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Post by jeanne on Jan 3, 2016 23:58:54 GMT 1
Polish swimmers brave the cold for New Year's dip
01.01.2016 18:28
Members of a Polish winter swimmers' club got 2016 off to a bracing start in Rzeszów, south east Poland.
Several swimmers sported festive bathing caps for the dip, while others jumped in fully clothed.
There are currently about a hundred winter swimming clubs in Poland, and members refer to themselves as walruses.
- See more at: www.thenews.pl/1/11/Artykul/234986,Polish-swimmers-brave-the-cold-for-New-Years-dip#sthash.uwTjKul2.dpuf Yes, we have them here in the U.S. In Boston, they are called the "L Street Brownies." L Street is the street in South Boston where their club is located, but I have no idea why they are "Brownies." Maybe I'll research that a bit! Burlington, Vermont has the "Penguins," who go into Lake Champlain which is between the states of Vermont and New York, but unlike the "Brownies", they take their yearly dip in February not on New Year's Day. |
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Post by Bonobo on Jan 6, 2022 11:59:24 GMT 1
An interview with a Polish bare snow hiker www.onet.pl/turystyka/onetpodroze/morsowanie-i-gory-w-samych-szortach-adam-bochenski-robi-to-od-czterech-lat/0vtqkmx,07640b54
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ONET TRAVEL NEWS
Bare hikers in the mountains. Extreme challenge or stupidity? [INTERVIEW]
Winter baths in the lake and conquering mountain trails in only underwear are trends that have recently intensified in Poland. - When I first heard about the idea of conquering Śnieżka in winter in shorts, I tapped my head - says Adam Bocheński, who started his adventure with cold four years ago, and today cannot imagine his life without it. As he says, the cold did not only affect his body, but also his character.
Karolina Walczowska
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Adam Bocheński has been dealing with cold for four years. He talks about his experiencesAdam Bocheński has been dealing with cold for four years. He talks about his experiences - Adam Bocheński / Private Archive
We published the interview for the first time on January 25, 2021.
- Is it an extreme sport? For a man who has never hiked in the mountains and has never had contact with adaptation to the cold, he is sure - says Adam Bocheński
The co-author of the film "I like cold" points out that he was preparing for his first exit a year and it was very comprehensive. He took cold showers every day and sea 2/3 times a week
- The popularity of climbing peaks in the "Hawaiian" style carries a certain threat, resulting from the fact that the information will also reach irresponsible people showing off unnecessary bravado - he says
- With the cold, no one has ever won and will not win. The cold is more powerful than we are, and so are the mountains. Wim Hof repeats that he is our teacher - ruthless but fair. And that's what it is - he notes
How did exposure to cold affect him? - I have become more balanced, calm, I can deal with stress better, I am more open to challenges, my self-esteem has improved - he says
More such topics can be found on the main page of Onet.pl
Karolina Walczowska: In your opinion, mountain sailing is an extreme challenge or maybe a dangerous fashion?
Adam Bocheński: Winter trips to the mountains always require appropriate preparation in terms of safety, starting from appropriate clothing, knowledge about the terrain in which to hike, condition and mental attitude.
Such people should not take up this challenge because they pose a threat to their health, and also to the rescuers. I admit that when I first heard about the idea of winning Snow White in winter shorts, I tapped my head.
Going to Śnieżka in winterGoing to Śnieżka in Winter - Adam Bocheński / Private Archive
Today you have a lot of such experiences behind you.
Because if we are talking about physically fit people, in good health, after proper preparation, it is not an extreme feat in my opinion. Of course, remembering to do it wisely and putting safety first.
Well, what do you have to remember?
The rules are very simple: we go up only in groups, never alone, we always take clothes appropriate to the conditions, a thermos with a hot drink, an energetic meal, blanket nrc, crampons. We walk the routes that we know well from the entrances with our clothes on. If we want to enter for the first time, we are looking for experienced people to join them. This is such a basic savoir-vivre of mountain naked men.
