No, not even with a steamy, hot sauna, would you catch me jumping into that water. Not sure what the air temperature was on Saturday, but I guarantee it was colder than the water temps in the Portage Canal. Can't even imagine how cold that air felt emerging from the icy hole! The Frozen Z-Man is behind the camera in these shots, unless... he did say something along with his photos, about being a chicken, (BAHK, BAHK, BAHK)... was he referring to himself you think? Or could this belly-slapping diver be the infamous Z-Man himself? :->

Nice to see all the precautions taken, with wet-suit clad people at the ready, should help be needed!

Gee, it could be the Z-man, I see a beard and I know he can fly............
Regards,
donn

Wowza, now there's a hearty Yooper. But I have to wonder; is it bravery, craziness or just an alcohol content above the legal limit? No matter, he has his 15 minutes of fame. P.S. Hi Aunt Nat

crazy yoopers, way to represent our crazy ways. haha. go jump in da sauna after dat one. wooooaah boy, I bet dat der is cold yah! Give dat boy an Old Milwaukee and a Pasty too!

Here is the Pasty Cam note of this event last year.

http://www.pasty.com/discuss/messages/1779/1823.html?SaturdayJanuary2520030542pm

Nice dive - not Olmypic quality, certainly worth a 6, as in 6pack!! I'll stay in Troll Land - have your fun Yoopers.

40°F seems so warm, looking at this!
(Yeah i'm one of those wimps who moved south.)

It's an old tradition, doesn't have to be associated with alcohol. I've done it myself although in a snow drift and not in the water. If you get the sauna as hot as you can possibly stand it then run out the door into a snow drift or the water you really don't even feel the cold shock for about the first 10 seconds, after that you better be headed back to the sauna. Of course when I did it I was about 15 years old; now I'm not even going to calculate how many years ago that was.

...and to think "chill out" was urban slang, when in truth it is a yooper tradition...

My neighbor did this quite often after sauna. He died young.

JJ I think there's a country western song in there somewhere. "chilling out is a Upper tradition". C'mon you word smiths out there lets git on the band wagon here. Pun intended. We'll get a song together for Charlie.

I do it cause I,m dumb.

I can handle a roll in the snow after a sauna and a cold February rain is even better after a sauna... but I can't handle jumping into the lake!
Thanks for the great pictures Z-Man...

I did that in Portage Lake after a sauna in late August and that was very very cold. I can't even imagine.

I'll bet the noise is deafening when your pores all BANG shut at once!

haha my ex was a TKE at Eastern Michigan Uni.
looks crazy ... and fun at that same time....
crazy guys.. :)

The ice sauna looks real neat! Good job TKE's.

Remember the Polar Bear girls from 2 years ago? http://www.pasty.com/discuss/messages/994/1029.html They're all juniors now at Tech but I don't think they did the swim this year. In fact, I wonder how many people repeat the swim year after year - anyone know?

The bridge cam, with the sun and the snow is a WOW.

My younger brother, Jeff, has pictures of himself doing the "polar plunge". It was a nice warm -40 though. It really was "polar" though. He spent 18 months at the South Pole and McMurdo Station. I'm sure he can relate. He's nice in warm now in San Diego.

Great form
Good elevation
He nailed it!
I give him a 9.5

Hi Everyone -

This is my first post, though I read and look at the pictures nearly every day. For an interesting story about a hearty yooper who spent more than a few seconds beneath Superior's ice, click here:

http://marquettemonthly.com/mm_archive_folder/02/0208/back_then.html

No question, this portly fellow has ample insulation, warding off said chill with a hearty chortle

Yooper in Iraq, we haven't heard from you in awhile.
Send us a word- we're thinking of you.

Wow! There is a great example of adapting to ones environment... rather than huddling inside for several months while the long yooper winter drags on, these folks turn it into a festival (aka Party!!) You have to admire their spirit! Makes me miss the great white north... But it warms my insides to know that my pasty order is shipping out today! Wah-hoo!!

