Polar Bear Dip Time

January 1 is the time for endless football bowl games on TV in the comfort of your warm home and, for the more adventurous, time for a dip in the whatever is the coldest water available.

The Lake Powell Polar Bear Club has a not very persuasive list of reasons you should participate:

1) Shocking the circulatory system can produce a warm afterglow and a transcendental state that one literally needs to experience to fully understand.

2) It is a spiritually uplifting ritual which can surpass any normal level of comprehension.



3) It can reduce wrinkles. Drastic temperature changes and shivering skin actually exercise shallow sub-cutaneous muscles that firm the skin.

4) You become part of history rooted in the European tradition of saunas and cold-water bathing.

5) Jumping in near-freezing water wearing little more than a pair of shorts takes a brave soul.



6) Participants build a sense of camaraderie and valued friendships that can last a lifetime.

7) It helps mentally by shortening the winter season and lifts bouts of depression.

8) It's a heck of lot cheaper and safer than walking on coals.