Dec
28
2011
Author of ‘Cold Oceans’, ‘In The Wake of the Jomon’ and ’The Raven’s Gift’, kayaker, adventurer and scientist
Jon Turk, Ph.D will be our keynote speaker on Saturday evening at GGSKS 2012.
National Geographic has nominated fellow adventurer Erik Boomer and Jon Turk
as one of the Top Ten Adventurers of 2012 for their truly epic first circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island in 2011.
Here is what Jon says about his life:
“For almost forty years I have wandered through exotic and remote landscapes and returned to write and speak about my adventures, the people, and the environments that I have been lucky enough to encounter.
I was trained as a scientist and in the beginning I merely considered my travels to be a series of
physical challenges to overcome and goals to attain.
That was a long time ago.”
Here is a list of just some of Jon’s accomplishments that he describes as “the ego-centric waypoints of my life”:
- First rock climbing party to make big wall ascents in Sam Ford Fiord, Baffin Island. (Featured in American Alpine Journal and Fifty Favorite Climbs.)
- First ascent of Lamo-she Peak (6070 meters), Sichuan Province, China
- Kayak passage around Cape Horn.
- 3,000 mile kayak passage from Japan to Alaska, following a 10,000 year old aboriginal migration route.
- Unsupported crossing of the western Gobi of Mongolia on a mountain bike.
- Several first ski descents in the Tien Shan and Pamir Alai ranges of Kyrgyzia, volcanoes of Kamchatka, and Appolobamba of Bolivia.
- Five expeditions to northeast Siberia in search of a shaman’s dream.
- Recipient of three Polartec and four Gore-tex grants for outstanding adventures.
- First complete circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island.
The mission of GGSKS is to educate and inspire and we are delighted that Jon has agreed to speak at this year’s event. It promises to be a fascinating evening as we learn just what motivates him to take on these challenges and what he has discovered about himself along the way.
Huge thanks to Sea Kayaker Magazine for making this possible.