I can confirm what Dave of Mohawk said,

'Tis hard to believe unless you've done it, but surprisingly, if you take such a jump in the lake right from the sauna you'll feel as though you were wrapped in an insulating blanket of warm air, and you'll hardly feel the cold! As long as your stay in the water is fairly short, at least - but that ice-walk back to the sauna might be a frosty experience!

And alcohol would not necessarily make it easier, possibly worse.

That said, I'm in no great hurry to repeate the experience.

Ever notice that the people that are doing this are mostly Tech students? Does this mean that da' rest of us yoopers are brain numb already?
Or are the "visitors" trying to get a feel for the culture of the Copper Country?
Brrr!! Looks cold for sure. I hope nobody gets sick. That sauna (pronounced "sow-na" for you flat landers) sure looks good tho.

I would echo Concerned in Wa .... it'd be nice to hear
from Yooper in Iraq. We keep you in our prayers
everyday. Stay safe.

Ahh, real Yoopers don't have a rescue guy floating to help them. Just a sauna at a remote camp from which to dash into da water, which from experience actually feels colder than the air. One aches all over indeed.

I'm a Yoopers living in Troll Land just South of da Big Mac. We do it on ski's at the ski hill but ain't nothin like da Yoopers! Villey in Petoskey

I use to do this when I lived in Eagle River, although it was usually in the snow. Jim Carstens, myself and another person, (I forget his first name but his last name was Hill, Ray maybe?) would use the sauna and then get into Garden City Creek or roll in the snow. Looking back on it I can't believe I did it. Brrrrr!!! I'll never forget the night our wife's came over and took our clothes while we were in the sauna.
Good thing it was dark. We needed another sauna by the time we got back to the house.

DB, Marquette. Wow! That's some story. Carl Bergh was surely one of a kind! Everyone should read about his "dip" in the winter of 1938 to put it all in perspective. Here's DB's link again.

http://marquettemonthly.com/mm_archive_folder/02/0208/back_then.html

As a TKE 45 years ago at USC the sun and beaches made more sense, even then!

Have pasty orders increased since the Newsweek ad?

Yooper in Iraq, All of us Pasty Cammers care about you. We wait to hear from you and know that you are safe.

There is a great article in today's Mining Gazette about
Heikinpäivä. Here's the link.

Finnish
Heritage

D.B. in Marquette - that was a great story from that link you mentioned! I really enjoyed it!

i miss it up there!!!!!! i only git up dere in da summer thank god fur da cams!!!

This guys insain hes going to get sick

Reminds me of Mud Lake Camp during deer season. A couple of brewski's, a hot sauna and a roll in the fresh snow.

The ice sauna was neat. I did a serch on "Ice saunas" and checked out the ones in Finland, pretty cool. My "boys" still roll in the snow after Sat. night sauna at our house. One is 40 the other is 9.Pretty refreshing..

Dey left dere brains in da sauna!!

I just uploaded 57 photos from the Heikinpäivä 2004 winter
festival to the Pasty Cam Photo Gallery. These photos of the
festival were taken by Mary Pekkala.
Winter 2004

If there are any old Tech Tekes out there, I swore that the guy with the beard looks alot like Bill Maple.

The name is Jo^2 and I am an active TKE. I helped build the Ice Sauna and the guy jumping in the water looks a lot like Peter Fallon, a fellow active Frater. This was a fun PR project for us TKE's, we love helping out the community.

Geez Mole, I haven't seen him in a few years, but if you think that looks like Mapes, then your memory must be fuzzier than mine! See you at reunion?
-U-

THAT'S MY GRANDSON! ... and he was a builder of the sauna!

I was at Tech 23 years ago and I don't remember being that nuts (does he have any left?) but believe it or not that is my nephew!!

personally, i don't understand the humor in diving in freezing cold water...

TKE's always were a bit nutty.

I WAS THE POLAR ICE QUEEN THIS YEAR AT THE POLAR PLUNGE IN BELLEVILLE MICHIGAN...I WORE A GOWN TIARA HEELS AND TOOK THE PLUNGE. I ALSO GOT TO JUMP IN WITH SADDAM HUSSUN. HE'S ENGLISH WAS PERFECT.....CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR....FREEZIN FOR A REASON.........