The ambitious 13-year-old American Jordan Romero, who just became the youngest person to climb the world’s tallest mountain, isn’t the only one making headlines at Mount Everest this week.
A British endurance swimmer became the first person to swim under the summit of the skyscraping mountain, it was reported Sunday by Fox Sports. Lewis Gordon Pugh was wearing only a pair of Speedos, a cap and goggles when he climbed into freezing waters and swam one kilometer (about 2/3 of a mile) across a glacial lake next to the Khumbu Glacier.
During practice swims on the Pumori Lake, cold waters and altitude sickness nearly drowned the intrepid 40-year-old swimmer, whose nickname is “Human Polar Bear” for his ability to swim in arctic waters. He found he had to adapt to the extreme height conditions and 35 degree water temperatures by slowing down both his stroke and his breathing.
“Swimming 20 meters at full speed in the test swim, I felt I was going to drown,” said Pugh. “You can’t use the same tactics. Because of the altitude you need to swim very slowly and deliberately.”
And his swim wasn’t just a whim. The environmentalist chose this particular dipping pool specifically to raise awareness of melting glaciers in the Himalayas and declining water supplies.
“I have seen glaciers in the Arctic, the Alps, Central Africa, Antarctica and the Himalayas — and it’s the same story everywhere. Most glaciers are melting away. The glaciers in the Himalayas are not just ice. They are a lifeline — they provide water to approximately two billion people,” he said.
Photo by Chris Walker Innerwealth via Flickr.