Ice Swimming With Capri By Samuel Lieberman

Park Rangers cut a 25 m lane in the middle of the frozen lake and an international niche community of 40 thrill-seekers from seven countries took turns swimming heats of up to 100m. The competitions have previously been held in Siberia, Patagonia and Latvia. But this was the first time the United States hosted an event like this.

This is not a simple “polar plunge” or a polar bear swim. These swimmers compete in four “heats” of front crawl and breast stroke fighting against whipping snow and trying to avoid the sharp icy edges of the frozen lake water. Two at a time, the swimmers ease their way into water that hovers just above 32 degrees. They almost all immediately gasp, lifting their arms out of the water for some kind of relief—cold water drains your body of heat 28 times faster than cold air. If someone were to stand out on the frozen lake naked for 30 minutes they would lose as much body heat as if they spent one minute in the water.