Montreal polar plunge fans want access to beach along St. Lawrence River

The polar bear club has started a petition asking the city and borough to meet with them to discuss a set of rules to formalize access for plunges.

On New Year’s Eve morning in Montreal, Mark Nikiforov sawed a hole into the thick sheet of ice capping the St. Lawrence River, preparing to plunge inside.

With temperatures hovering around -13 C — feeling colder than -20 with the wind chill — Nikiforov and about a dozen others stripped down to bathing suits, toques and gloves, and lowered themselves into the water.

“The more you actually do it, the less cold you will feel,” said Nikiforov, who wore a large furry hat and went into the water last, after supervising the first-timers.

“For me personally, it’s also something to do in the winter season that helps to withstand (the cold), to feel better.”

Polar plunges have become a weekly tradition for him and other members of Montreal’s Polar Bear Club. However, members say they are worried they’re being barred winter access to the popular beach in the Verdun borough where they’ve held their dips for the last seven years.

Nikiforov says Verdun beach is the safest place for plunges because the current is slower than other spots along the shoreline and there’s a sandy bottom with a gradual descent. But the Verdun borough recently issued a notice reminding citizens that the beach is closed for swimming in the winter, and encouraged people to report infractions to police.

“The river in winter, it’s a no!” read the Dec. 16 post on the borough’s Facebook page, noting that the current below the ice’s surface can create invisible holes, and that immersion in cold water can lead to hypothermia.

“We remind you that the beach is closed for the winter season, without supervision, and that swimming is strictly prohibited,” the post read.