Jasper boat captain becomes the first recorded person to swim the 22-kilometre length of one of the Rockies’ most iconic lakes
At 6:30 a.m. on Monday, August 3, with the air temperature hovering near zero and the glacial water of Maligne Lake sitting at around 4 C, Kat Scheuerm put her face in the water.
It went instantly numb.
The 27-year-old Jasper tour-boat captain and former competitive swimmer had expected the lake to be cold. She hadn’t expected it to be that cold.
But this was race day.
The previous afternoon, Scheuerm and five friends had paddled to Coronet to camp beneath the peaks ahead of her attempt to swim the entire 22-kilometre length of Maligne Lake. At 5 a.m., their alarms went off.
Scheuerm’s roommate and self-appointed number-one cheerleader, Julia, sat up in her sleeping bag and delivered the morning’s clear, no-nonsense call to action.
“It’s race day. Everybody get up.”
Scheuerm pulled on a full wetsuit and fins. She opted not to wear neoprene gloves. During a previous long-distance swim, she’d found they interfered with her ability to pull through the water.
This time, she was choosing efficiency over warmth.
Eight kilometres to Spirit Island
The first leg—from Coronet to Spirit Island—was the coldest stretch of the day.
Every time Scheuerm stopped to take on food or water, she could feel herself starting to freeze up. The solution was simple: keep moving.
After two hours and 20 minutes in the frigid, azure water, she hauled herself onto the beach at Spirit Island.
Her friends immediately went to work.
They fed her peanut-butter sandwiches and jerky while she huddled beneath a jacket with hot-water bottles tucked against her body. It took roughly half an hour before the shivering finally stopped.
Then she got back in.
The mental battle
The middle section was familiar territory—and the most mentally gruelling.
In 2023, during her first season working at Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, Scheuerm had swum the shorter, 14-kilometre distance from Home Bay to Spirit Island. Her friend Greg Legere had completed it the year before, inspiring her to try it herself.
She remembered the middle section as a test of pure fortitude.
During the first and final legs of Monday’s swim, she could at least take in the scenery: tall grey peaks and dark-green forests sliding slowly past along the shoreline.
Here, there was mostly Samson Peak.
And more Samson Peak.
And more Samson Peak.
Her friend and photographer Bea Payette accompanied her in one of the support canoes, offering encouragement—and occasional opportunities to tread water long enough to eat a Mars bar.
At Four Mile, Scheuerm took her second shore break.
This time, warming up took nearly 90 minutes.
She wolfed down Timbits, sipped hot water and hot chocolate, and wrapped herself around multiple hot-water bottles. Fatigue had set in, and the shivering was harder to shake.
But there was one important difference.
The end was now in sight.
Into Home Bay
As Scheuerm approached Home Bay, her entourage began to grow.
More friends joined in canoes and kayaks. Passing boats sounded their horns as tourists waved and cheered from the decks.
On shore, even more friends and family gathered to welcome her home.
Scheuerm stepped onto the beach having become the first person on record to swim the entire length of Maligne Lake.
Her total time in the water was six hours and 53 minutes, including six hours and 23 minutes of active swimming.
But Scheuerm is quick to point out that the achievement wasn’t hers alone.
Her core crew included Julie McDonald-Edstrom, Bea Payette, Jack Todd, Bree Eady, Jack Cowan and Sarah Laurie, who paddled the route despite having a broken foot.
“I couldn’t have done it without all my friends,” Scheuerm said. “They were such a support. It was just such a fun day.”
For anyone inspired to follow in her wake, Scheuerm’s advice is straightforward: get a wetsuit that fits, eat plenty and bring a solid team.
As for whether she’ll attempt the 22-kilometre swim again to improve on her already impressive time?
“Not this year, for sure,” she said. “But maybe next year. Or maybe I’ll do something else, or swim farther. Who knows?”
For now, Scheuerm is happy to be back on deck, captaining one of Maligne Lake’s summer tour boats.
She’s also proved—to everyone else, but perhaps most importantly to herself—that a big dream, a strong circle of friends and a willingness to endure some seriously cold water can carry a person across one of Canada’s most iconic lakes.
And into the record books.
Cameron Jackson // info@thejasperlocal.com