If we take care of these matters, we must remember one very important principle. We maintain body temperature mainly thanks to exercise, a healthy human body, even in the conditions of -25 degrees Celsius, is able to generate so much endogenous heat during movement that low temperature does not threaten our health. It should be remembered because when entering, we become an attraction for dressed people, very often they ask for photos, a moment of conversation, etc. And unfortunately, you have to behave responsibly and politely refuse in most cases, because 2-3 minutes without moving is enough and the person starts freeze.
This feat, however, is becoming more and more popular, but it turns out that there is a problem with this basic knowledge.
The popularity of climbing peaks in the "Hawaiian" style carries a certain risk, resulting from the fact that the information will also reach irresponsible people who show off unnecessary bravado.
However, it should be remembered that such entries take place on Śnieżka almost every day, in four years I have already entered with over 300 people. To my knowledge, so far there have been three cases of rescue operations, including one involving the taking of tourists from the Silesian House to Karpacz. Therefore, I can safely say that mountain naked is 99 percent. responsible people.
Nevertheless, the recent situation on Babia Góra has made "mountain sea" very negative. Do you agree with the criticism?
According to media reports, the woman who entered was unprepared, abandoned by her companion, had no clothes or any protection. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that anyone could be so irresponsible. A completely different account of these events appeared on social media. However, it is not for me to judge how it really was.
However, I can respond to the situation more generally. This is not the first media turmoil we are struggling with. Two years ago we had a similar situation - a group of foreigners at Dom Śląski asked for help in descending to Karpacz. The reason was a certain mechanism of our body, which occurs when we enter a warm room after such a long exposure to cold. Simply put, when we expose our body to cold for a long time, heat builds up around the abdomen to protect our internal organs. When we enter a heated room, the peripheral blood, which is quite chilled, mixes with the heat in the blood - a process that is quite violent and can cause pain. We know this mechanism, everyone used to throw snowballs without gloves, and then when he came in to warm his hands,
The body's second response is involuntary muscle twitching to try to warm itself up. Here we must be aware that it can last up to 20 minutes after such a long exposure and we will not have any influence on it. This is what the people, who apparently had no experience of being in the cold for so long, got scared. Although the entire rescue operation was limited to taking them to Karpacz, a storm broke out in the media.
I appeal: let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Walking wearing only shorts while wearing clothes can be compared to on-piste and off-piste skiing. Skiing outside requires more skill and responsibility, as does stepping into shorts, but most accidents are caused by weekend skiers who have no control over their skis and put themselves and others at risk on the piste. Similarly, the greatest number of GOPR actions are caused by the entry of irresponsible amateurs of climbing, too lightly dressed, unprepared and reckless.
It is impossible to get in, and reason is a problem, and everyone here - naked men, media, GOPR, we still have a lot to do to make people realize that if we do not approach the mountains with respect, they will teach us this respect in a very brutal way.
So where do you think the criticism comes from? May it result from ignorance?
Criticism is absolutely necessary as long as it is justified, based on knowledge and not on emotions, as has been happening recently. Therefore, our role is to soothe it and explain it patiently. We do not take offense at people who call us idiots, we understand that what we do is beyond their minds.
Since when have you been navigating? How did it start in your case?
My adventure with cold began four years ago. I must point out right away that I am the best example that you can like the cold. A person who is reading this right now and thinking to himself: cool, but absolutely never in his life, this is what he sees me four years ago (laughs). I hated being so cold that my friends called me "Mr. Kaleson" because of the extensive collection of men's leggings. I got them for every occasion!
When Maciej Szyszka and Kamil Liedke offered me to climb Śnieżka wearing only shorts, at first they were ... laughed at. Maciej was then after training with Wim Hof, he got me interested in his character. I started to check what was going on in this field, and it must be said that Wim has an incredible charisma. On the Internet we can find a lot of documents with his participation, I came across this, perhaps the most popular one, from the "Vice" magazine.
After a few hours of viewing various documents about Wim Hof, I got up from my computer and went into a cold shower.
