official weight for Orson ?
Is this still running ?

[Brougham]

holy crap, Orson's in trouble!

[snowman95]

the. goddam. MAN!

[Desmo]

Bonus points for telling me which company the chopper belongs to.

[Orson]

Posted via Mobile Device

I reckon weigh-in needs to be back in perth on a date that's more aligned with when OD would have hypothetically completed the trek and returned...

...if he puts 10kg on in that time then that's just unlucky

[Professor Redfern]

Jim how do the chopper Pilots know its safe to land?

Im assuming Tom fell through the ice basically right there, how can the pilots then know its ok to land a few tonnes of machine?

They dont even look like they have floats

[Desmo]

Pictures attached taken from the Twin Otter providing top cover for the rescue. SAR (search & rescue) Techs can be seen on the ground at the tent assisting with the extraction. The lead Tom fell into is in the light blue ice to the rear left of the tent. The pilots commented that in over 100 rescues the signal strength of the distress beacon was the strongest they have ever seen and guided them to within 1 mile of Tom's position.

I presume the pilots have enough experience to gauge it.
I do know where Tom fell in the ice was nearly 6 feet thick.

[BERT]

Bonus points for telling me which company the chopper belongs to.

Seen one before Jim ?

Google Image Result for http://www.airplane-pictures.net/images/uploaded-images/2008-7/8/18957.jpg


Orson, did you have any trouble posting that 20kg spag bol to Tom ?

Bert