Polar plungers: Photos of Ice Swimming in New England - The Boston Globe

Polar plungers: Photos of Ice Swimming in New England

In waters cold enough to kill, 93 competitors, who had to prove they could handle ultra-cold water to qualify, race in distances ranging from 25 to 200 meters during the Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival, held annually in Newport, Vt. “You can’t imagine anything being this cold,” said Laurie Craigen, a first-time competitor. She was part of a large crew that comes up each year from the L Street Bathhouse in South Boston, which is famed for its year-round ocean swimmers. There are documented dangers. One woman from San Francisco lost feeling in her fingertips for nine months after last year’s event. For Karen Nazor, a 57-year-old from Maynard, “It is about the reset.” She says that she can be having a bad week and one dip in frigid water will cleanse her brain. “And the aftereffect is euphoria. It’s like nothing else.” Photographs by Jessica Rinaldi

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From left: Laurie Craigen, Kellie Latimer, Polly Madding, and Karen Nazor, swimmers from the L Street Bathhouse, headed out for an evening swim in Dorchester Bay last month. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Kellie Latimer and Elaine Howley joked in the sauna as they warmed up after a swim in Dorchester Bay on Jan. 19. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Swimmers tossed handfuls of snow into the air as they took to L Street Beach for a winter swim. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Greg O’Connor displayed a photo that he shot of his toes, which developed frostbite after a winter swim in Dorchester Bay. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Polly Madding made her way back to shore after she took a dip in Dorchester Bay on Feb. 26. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Swimmers from the L Street Bathhouse danced during the “Warm Up” at Jasper’s the night before the Winter Swim Festival began at Lake Memphremagog in Newport, Vt. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Snow fell on the 25-meter swimming pool carved out for the Winter Swim Festival at Lake Memphremagog in Newport, Vt. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Qing Li of Chicago waited to compete in the 100-meter freestyle during the Winter Swim Festival. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Bridget Williams of North Canton, Ohio, competed while a “hooker” walked alongside in case a swimmer needed to be pulled from the water. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Louise Hyder-Darlington of Elizabethtown, Pa., was bundled up as got out of a water during the Winter Swim Festival. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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With the air temperature at 17 degrees and the water temperature at 30 degrees, Christopher Graefe of Jamaica Plain competed in the hat competition during the Winter Swim Festival. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Barbie and Ken in an ice tub joined the festivities. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Qing Li of Chicago reached for the pool’s edge. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Martha Wood of Manchester-by-the-Sea thanked her “stripper” as he helped to get her clothes back on after she emerged from the pool at Lake Memphremagog. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Swimmers gathered near the fireplace to warm up at Lake Memphremagog. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Sam Levinson of Allston, who swims with the L Street crew, finished the 200 meters at the Winter Swim Festival. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Sam Levinson celebrated as she was escorted to the warming hut by fellow L Street swimmers after her race. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Two women embraced after competing in the festival. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Inside the warming hut, Sam Levinson clenched her hands in pain as she experienced a phenomenon known as “afterdrop,” when cold blood from the extremities suddenly rushes to the warm core after a person swims in ice cold water. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Polly Madding of East Boston put her hands in a pot of tepid water to try to ease the pain after she took part in the 4x50-meter relay. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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Swimmers from the L Street Bathhouse cheered during a dinner and awards ceremony at the Winter Swim Festival at Lake Memphremagog. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

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