It was quite the birthday for Susan Eaton earlier this month.
Being as sick as she was, Eaton’s own doctor wasn’t too sure about taking a plunge into ice cold water.
“I was just on death’s door when I went in,” said Eaton, explaining she couldn’t so much as let out a yelp when she made her splash.
As it turns out, there are many like Eaton. Maybe not when it comes to being sick, but certainly when it comes to the desire to get into some seriously cold water.
Easton, alongside a team of women from Yellowknife, took part in the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s third annual Polar Plunge Charity Event on March 4. It was all to raise funds in support of Canadian Geographic’s Explore podcast.
Eaton, who helped organize the Yellowknife event at Arctic Duchess Adventures, is a Yellowknife-based scientist, journalist, and polar explorer. She’s no stranger to diving deep into cold waters, albeit ones that aren’t as cold as Great Slave Lake. Never mind that the temperature that day was around -37 C.
Eaton also leads teams of Indigenous and non-Indigenous women to the Arctic to scout, record, and document ocean change.
And for the plunge, she wasn’t alone either. In fact, plungers signed up across Canada.
“(A total of) 44 groups of people were jumping in cold water and celebrating winter, which is quintessentially Canadian,” Eaton explained. “And in the Northwest Territories here, we have a very long winter to celebrate.”
The target goal for Canadian Geographic’s fundraiser, according to their website, is $35,000. As of press time Thursday, that total had reached nearly $51,000. Yellowknife sat third in terms of funds raised by community.
Rosemary Thompson is vice-president of Canadian Geographic. With a Canadian Geographic flag in hand and flying in the air over Meech Lake in Gatineau, Que., she said she felt pure joy.
“I’ve never done this before,” she said. “You just have to take your fear in hand and go for it.”
The rush of the cold can be a bit of an addicting feeling — Thompson said she went back for a second and a third dip in the lake.
“I came out and I was just tingling. It felt like my body was sparkling.”
When asked about how much they’ve raised so far, Thompson had nothing but positives to say.
“It’s our third year, so we’re very heartened to see that engagement with people that believe in what we do.”
Thompson added it takes a while to convince people to jump in the water in the winter. But year over year, it’s grown in popularity.
Considering the Polar Plunge was made during COVID, Thompson also speculated that being outside and doing something as adventurous as the plunge gives an added feeling of freedom, juxtaposed to times before.
“To feel that you can be outside and do something wonderful, do something for your country. It just feels good right now. I think it’s part of the recovery from COVID.”
As for Eaton, she said she is feeling much better after the plunge.
She joked that every donation is a birthday present. And for future fundraisers, she said she’s hoping to get a little more organized.
“I think next year, we probably want to have a larger team,” she said. “But, you know, sometimes something that is just organic is fun too. We just had a lot of fun.”