Symbolic Mt. Everest Glacier Lake Swim to Address Climate Change

British endurance swimmer and environmental campaigner, Lewis Gordon Pugh, is attempting the most extreme challenge to carry out a swim in a glacial lake under the summit of Mount Everest to raise alertness towards climate change.
Pugh, who swam across an open patch of a sea at the North Pole two years ago to highlight the melting of the Arctic sea ice, will effort a symbolic swim in a glacial lake of Mount Everest Region in 2010. He is the first human to attempt to swim in Khumbu Region (Everest Region) lake.

Lewis Gordon Pugh, who due to unique ability to withstand cold and raise his body temperature in anticipation of a swim intrigued many top sports scientists and earned him the nickname of ‘The Polar Bear,’ will attempt to swim 1km at an altitude of 5,300 metres in the freezing waters of a lake on the Mount Everest Region. The challenge is scheduled for April 2010. Pugh expects the swim will take approximately 20 minutes, and he will yet again swim in just a Speedo, cap and goggles.

Pugh has spent great deal of time previously confronting the elements in expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. He is also the only person who has completed a long-distance swim in each of the 5 oceans. This time also Mr. Pugh is going to dip in the lake of Mount Everest glacier to convey the message of global warming, climate change and its effects. Increasingly concerned about the effects of global warming on the Polar Regions, he is determined on his mission to raise further awareness ahead of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December. The declaration of his plans comes as Pugh leaves for New York to attend the Clinton Global Initiative where he will be speaking at the conference about his forthcoming challenge and the importance of agreeing a bold deal at Copenhagen.

As a result of global warming, temperatures in the Himalayas have risen by 1 degree Celsius. Glaciers in the Himalayas are receding faster than in any other part of the world and, scientists predict they could disappear within 25 years. The glaciers on the Himalayas provide water to Asia’s nine largest rivers and 1.3 billion people.

Pugh said: “These glaciers are not just ice. They are a lifeline. They provide water to a fifth of the world’s population. It’s essential that politicians put aside their differences and agree a bold strategy to reduce climate change to below current levels when they meet in Copenhagen. There is not time for delay.”
Pugh, 39, environmentalist and swimmer, is no stranger to completing apparently unfeasible challenges where the odds are hoarded against him. He has dedicated his life to campaigning for the defense of the fragile environment.
He was the first man to swim at the Geographic North Pole in July 2007. The 1km swim took 18 minutes and 50 seconds in freezing temperatures of minus 1.8 Celsius, the coldest water a human has ever swum in.

Pugh further says about the new challenge, “The expedition to swim 1km in a lake on the slopes of Mount Everest is scheduled for April 2010 and I will be training incredibly hard over the winter for what will undoubtedly be the hardest swim of my life. There won’t be polar bears, but at 5,300 metres, I will meet the double challenge of swimming at extreme altitude and in freezing water. With no ship to retreat to after wards, warming up after 18 minutes in the frigid waters will be critical and far more difficult. I look forward to spending time in this staggeringly beautiful landscape with my expert team.”

Lewis’s challenge is sponsored by South Africa’s largest retailer Pick n Pay.