On May 29th, Austrian ice swimmer Gerald Daringer (IISA bio here, @daringer.gerald) completed a Polar Ice Mile in -1.6°C water and -2.10°C air temperatures in Longyearbyen, Svalbard in Norway. Among his support team was Irish ice swimmer Ger Kennedy (IISA bio here).
Kennedy, as is always the case when the water dips below 5°C and snow on the ground, tested the Bair Hugger warming unit and Bair Hugger Blanket to aid in his rewarming process.
After his Polar Ice Mile, Daringer said, “It is the brutal cold that paralyzes your whole body, your muscles, and even your consciousness. It is the power of nature that shows you how mighty reality can be — a reality in which your body struggles to survive. It is your thoughts that you learn to control in order to experience things with your body and mind that seem impossible.“
Kennedy made the rewarming process look almost too easy with the Bair Hugger.
Photos by JACKSCORNER – Thomas Griesbeck [info@jackscorner.de]. Additional footage is posted at @aqua_n_ice.
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