Riding for Glaciers as Climate Crisis escalates

Pär Johan Åstrand left Falun, Sweden on the 17th of June, setting off on a 3,000km bike journey to his home in Monte Rosa, Italy to spread awareness and information about the melting of glaciers and address the key drivers of climate change. During the journey, extreme heat across the world broke all-time records, triggering glacial collapses, wildfires and heat-related fatalities.

‘Italy has changed my life,’ Pär Johan Åstrand said before setting off on his Ride For Glaciers challenge. ‘As the place that has come to support me, my hobbies and my family, the least I can do is draw attention to the crises taking place across her mountains. Through this project we are collecting donations to help support our newest national organisation: POW Italy. We are planning to use most of what we raise to study the glaciers of Monte Rosa.’

As a dedicated cyclist who spends most of his free time riding in the Italian Alps, Pär witnessed firsthand the rapid deterioration of his local glaciers over the last decades, prompting him to become a climate activist with charity Protect Our Winters. The receding glaciers and diminishing snow cover in the mountains of Pär’s homeland spurred him on in his decision to act, getting on his bike in an attempt to cross Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, and Switzerland, finishing at his home in Alagna, Monte Rosa, Italy – the second highest mountain massif in western Europe after Mont Blanc.

Pär crossed the finish line of his 3,000km journey last week, rolling into Alagna, Italy to conclude his efforts. News of dramatic temperature increases as a result of human-caused climate change throughout his journey served as poignant reminders of his purpose, and Pär credits his idea to POW’s prevailing message that small, individual actions are just as valid and important as the larger-scale, governmental action.

‘It was a particular motto of theirs that really stuck with me which explained how you don’t have to be perfect to contribute to climate work – Strive for improvement instead of seeking perfection – and this got me thinking about not only my journey, but all the things each of us can do as individuals,’ he says.

‘What we’re doing isn’t about saving the planet, it’s about saving our way of life for generations to come.’

Protect Our Winters is an environmental not-for-profit organisation that aims to help passionate outdoor people become effective climate advocates, to achieve systemic solutions to climate change. To find out what steps you can take toward fighting climate change, you can visit their website.