A hardy British adventurer has become the first to ever ice skate across one of the world’s most barren and inhospitable landscapes - despite not having skated for about 20 years.

Jim Mee, 40, from York, said he meant to pack some skating in before Christmas in the run up to his epic challenge last week but he ran out of time.

Instead he blindly tackled an 85-mile crossing of Khovsgol Nuur in north-west Mongolia - the distance climbing to 100 miles when zig-zags to the edge of the lake to camp were taken into account - skating for nine hours a day for three days, in temperatures plunging to minus 47 degrees Celsius.

Last week, 40-year-old Jim Mee from York completed the 85-mile crossing of Khovsgol Nuur, a lake located 362 miles north west of Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar, which freezes solid in winter with the ice reaching up to one-metre-thick +15
Last week, 40-year-old Jim Mee from York completed the 85-mile crossing of Khovsgol Nuur, a lake located 362 miles north west of Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar, which freezes solid in winter with the ice reaching up to one-metre-thick

Braving bone-shattering winds and temperatures around minus 47 degrees Celsius, Mee skated for nine hours a day for three days with a support team on hand. He is now the first person ever to skate the lake¿s entire length +15
Braving bone-shattering winds and temperatures around minus 47 degrees Celsius, Mee skated for nine hours a day for three days with a support team on hand. He is now the first person ever to skate the lake’s entire length

Luckily his experience on skis served him well and he completed the frigid traverse unscathed.

Mee is now the first person to ever to skate the lake’s entire length. Talking about his accomplishment, the gutsy globetrotter said: 'Skating across the lake posed [lots of] unique difficulties.

'I was nervous it couldn’t be done. I wasn’t sure if the surface of the lake would be smooth enough to accommodate skating. But this method actually proved to be something of a revelation.

'I skated from dawn ’til dusk, nine hours a day, for three days. It’s a very similar motion to cross-country skiing, where you hit a rhythm and just keep going.

But Mee said the pain was all worth it, as the rewards were immense.

He continued: 'There’s no precipitation in this region so the skies are always clear, meaning the sunrises and sunsets were incredible spectacles.

'And just spending so long in such a bizarre, otherworldly landscape was surreal.

Talking about his accomplishment, Mee said: 'Skating across the lake posed [lots of] unique difficulties. I was nervous it couldn¿t be done. I wasn¿t sure if the surface of the lake would be smooth enough to accommodate skating. But this method actually proved to be something of a revelation' +15
Talking about his accomplishment, Mee said: 'Skating across the lake posed [lots of] unique difficulties. I was nervous it couldn’t be done. I wasn’t sure if the surface of the lake would be smooth enough to accommodate skating. But this method actually proved to be something of a revelation'

Published Date:2018-02-08