ExpeditionNews about Lewis Gordon Pugh's not so first North Pole swim

South Pole, North Pole News and Guide

The bones in Pugh’s [2007] coverage were that he had done the first swim at the North Pole. "10 years ago it would have been impossible for all the ice there," he said in an US TV broadcast, referring to Global warming. However, open water at the North Pole in the summer season is not new, and stretches back more than 10 years.

In fact, a pic posted at the front page of the New York Times about 8 years ago caused amusement among First Air Arctic pilots, "there's always open water there this time of the year," they told ExWeb back then.

There have also been quite a few dips at and around the spot over the years, and that's why ExWeb scrubbed the story.