• Monday-What'sUP January 31 - 11:30 am

The weather here in the Keweenaw on Saturday, was a bit blustery with horizontal blowing snow, but that didn't stop the brave of heart that participated in the Heikinpaiva Polar Bear Dive into the frigid waters of the Portage Canal. You can see how the wind was whipping the snow around, in Brian Rendel's top photo of the Bridge and the second one, too, with a young woman about to take the plunge, despite the weather.

This time of year, you hear about a of Polar Bear dives or swims all over the country, but many of them are folks running into cold water, not here in the Keweenaw, we have to cut a hole in the ice for our divers. I'd say that ups the "Brrrr factor" quite a bit. It looks like there were plenty of folks with the SISU to make the dive, both young and the not so young. As a post note, I just found out that the lady with the pink knit hat on in the third photo, is 80 years old and some of those surrounding her, are her family. They all jumped in together and her granddaughter had this to say about her Grandma: "She is an AMAZING lady and has more SISU than most people could hope for!!!"

Those are the safety and emergency personnel in the bottom photo, one of which is decked out in diving gear and was in the water while the Polar Bear participants were making their jumps, just in case someone needed rescuing. A big thanks to those folks for braving the elements for the event, too.

That's SISU in high gear!

Janie you stole my words from my fingers, lol! I was looking at the pictures, and the first thing that came to mind was "SISU"!! WOW!!!

First thing that comes to my mind is why would anyone willingly subject themselves to that form of self-punishment????

Then again I can't say much; I've done it, but only once....

Wim Hof...eat your heart out.

Love the bridge photo, but the others stir up my once-before asked question: are you people UP there crazy??

Major Sisu! Or they just took a sauna and have beaten themselves with cedar branches and need to cool off.

When photos of Polar Bear Dives were on here recently, someone (can't remember who) brought up the fact that the sudden 'shock' in temps could trigger heart attacks. Way too risky.

As I understand it, there was no pre-dive sauna available this year, as there has been for previous years' Polar Bear dives. For me, that would be a requirement; I have jumped into a 40 degree-ish Lake Superior right out of the sauna, which feels a bit like you're wearing a quarter-inch insulating blanket of hot air, so you don't feel the thermal shock unless you stay in the water too long (it just creeps up on you if you do). So, as strange as it may seem, there is no "thermal shock". The colder water wouldn't make that much difference.

Q1: How do some walk on the snow/ice in their bare feet? That seems almost worse than the dive!

Q2: Why would anyone make the dive while wearing any more than minimalist swimwear? All the excess clothing, when soaking wet, would not only weigh you down, but also prolong the experience; better to do the dive, get out, then wrap yourself in something DRY, absorbent, and WARM!

Think of the $$$ someone could make selling Snuggies at the Ramada....
Sheesh Alex, why didn't you think of that??? Could sell em out the back of the Goldwing!! J

Heat from a source like a sauna warms up the muscles and gets them mobile even though there may be arthritis and then then a jump in the frozen water numbs the pain of a recent sports injury. The Finns had it right for rehabilitation all along! Try it it works . Why do pitchers in baseball plunge there arms in ice water after a game? It is to prevent the pain modalities from reaching the brain.

Brrrrrrrrrrr!

Excellent idea Capt...Snuggies and Hot Booties http://hotbootiesslippers.com/ …and I bet people would pay $100 bucks just to inhale the exhaust.

By the way, the girl in the second picture looks like she is about to dive in and I was just wondering if it is better to dive in head-first or jump in feet-first. My theory is that if the brain freezes first, the rest of the body will feel no pain. Can anyone back me up on this?

Stewart, the sauna part sounds good, but I'm not about to sit in ice-water afterwards!
My question still remains: why the punishment? Is it just to say "I did it"?

This year the polar bear dive was not held at the Ramada this year.

I should have re-read my post first...and left off that last 'this year'.

A hot sauna and a cold dive and your aches and pains become history.


http://www.soulscode.com/the-shaman-origins-of-the-finnish-sauna/

I added this to my notes up above here, but I know that some might not go back up there and look, so I'm posting it here, too:

As a post note, I just found out that the lady with the pink knit hat on in the third photo, is 80 years old and some of those surrounding her, are her family. They all jumped in together and her granddaughter had this to say about her Grandma: "She is an AMAZING lady and has more SISU than most people could hope for!!!"

80 years old...it's just a number! Good for her, she's an awesome inspiration!

Simply amazing Mary! Great story.

After looking at that photo, I'm sure the guys came out singing SOPRANO !!!!!

I'll be...I wonder if she skydives, as well.

Wonder if she has osteoarthritis in both hips? Bet not.:) As they say up East, she's got 'moxie'!

A great 14 minute You Tube video on the polar bear dive.

How about this....just saw an article on the news where NBA players 'chill out' in a COLD TUB at minus 166 degrees. "Therapy"? Now that's sure enough crazy!

all i can say is BRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

If you find the polar bear dive video mentioned above, look around, there's a Russian (or Lithuanian? The language sounds like Russian to me.) "polar bear" video there too.

Seems the Yooper Polar Bears are better at this than the ruskies: Their diver did a belly flop on the clear ice! Ouch, that had to hurt! He may have broken his nose.

I have to agree with Capt. Paul & Shirlohio on this! I go spastic just walking butt deep in a cold stream in summer--but then I do have a heart condition.

I'll half to put dat on my bucket lisp.

In response to Alex "UP-Goldwinger" (Alex), I think if anyone was jumping in ice water willingly, the brain has already stopped working. Also, I don't think that hole in the ice is large enough to dive head first into. Hate to have someone dive in and wind up under the ice sheet.