I was standing in that shower, screaming horribly, wondering what the hell I was doing. The beginning was terrible, but after a minute or so something strange started to happen, I calmed my breathing, I was overcome with peace and the water stopped being unpleasant. I stood like this for a minute or two. I felt great after leaving! My whole body felt hot, but it was warm inside. I've never felt anything like this.
READ ALSO: Mountain marine? A new fashion for hiking in shorts only
Cold showers are drastic for some, but still only the beginning of the adventure.
And then I decided that I would go to Śnieżka with the boys. It was the beginning of the year, we planned to enter December. You had to prepare.
You approached the subject seriously.
Daily cold showers, sea water at least 2-3 times a week. Maciej bought a chest freezer (the same as for frozen food in a store), sealed it with silicone, poured it with water, and thus we could benefit from the cold stimulus also in summer. If someone likes it, please remember not to step into the freezer when it is turned on! The water is cooled to the right temperature, the freezer is disconnected from the power supply and then you can safely enter, remembering about the assistance of a person who will pull us out of the water in case of any problems.
In addition, there are very demanding conditioning exercises, because let's not forget that we are going up, we have to keep the right pace to keep warm, and the muscles used to walking on the flat tire quickly when going uphill. Mental training and breathing exercises are essential.
Wim Hof developed a very simple method, it is often stated that it is a simplified Buddhist tummo meditation, known as heat yoga. I use it all the time, but more because of its other benefits, first of all, it fights inflammation in the body, improves the hormonal balance and has a great effect on well-being.
However, you didn't go to Śnieżka in winter, so we are talking about preparations all the time ...
Our first ascent was at the end of October or the beginning of November. We found good conditions - light frost (around -2 degrees C), sun and wind around 50 km per hour. As for Śnieżka - a fairy tale. We were walking in a group with dressed people. We expected it to be a big challenge, but it turned out that we laughed practically all the way and completed the route with ease. What struck me was the incredible amount of dopamine and endorphins that lingered for 2-3 days after entering.
The general rehearsal was behind us, but we realized that Śnieżka was very kind to us this time and it will not be so easy in December. Well, it was not, the conditions were much more difficult, but to my surprise, it did not affect them much.
Not everything went smoothly.
The only mistake was staying at the top for too long, we were taking pictures of each other for too long. Vanity is never a good adviser. We were a bit chilled there and when we went down to the Silesian House (we agreed that we would go down there undressed), we had to work on our breathing.
Since then, we have known that it is not allowed to make longer stops on the route, and if we do, we dress immediately to prevent cooling down, because it is extremely difficult to warm up afterwards. It is known that everyone wants to have a photo of such an action, let's face it, this is not Sunday ice cream, it is quite a challenge, so we are proud, we want to show it, but even a short stop can be dangerous.
Happy final of entry, Dom ŚląskiHappy final of entry, Dom Śląski - Adam Bocheński / Private Archive
Swimming in the lake in winter is now extremely popular. You do it yourself regularly. Do you have any advice for beginners?
It's best to sea like people in Siberia - we enter the water slowly, gradually accustoming the body to the stimulus. We calm our breathing. When the breathing is calm, do three squats to soak the whole body, including the head, and leave. The whole process takes 2-3 minutes.
If someone does not want to get their head wet, they may dip up to the neck in the beginning. As far as I know, some doctors warn against watering the head, and some warn against just sea water. Me and my group also wet our heads from the beginning and we didn't have any problems because of that, and it has been going on for 4 years - we have been doing it systematically. In fact, this is the best part of sea for me.
Let's also remember one very important thing, in fact the most important. In the cold, no one has ever won and will never win. Cold is more powerful than us, and so are the mountains. Wim Hof repeats that he is our teacher - ruthless but fair. This is what it is.
This is not a place for dudes and lancers, they fall off very quickly. They will go once, twice, take a photo, get likes on social media and that's it. We are talking about using cold for our own physical and mental needs, we want to show people how strong a tool is under their noses, provided that they use it skilfully and with head. First of all, cold teaches us humility towards the forces of nature, and also allows us to discover the natural abilities of our body.
Under what circumstances did you meet with Wim Hof, mentioned many times here?
