EXPLORER JOHAN ERNST NILSON POLE TO POLE

Johan Ernst Nilson



Johan Ernst Nilson, a Swedish explorer known for his unparalleled Climate Neutral travels, commenced his journey from the northernmost point to the southernmost point of the earth on Wednesday, April 6, 2011. The expedition, titled Climate Neutral | Pole2Pole, marked the anniversary of American Explorer Robert E. Peary’s expedition to the North Pole, as well as the history-making voyage of Norwegian Explorer Roald Amundsen, who was the first explorer to reach the South Pole in 1911.



Johan started the voyage by walking more than 124 miles on the Arctic ice of the North Pole to the Svalbard Archipelago in Greenland. Johan was then scheduled to navigate across the Arctic Ocean to Ottawa, Canada, however, less than three months into his journey, the explorer was forced to change route towards Vancouver, Canada!



Due to the ice drift and harsh climate, Johan and his team has been forced to compensate by increasing their daily work/travel regiment to twelve hours a days! With the onset of spring, temperatures have risen to approximately -10 degrees Celsius, causing a lack of ice to the North of Greenland. With limited rations, the Pole2Pole team has been advised to travel towards Vancouver, Canada, which they intend to reach on Sunday, July 3, 2011. Johan will then travel to New York City, USA on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 to attended a meeting with The Clinton Foundation on a discuss regarding environmental awareness. He will then fly back to Vancouver, Canada on Saturday, July 9th, 2011 to continue his expedition along the west coast!



This is not the first obstacle/setback the team has encountered during the past few weeks. Johan was treated for frost-bite, a recurring problem he faced during his 2008 Seven Summits journey. The explorer also fell into the Arctic Ice! While trying to keep afloat as his skis and boots weighed him down, Johan was eventually dragged out of the frozen water by co-explorer Harald Kippenes. The activist was also chased by a grizzly bear while cycling in Canada—view attack here!



Johan will continue cycling for six months through North and South America, passing through major cities—such as Mexico City, Mexico and Santiago, Chile—to the Amazon Jungle before arriving in Patagonia. Finally, he awaits a two month journey in Antarctica on skis and a parafoil, to the South Pole. The expected duration of Climate Neutral | Pole2Pole—one year!



Teaming up with iconic brands such as Audi—who built equipment for the explorer including skis, kites, bikes and a sled, as well as named him a Brand Ambassador, a title shared by Justin Timberlake—and ZENITH Watches, Johan is known globally as The Environmental Explorer, and has accomplished some 30 excursions across 100 countries.



Fans around the world are invited to track Johan’s travels, as he blogs and tweets his way across the globe at www.pole2pole.net.



ABOUT JOHAN ERNST NILSON:



Along with his adventures, Johan seeks to give back to the community, with charitable involvements as being an Ambassador for International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), MinStoraDag and Swedish PostcodeLottery, Honorary Goodwill Ambassador, Nepal and is a member of The Explorers Club, just to name a few. In between travels, Johan holds speaking engagements from motivational speeches to lectures on eco-friendly awareness. He has also published a photobook titled ‘Seven Summits – The Photobook,’ featuring images from his Seven Summits journey.




Johan’s famed project to date includes his 2008 Seven Summits journey, in which he reached the summits of the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, including Mount Everest, Mount McKinley and the Vinson Massif. With his first expedition being a result of a wager in 1994 (biking from Stockholm to Morocco in 52 days), Johan has continuously sought out more ambitious projects.

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