Kevjumba’s dad (Michael Wu) continues to persevere through the latest leg of the Amazing Race Season 17. Team Jumba had a rough time in Ghana, but in the latest episode they go from the sweltering heat to the freezing cold of the Arctic Circle. On this episode, we see the most camera time for Kevjumba and his dad on the Amazing Race Season 17 so far. Check out the episode here.

Spoiler Alert!!!
Departing the Pit Stop in last place, father and son Michael & Kevin borrowed a cell phone from their taxi driver to call about earlier flights than the one provided in the clue. With a Speed Bump looming over them, Kevin & Michael looked to gain an advantage to keep them in the game. Kevin learned that, in the connecting city of Frankfurt, there was a flight departing over two hours earlier, that would get them into Kiruna two hours ahead of other teams. To try and get tickets on this connecting flight, Kevin was told by the agent to go to the Lufthansa office rather than the check-in line.

Walking into the airport, Michael & Kevin decided to flag down father and daughter Gary & Mallory and reveal their information about the earlier flight. Kevin later cited the parent-child bond both teams have as the reason he felt comfortable confiding in them. When Gary found out they all could get a two-hour advantage, he said to Kevin & Michael, “You got a Speed Bump. You gotta get this.” The only potential flaw in the plan was a very tight connection to make the earlier flight when they landed in Frankfurt. To actually purchase the tickets, the two teams enlisted Miss Kentucky Mallory who used her southern charm to persuade a male agent into helping them. When the agent came back with four tickets, Mallory joked, “I’m so glad I got blonde hair.”

Once in the Arctic Circle, Michael & Kevin faced a Speed Bump, a task that only they had to complete for having been spared elimination in the last leg. In this Speed Bump, the father and son had to sit on furniture made from blocks of ice for ten minutes before continuing on the race. Michael & Kevin took a seat on the frozen furniture and soon realized that the task would be more difficult than they had anticipated. As he writhed around in discomfort, Kevin noted, “It feels like needles are sticking into my butt cheeks.” Keeping his sense of humor, Michael joked, “I wish in Ghana we had this chair.” After enduring the misery for ten minutes, Michael & Kevin happily stood up, lifted their clue etched in the massive chunk of ice, and quickly got directions to the lodge.

With the three lead teams making a wrong turn in the wooded and unmarked roads outside of Kiruna, Michael & Kevin vaulted into first place at Fjellsborg Lodge to find a Roadblock. In it, one team member had to use a summer training sled to mush a team of snow dogs down a forest trail along the way snatching five different flags hanging above them that they could trade for a shipment of fur pelts. For every flag missed, teams had to perform a penalty lap around the hunter’s camp. Then teams had to lead their dogs back to the start of the course where they could exchange the pelts for their next clue.

Michael excitedly jumped on a sled and began to lead and encourage his pack of dogs through the course. With Mallory, Claire, and Kat now in hot pursuit, Michael reached up and grabbed each of the five colored flags before guiding his sled of eager and well-trained snow dogs to the hunter’s camp where he exchanged the flags for pelts. Returning to his proud son at the lodge, Michael exchanged the pelt for the next clue instructing him and Kevin to drive through the Swedish countryside to the Vassijaur Train Station. Getting into their car only moments ahead of the other three teams, Michael told Kevin, “You missed all the fun.”

Arriving at the Vassijaur Train Station in first place, father and son Michael & Kevin opened their clue to find a Detour having to choose between Sleds and Beds. In Sleds, teams had to make their way to the top of a nearby mountain and use an extreme sport gadget known as a techsled to speed down a difficult course. If both racers didn’t finish in under one minute and fifty-eight seconds they had to return to the top and try again. In Beds, teams made their way to an encampment of Sami people who are descendants of the earliest Scandinavian nomads. Then, using traditional materials, teams had to build a tent-like dwelling known as a goahti. When the structure was completed and the interior made comfortable for sleeping, teams would receive their next clue.

Michael & Kevin went off to build a tent over concern about Michael’s physical abilities on the slopes. Ultimately, Team Jumba completed their goahti to end the day in fourth place.

After a difficult last leg, Michael chats with Phil about how he and Kevin persevered to stay in the race