[Closed] Would you like ice with that?

She's pretty nails is Annie. She's done some pretty wild adventures in cold places in her time (winter crossing of Iceland, Greenland in winter etc on bikes, plus plenty more).

Cheers - will enjoy that later.
Not quite got to the ice stage myself, but the Thames got down to about 1 degree C over the winter.
I've been going in every weekend since October, not exactly Wim Hof stuff, but it's starting to feel quite pleasant at 5 degrees.

She’s pretty nails is Annie.

She is!
The worst perhaps irrational fear for me would be lowering just my legs beneath the ice. I've watched Jaws too many times! 😂

This sort of thing is dangerous and should not be encouraged

I normally more for the shreddits and mad skillz bike videos and it made me wish I lived near somewhere as beautiful as Scotland yet again (partly why I don't watch these videos) but enjoyed this. There is danger (heart attack from shock isn't it? or falling through & under ice into deep water & drowning) in this type of activity but the majority of people who it would be dangerous for I suspect aren't going to be in any rush to immerse themselves in ice cold water.

This sort of thing is dangerous and should not be encouraged

I presume you say the same when Gee Atherton does a big jump? Annie is incredibly experienced when it comes to winter skills.

a_girl_outside on IG if anyone wants to follow her.

I've been doing about 8 minutes all winter. I did 10 minutes a couple of weeks ago and got really, really chilled.

On a very cold day, the air temperature will be colder than the water temperature so it's less of an initial shock than you might think. It's obviously important to get dry and warm very quickly afterwards though, that's why most folk eschew wetsuits in winter - they're just too much faff.

We took to the rivers for a while as the ice was just to thick to break (even with a sledgehammer), but they iced over at our favourite spots too. Back to the lochs again now.

Annie was really brave starting in February. I've taken most of a year to get gradually used to it!

Just saying that a lot of inexperienced people die by swimming in cold water and it should come with a health warning.

How many is "a lot"?

quote]Just saying that a lot of inexperienced people die by swimming in cold water and it should come with a health warning.

More risk of drowning whilst fishing than outdoor swimming apparently.

I think there might be a bit of an overlap there

Just saying that a lot of inexperienced people die by swimming in cold water and it should come with a health warning.

Source?

It's a risk.
But then so is life.
This lady seems to understand and have things in hand.
I'm more worried at this point in time about others mental and physical health through inactivity in lockdown.

So 1700ish road deaths a year, 25k serious injuries, set against:

Y">(source)

223 deaths from drowning, most deaths happen in June, July, August, and 1/3 (78) were outdoors at beach, river, lake.

Y">(Source)

After a cursory Google, I can find reference to one cold shock drowning in the UK. And it was a person entering the water quickly and without preparation. (Source)

We used to train for cold water shock at the outdoor centre - loch Tay never got above the 'danger zone' temperature, often way low. I've once had a child have a cold shock reaction jumping into the loch in March. I've had one staff member who capsized on an icy river Etive and reported real difficulty stopping herself from gulping in water involuntarily.

As with all risks, we need to put things into context and compare the real risks.

I do that almost every other day here in Sweden. It’s great and highly, highly refreshing, especially when combined with a sauna by the lake.

the most dangerous thing I have had from it was Covid 19 from the orgy afterwards a few weeks ago. 🙂

After a very cursory google I found
Body's reaction to cold water shock
Sudden immersion into cold water may cause cardiac arrest, even for a healthy person. The shock of the cold water can also cause an involuntary gasp reflex that can cause victims to swallow water and drown, even for a good swimmer. Cold water can paralyze the muscles instantly

Look I am not saying that this lady doesn't know the risks but not everyone does.
Life is risky, we are aware of most of the risks and make our own decisions, I have done plenty of daft stuff for shits and giggles when younger and got away with them. I have been a keen rock climber for over 40 years and have learned some hard lessons along the way. Knowledge and experience makes the difference in all risk situations.

can

This is the important bit of the articles.
Cold shock drowning is a risk.

So is falling off a cliff.

With risk it's important to strike a balance. I'm not sure the 'this is dangerous' statement or the 'lots' statement helps strike that balance.

I'll rephrase for you:

Rock climbing is dangerous and should not be encouraged.

I've been doing this weekly throughout the winter, breaking the ice on occasions, and swimming in a blizzard.
Just kept swimming from the summer, through autumn as water temperature dropped. You become acclimatized.
There may be a risk, if I've got an undiagnosed heart condition then that's it I'm afraid. It may boost my immune system, or improve my cardiovascular health, help my mental health, I don't know. What I do know is that afterwards, I feel awesum! And in yer late fifties that's precious.

I am very sorry about the tone of my first post, it was a very poor parody of Father Ted.
Enjoy the thread.

I'm sorry too for being a grumpy git.

One of those weeks at work, no excuse beyond that.

That was great, thanks for posting @kayak23!

The world is definitely a better place with those nutters in it. Thanks for posting.

They certainly have some bloody lovely places to go swimming about in freezing cold water!

Fishermen are more likely to drown than swimmers as all swimmers are planning to go into the water, whereas most fishermen are not. Many fishermen will fish a stretch of water they wouldn't dream of swimming in, whereas a swimmer is more likely to have considered the consequences, especially a wild swimmer.

Next year will be doing some trips to let me ice swim.
No ice on the river here in Bedfordshire, but it got down to 1.9°c.
I want to get sub 1 next winter.
Have swum through since July 2019 now and this winter was colder.

cold water swimming may delay onset of dementia

Fascinating study carried out over a number of years comparing the brain activity of open water swimmers with folk doing other sorts of exercise and getting cold. It seems that one of the effects of cold water is to stimulate the brain to reform lost connections...

Was the first identification of a hibernation protein in humans too.
Interesting study