Johan Ernst Nilson (born 4 August 1969 is a Swedish

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

, known as an "environmental explorer" because of his interest in environment and

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

-related issues.

Life and career

Nilson was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He has completed 28 expeditions, visiting around 100 countries. He also gives lectures about motivation and

environmental awareness Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologi ...

. After participating in some film work with the Polar Research Team, Nilson began collaborating with Respect Climate. In 2008 he finished his project ''"

Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven. In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...

Climate Neutral"''. After the first

Climate Neutral Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...

Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its ...

expedition, Nilson was elected Swedish President of the Everest Summiteers Association (ESA), and a member of

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for ex ...

. He received the Medal of Honour from the Swedish Church in 1996. In 2018, Nurali Aliyev announced that Nilson would be the new Ambassador of the Snow Leopard Foundation based in Kazakhstan, representing the interests of the foundation overseas.

Expeditions

Nilson has completed exhibitions in Africa and Antarctica, as well as to the mountains

Denali Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helm ...

(1995),

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at above sea level and above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano i ...

(2003), Mount Elbrus (2004, 2008),

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in both the Western Hemisphere and the ...

(2005, 2006),

Carstensz Pyramid Puncak Jaya (; literally "Victorious Peak", Amungme: ''Nemangkawi Ninggok'') or Carstensz Pyramid (, , ) on the island of New Guinea, with an elevation of , is the highest mountain peak of an island on Earth, and the highest peak in Indones ...

(2006), Mount Everest (2007),

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

(2006, 2007), Mount Vinson (2008), Mount Kusciuskzo (2006),

Shishapangma Shishapangma, or Shishasbangma or Xixiabangma ( zh, s=希夏邦马, p=Xī xià bāng mǎ), is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. The lowest 8,000 metre peak, it is located entirely within Tibet. Name Geologist Toni H ...

(1997),

Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran'' or ''Nulu Nabalu'', ) is the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo. With a height of , it is the third-highest peak of an island on Earth, the 28th highest peak in Southeast Asia, and 20th most prom ...

(2000), and Heidi Hill Nunavut (1999). His mixed expeditions include the Alaska Walkabout Expedition (1995), Jetski over the Atlantic (2002), Machu Picchu (2005), the Arctic Dogsled Race (1999), and a Borneo Photo Expedition (2000). In January 2012, Nilson achieved a

Guinness Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

title for his

Three Poles Challenge The Three Poles is an adventurer’s challenge to reach the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest. The first person to reach all three locations was Edmund Hillary. Hillary summited Everest in May 1953, reached the South Pol ...

expedition.

Publications

Nilson published a photobook in November 2008, entitled ''Seven Summits - The Photobook''.

References

Dagens Nyheter
*http://www.aftonbladet.se/klimathotet/article469360.ab *http://www.sergel.se/?id=2247 Swedish explorers Swedish environmentalists Swedish mountain climbers 1969 births Living people People from Stockholm {{Sweden-bio-stub