Lewis Pugh Swims The Meltwater He Wants To Refreeze
21 January 2020
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The Week of January 20-26, 2020
Tuesday, January 21
On the eve of a “swim where no human has swum before: 1km across a supra-glacial lake in East Antarctica” to highlight the approach to a cliff edge on climate-change, Lewis Pugh, the United Nations Patron of Oceans, has released magnificent images of him swimming in meltwater in an ice-tunnel under the Antarctic ice sheet.
The images – by Kelvin Trautman, a photographer & filmmaker who also described himself as “Outdoorsman & Athlete” – are spectacular, and mark the start of Pugh’s Antartica2020 mission, set back in 2016. Tomorrow brings on the East Antarctica leg of the campaign: the 1km across a supra-glacial lake with Slava Fetisov, as reported by Swimming World last month when Pugh ran an advert seeking polar swimmers to join him.
In a series of tweets, Pugh highlights the beauty and majesty of Antartica – and what the world is losing as the ice melts away at a rate never before measured in the lifetimes of those measuring. The swim by Pugh and Fetisov coincides with speeches from Greta Thunberg and Donald Trump at the Davos World Economic Forum.
Pugh writes:
“I can hardly believe what I have just experienced, swimming in a river UNDER the Antarctic ice sheet. Every shade of blue imaginable – it was utterly magnificent, and absolutely terrifying. Antarctica is melting. #Antarctica2020
East Antarctica is vast and beautiful, but everywhere we look there is meltwater. I will be swimming across one of these supra-glacial lakes to demonstrate the rapid changes taking place here, and to call for urgent action on climate change. #Antarctica2020
I can hardly believe what I have just experienced, swimming in a river UNDER the Antarctic ice sheet. Every shade of blue imaginable – it was utterly magnificent, and absolutely terrifying. Antarctica is melting. #Antarctica2020
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I’ve finally arrived in East Antarctica. One of the most remote places on the planet. For over 8 years nations responsible for protecting Antarctica have been trying to create a Marine Protected Area along this coast. #Antarctica2020
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I am going down one of these rivers UNDER the Antarctic ice sheet to see whether it MAY be swimmable. Water is just above 0 degrees C. #Antarctica2020
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We came across what appeared to be a hole under the ice sheet, so we climbed in to see if it was swimmable. We encountered every shade of blue – turquoise, royal blue, indigo and violet. Just incredible. #Antarctica2020
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Before the swim comes the search. French mountaineer Phillipe Barthez is helping me find the safest place to swim. The risk is that this meltwater can suddenly rush down a moulin. #Antarctica2020
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East Antarctica is vast and beautiful, but everywhere we look there is meltwater. I will be swimming across one of these supra-glacial lakes to demonstrate the rapid changes taking place here, and to call for urgent action on climate change. #Antarctica2020
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