Courtesy of Kate Steels-Fryatt, Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada.
“It was brilliant. It was amazing. I loved it. I had so much community around me,” said British ice swimmer Kate Steels-Fryatt on April 21st after completing her seventh Ice Mile in Lake Simcoe in Ontario, Canada.
Fellow ice swimmer Rory Fitzgerald wrote about the flat-water conditions in the lake. “Only the day before, Lake Simcoe was unswimmable because of the ice which was driven onto the shore by the wind. Kayaker Josef Polcz provided safety boat cover and a bit of ice breaking when a large sheet of ice threatened one of the turning buoys. The support from the good people of Beaverton, too, was absolutely incredible.”
“When [Kate and Rory] first arrived here on Thursday, we had about 30 or 40 feet of ice in front of our place,” said Moorelands Station Bed and Breakfast co-owner Judi Forbes. “But it was a gorgeous day and perfect conditions. Kate even caught a fish in her bathing suit during her challenge.”
Her goal? To become the second person in history to achieve the Ice Sevens after Jaimie Monahan achieved it last year.
The Ice Sevens is the ice swimming equivalent of the Oceans Seven. To achieve the Ice Sevens, swimmers must complete an Ice Mile under standard ice swimming rules (i.e., no wetsuit and no neoprene hat) ratified by the International Ice Swimming Association in 7 locations:
o An Ice Mile swum below 5ºC (41ºF) in any location in Europe
o An Ice Mile swum below 5ºC (41ºF) in any location in Oceania
o An Ice Mile swum below 5ºC (41ºF) in any location in Asia
o An Ice Mile swum below 5ºC (41ºF) in any location in North America
o An Ice Mile swum below 5ºC (41ºF) in any location in Africa
o An Ice Mile swum below 5ºC (41ºF) in any location in South America
o An Ice Mile swum below 5ºC (41ºF) in any Polar location at 60º south or below or 70º north or above
o One of the seven Ice Miles must be a documented Zero Ice Mile (defined as a solo mile swim performed at below 1ºC)
Steels-Fryatt, who serves as a board member of the International Ice Swimming Association and chairperson of the IISA Great Britain, has completed 7 Ice Miles in her emerging ice swimming career; 5 of which count for her Ice Sevens challenge:
* In January 2015 in Andark Lake, Bursledon, Southampton, UK, she completed an Ice Mile in 3.9°C water with -1.0°C wind chill , swimming 1.03 miles in 32 minutes 50 seconds in a lake
* In December 2016 in Andark Lake, Bursledon, Southampton, UK, she completed an Ice Mile in 4.8°C water, 2.2°C wind chill, and 5.5°C air temperature, swimming 1.0 miles in 31 minutes 38 seconds in a lake
* In March 2017 in Mikkelvik Brygge, Norway, she completed an Ice Mile in 2.37°C water, -7.3°C wind chill, and -5.0°C air temperature, swimming 1.06 miles in 33 minutes 16 seconds in a fjord
* In December 2017 in Lac Aguelmame Sidi Ali, Atlas Mountains in Morocco, she completed an Ice Mile in 3.83°C water, -2.0°C wind chill, and 3.6°C air temperature, swimming 1.13 miles in 35 minutes 0 seconds in a mountain lake at 2,100m altitude
* December 2017 in South Lake, Shuangyashan City, China, she completed an Ice Mile in 0.9°C water, -22.1°C wind chill, and -12.6°C air temperature, swimming 1.01 miles in 35 minutes 5 seconds in a pool cut out of frozen lake
* March 2018 in Lee-On-Solent, Hampshire, UK, she completed an Ice Mile in 3.07°C water, 0.2°C wind chill, and 5.0°C air temperature, swimming 1.06 miles in 33 minutes 4 seconds in the sea
* April 2019 in Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, she completed an Ice Mile in 4.2°C – 4.5°C water, swimming 1.01 miles in 31 minutes 43 seconds in a lake
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