I was thinking back to my teenage years recently. Our son has been going down to Utah lake on occasion with his friends and skating around on the ice. We’re hoping that he’s being smart about that and not playing around on thin ice. We haven’t made it down to the frozen lake for a couple of years.
When I was in high school we had a friend that was struggling a little. One of our friends suggested that we take him away for a couple of days and have a guys getaway. He had access to a time share a couple of hours away, so we planned to go on a holiday weekend I think.
I’m pretty sure my parents didn’t like the idea that much, so I only went for a day. Maybe I had a game or work or something that caused me to need to get back. My memory isn’t that great. We had a great time, and I think the full day was enough.
The place had a nice indoor pool that had a large glass wall looking out onto a lake. We spent hours swimming in the pool. With a bunch of teenage boys, there was a lot of dunking going on. After hours of swimming we started looking out at the lake and thinking we might be up for the challenge.
Polar Bear Plunge
We were there in the winter time, and there was an inch or two of snow on the ground. The lake sat about 100-150 yards away. After some discussion we decided to go for a polar bear plunge. We jumped out of the pool and started running across the snow wet and barefoot. Before we got to the waters edge I was already starting to think that this wasn’t the best idea. My feet were feeling the pain of the cold from running through the snow.
When we made it to the lake we discovered that the water was frozen. Since we weren’t able to swim we decided to try for some ice skating. I got out about 20 to 30 feet before the ice broke and I fell through. Lucky for me the lake didn’t get deep quickly, so I was standing in water just above me knees. The water was so cold, and my feet were hurting a bit.
I quickly learned that I was in a bit of trouble. The ice broke where I was standing, but not between me and the shore. The ice was about an inch thick, so it wasn’t strong enough to hold my weight. On the other hand it was too thick to easily break through with my hands.
I started using my foot to try and stand on the ice until it broke. Once the ice broke I’d move a foot or 2 closer to the shore. My friends were trying to make their way to me from the shore. I think the whole thing only lasted a couple of minutes, but it felt like forever.
As soon as I was free we rushed back to the pool. I jumped right into the hot tub. My legs were so cold that I couldn’t even feel the warmth of the hot water. It took several minutes to not feel like I was going to die. Not my finest day.
In the end I’m not sure how much of an impact our weekend had on our friend. After high school he spent quite a few years struggling. Now years later he’s doing much better. Maybe the fact that we tried is worth something.
