Swimmer Lewis Gordon Pugh braves icy Mount Everest Lake

An environmental activist from Britain has become the first person to complete a long-distance swimming on Mount Everest.

Lewis Gordon Pugh, 40, swam 1km in a glacial lake on the slopes of the highest mountain in the world is only Speedos, goggles and swim cap.

The adventurer, who uses his swimming endurance record for awareness of climate change, hopes his latest feat will draw attention to the melting of Himalayan glaciers and the water supply due to the decrease in the region.

Nicknamed “The Polar Bear Man” for his ability to survive extreme cold, Mr. Pugh plunged into the lake near Pumori Khumbu glacier at an altitude of 5,300 meter swim and finished in 22 minutes and 51 seconds.

Mr. Pugh, who swam in Antarctica and around the North Pole to draw attention to melting sea ice, not only had to cope with the water temperature of 2°C for his latest challenge, also fought against altitude sickness.
He said: “This is one of the most difficult swim I’ve ever undertaken. When swimming in the Antarctic and swim across the North Pole with the speed and aggression, but on Mount Everest, you cannot use the same tactics. Due to the altitude, you have to swim very slowly and deliberately.”

“Swimming 20 meters at full speed in the water, I felt I would drown. I lost my breath and if I swam faster I would have gone down. I was deeply concerned that I wouldn’t make up to 1 km and now I’m glad that I finally made it.”

“I realized that I had to respect this unique and ground swimming as slowly as possible – I had to swim breaststroke to breathe better. I had to find a delicate balance between going too fast and slow, in which case it could stifle a result of hyperventilation, and if too slow the risk of dying of hypothermia. ”

Calling on governments worldwide to combat climate change a priority, Mr. Pugh said he was disappointed that the issue was not significant in the general election.