Alaskans plunge into 32-degree water in annual event
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — More than a thousand people in Alaska on Saturday dressed up as elves or in other elaborate costumes while some stripped down to barely anything to take part in a polar plunge.
The fundraiser for Special Olympics Alaska took place at Goose Lake in Anchorage, where ice had been cut out of a large portion of the lake to allow the plungers room to do their favourite dive, like a cannonball. Other more timid plungers stepped into the frigid water, and others got a helping hand from fellow jumpers.
“It’s cold,” said David Aromin, a recent transplant from Philadelphia who was taking part with others from LifeMed Alaska, an air ambulance service.
“It’s for a great cause,” he said of why he spent his Saturday morning jumping into 32-degree water. “I’m new to Alaska, and this is one way to be baptized.”