Awakening the Skeena!!!

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LOST Swimmer
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Skeena RiverOkay, this one is pretty cool… even though the title sounds like what Johnny Depp would say before he says: “Release the Kraken”!

This woman, Ali Howard, wanted to raise awareness of proposed coal bed methane gas wells and the threat it posed for salmon in the Skeena River, in interior British Colombia… so she swam 380 miles of the Skeena in an epic month-long journey!  (she did it in 2009, but I just found out about it now!)

Now the purists in the world of open water swimming absolutely hate this kind of thing… because it doesn’t conform to the standard “English Channel” rules… and let me tell you this doesn’t even come close to “proper” open water swimming rules… she’s wearing a dry-suit, fins, a helmet, even a lifejacket and a white-water boogie board for the rapids… but I have to say it still looks pretty cool!

I’m sure it was a grueling swim, but sections of it at least look like a ton-o-fun!  Looks like her crew had fun too!  Anyway, a great accomplishment and good cause.  Well done.

Enjoy!

 

Cheers,

Rob

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LOST Swimmer
https://lostswimming.com
I founded LOST Swimming because I like open water swimming and would like to see it grow and thrive in Lake Ontario. I started as a competitive swimmer as a kid and ended up getting as far as a silver medal at Nationals and going to the Olympic Trials in 1988. But I retired after that, I was sick of swimming. So I got into running marathons and have run over 35 to date, as well as a few ultra marathons, including the Marathon des Sables (7 day, ultra across the Sahara Desert). I also kind of fell into triathlons and have done a handful of Ironman tri's too. This gradually got me back in the water and in 2006 I took the plunge and attempted swimming the English Channel. I didn't quite make it across, but the circle was now complete and after 17 years I was a swimmer again! Although I still do plenty of pool swimming, I now much prefer open water swimming and like to say that open water swimming is to pool swimming, what trail running is to treadmill running! As a result I hope to encourage more people to join me for a dip in Lake Ontario as often as we can!