Me, Roxanne, Melissa, Raja, Patty - the Jano Plungers!
Only 26 days into the year and already I’ve hit a milestone. Today I did something that I can take with me for the rest of my life. I did the Polar Plunge! Now, apparently the Polar Plunge is a popular activity amongst small Midwestern towns and ice fishing communities. Many people have done it. Even my mother participated in the “Polar Plunge” in Corvallis- a New Year’s day swim in the outdoor pool. But very, very few people can ever say they dunked themselves stark raving naked into 28.8 degree water.
Like most things in the Antarctic, the Polar Plunge is a right of passage that al FNG’s typically pass. For an unknown reason, I was never made aware of any plunging about to happen my first season. And then my second season passed, and still, all around me people were jumping into below freezing water and I was left out of this ritual. As my 4th season passed it’s halfway mark, I pretty much gave up on the Polar Plunge. I only wanted to do it with the company of a steaming hot tub, anyway.
I was having the crummiest of all days, but when I crawled out of my work-cave for the 3:00 break, everyone on station was talking about the Polar Plunge. So, I joined the bandwagon. I wanted it to be special. I wanted it to be great. I was afraid of disappointment.

Photographic proof that I really jumped
In the woman’s dressing room the great debate amongst my fellow woman started- to plunge naked or clothed? With much coaxing most of the group agreed to do it nude. They asked me to go first. Why not?
It wasn’t until I stood, leaning over the makeshift plank, staring into the opal pool of water that it occurred to me what I was doing. I spent so much time thinking about the ritual, the droves of staring co-workers and how I’d have to find time to shower before the party. But then, in that brief second, it suddenly occurred to me what I was doing. Jumping into water that held the power to kill me in a mater of minutes. Stay in for second too long, and breathing is guaranteed to stop. I took one look at the kiwi gentleman holding my towel and realized that if I spent any more time reflecting on the situation, it would be too late.
I jumped. The water was dark and silky, incredibly silky. In fact, the water felt really, really good. With no time to contemplate my predicament, it hadn’t occurred to me that I was jumping into ocean waters and that the water would be salty. I felt the saltiness on my lips. I spent a second wondering if the water was even all that cold. I took a brief inventory of my body, and that was enough time to feel the pins and needles starting to grow in my feet as water passed by them. I climbed up the stairs and felt really, really good.
I waited outside for the rest of the girls to jump in. While one of the most pleasant days one could expect to have in Antarctica, I began to feel the bitter of cold after just a few moments. The hot tub (yes, there really was a hot tub!) beckoned me.
I sat in the hot tub for a very long time. The smooth salty water felt so good against my skin. Even now as I type this, my skin feels softer than it’s felt in ages.
It’s hard to imagine now how easily I could have completed my Antarctic career without ever knowing what the polar plunge was like.

“The firefighter stanging guard for our safety” with me and Raja