Alec Luhn, a 38-year old climate journalist originally from Wisconsin, has been lost. He failed to come back from a day hike on Folgefonna National Park, home to some of southwest Norway’s majestic fjords. Luhn has carved out a quite remarkable career in reporting on climate change, and particularly on ice and the Arctic. He has produced work for such well-respected publications as National Geographic, The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Atlantic.
Luhn’s family last saw him when he began his hike and he was due to exit the park by this past Monday. His spouse, Veronika Silchenko, reported him missing after he failed to get on a flight home as planned. In fact, she had a chance to talk with him before his hike last Thursday. Despite all of this, he appeared to be in great form.
Silchenko expressed her deep concern for her husband, stating, “He is a very kind and loving human being. He loves nature. He dedicated his career to writing about climate change and especially the ice and the Arctic.” She portrayed him as physically and sexually strong, spirited, adventurous – but most importantly, independent and not reckless. “Alec is my favorite person in the world, and I miss him a lot. I would like him to be back as soon as possible,” she added.
By Sunday evening, Silchenko said, she began to panic about Luhn, who had not returned home. Initially, she dismissed her worries, thinking it was typical for hikers to drop signal in the mountains. “I started to worry slightly on Sunday, but then I thought that it’s Norway and it’s totally normal to be out of connection in the mountains, so I decided to wait and … do something if he’s not back online on Monday,” she said.
Ingeborg Thorsland, a local politician participating in the rescue operation gave a report on the move and the failure to find Luhn. With up to 30 volunteers from the Red Cross and other organizations involved, the operation has been well supported. Thorsland further noted that the search teams are often locals who are familiar with the area. Unlike other public servants, they work under extremely harsh extremes and unforgiving elements.
That type of extreme experience saves lives, and Luhn’s years as a hiker — including at least six months hiking alone in extreme conditions — would help him stay alive. Unforgiving weather conditions have added to worries by search crews and the man’s family about their search area.
As the search plays out, Silchenko is still keeping her fingers crossed that her husband will return home safely. She couldn’t stop thinking about their final interaction. She had just been in communication with him when he sent her a selfie he had taken on his hike, claiming he looked fantastic, basking in the beautiful climate.
