Dupre Climbs to Raise Awareness for Climate Change and Polar Bears

Arctic Explorer Lonnie Dupre visited the Louisville Zoo on Wednesday, Dec. 3rd to talk about his upcoming climb of Mt. McKinley (Denali) and climate change. The Zoo hosted Dupre in conjunction with Hear in America Hearing Plans.

"I just returned home from a very busy few days in Louisville KY., where I met so many wonderful people - and even a polar bear on his 5th birthday. 800 lb. Siku happens to be a happy resident at the award-winning Glacier Run exhibit at the Louisville Zoo, and while I was glad to be so close to him in a training session I was relieved to have a VERY strong fence in between us!

So grateful for the opportunity to soak up some relative warmth, the temperatures were above freezing the entire time! It felt like a tropical vacation -- except maybe when it rained. At least it wasn't snow and ice - a couple of weeks ago north of my hometown hit minus 22 degrees!

I leave for Alaska in just a few days so I am very busy with last minute preparations, visits to family and friends. The excitement is building, so I thought I would share some of that with you all. Over the next week I am going to share some more information about my training leading up to this expedition, my food and provisions, and some of the other more commonly asked questions I hear.

I fly to the Lower Kahiltna Glacier at the base of Denali to start the climb on December 15th weather permitting. Happy Holidays, Lonnie".