In Przesieka, on the occasion of the filming of the documentary "I like cold". He is an extraordinary man, emanating optimism and positive energy, so it's no wonder that, to paraphrase the saying - people follow him into the ice. People from all over the world come to his workshops, sometimes from climatic zones where there are never freezing temperatures and snow. And then they follow him to our frosty and capricious Snow White. The important thing, however, is that entry is not the goal, it is just the coronation of long practices that are meant to keep us healthy, strong and happy in our daily lives. The kind that nature made us. Wim postulates that we have strayed too far from our roots.
But you didn't go to Śnieżka with him?
No, but I have a dozen entries in strong groups of several people, and three charity entries in large groups of about 100 people. Such group trips must be reported to the Karkonosze National Park, must be approved by GOPR and must be approved by the park director. The expeditions are secured by a large group of experienced "naked men", people in clothes, and also partly by GOPR. All of them were a complete success, and no one ever suffered any health problems.
The amount of positive energy, joy and pride that can be observed in the participants is indescribable. One of the factors that convinced me to make a microdocument about our first entry was the observation of the changes that my friends had during the almost year of preparation. Seeing people in depression, regaining the will and joy of life, I decided that I would do my best to make as many people as possible about such a tool. These are permanent changes in the psyche, worked out and giving very tangible benefits, as opposed to pharmacological treatment, which often causes unpleasant side effects and is sometimes not permanent.
To be clear, I am not advocating anyone to stop the prescribed pharmacology, I am not a doctor. I'm just showing an alternative. We live in a world where depression is one of the main diseases of civilization, and here we have free and proven tools to deal with it.
The fact that walking in the mountains is not a walk in the woods seems obvious to me. Unfortunately, as life shows, not everyone has the same opinion, hence the unpleasant accidents. Therefore, as I said before, we have a huge role in informing and warning people about the dangers. Śnieżka is a good example here of a supposedly low and technically easy approach. And I saw how the wind was blowing in gusts over 170 km per hour. she picks up a two-meter guy like a rag doll. Yes, there is no joke with the cold and the mountains. Let us learn humility from them and let us always be prepared for the worst-case scenario!
How has friendship with cold affected your life?
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In my case, dealing with cold and the Wim method has two aspects. The first and quite obvious one is that the cold stopped bothering me, which, taking into account our climate, is a big plus. In addition, my circulation has improved significantly, my feet used to be freezing all the time, which is simply unpleasant.
In addition, I have become more balanced, calm, I can cope better with stress, I am more open to challenges, my self-esteem has improved.
If we start our day with a cold shower, we start with a little victory that makes us feel positive. I highly recommend such a start to the day, it awakens a hundred times better than coffee and really gives you a kick!
Besides, the cold constantly reminds me that there are things that I have no influence on and that it is not worth fighting them by force. This is very important because we currently have too many stressful stimuli that take away the joy of life. Only we are so excited about these stimuli that we do not even notice it. The cold gives distance. And my friends stopped buying underpants for my birthday (laughs).
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Adam Bocheński - 34-year-old from Poznań, professionally involved in video production, photography and marketing. He studied cultural studies and applied graphics. He is passionate about traveling, both distant and inside himself. He is strongly associated with the Poznań cultural scene, organizes concerts, festivals, vernissages, records theatrical performances, and is also the author of music videos. You can follow his activities on Instagram " Change of the Board " and Facebook under the same name .
Karolina Walczowska - the main ones
Karolina Walczowska
Editor of Onet Podróże
Date Created: Yesterday, 16:33 |
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Post by Bonobo on Jan 18, 2022 19:23:55 GMT 1
I often wear a thick shirt without a jacket in winter. I guess you don't feel the cold too much then. But would you brave icy water? If I could choose, I would be a dormouse and hibernate throughout winter. Wake me up when it's spring! As a child I used to bathe in the Baltic Sea when it was 17 degrees, so being a more hardened mature man now I can say that I am able to show bravado and endure cold temps. The problem is if I really want to do it - if I found a convincing reason, I would with pleasure.  |
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