Winkie Shrinker Frozen Fishing Pond Plunge
Green River Valley Winter Carnival - Photo Gallery
by Dawn Ballou
March 6, 2005
The 4th annual Green River Valley Winter Carnival kicked off Friday evening with the "Winkie Shrinker Frozen Fishing Pond Plunge" at the Kid’s Fishing Pond in the Town Park in Pinedale. This was the second year for this event in the Winter Carnival, 'designed for the hard core or fool hardy'.
In 2004, eight people participated, which requires stripping down to a swimsuit or shorts and jumping into the frigid water of the Kid’s Fishing Pond. This year ten people braved the frigid waters, while many spectators cheered them on. The event took place at 7 pm, under the bright flood lights brought in to light up the pond in the dark. The air temperature was in the 20s.
Participants who went all the way under the water to wet their hair received a one-of-a-kind pair of boxer shorts to commemorate the event.
Everyone who came out for the plunge seemed to have a great time, laughing and cheering on the "plungers". One gal even jumped in twice, taking the plunge on her own, and then going in a second time to join Pinedale Roundup newspaper editor, Rob Shaul, right after he jumped in.
Some folks tip toed in, others took a running leap and made a huge cannon ball splash.
Joyce did took the plunge to celebrate her 56th birthday, saying afterwards, "It was great! I’m not even cold!".
Some other folks felt a bit differently about the water temperature after climbing out of the icy pond. "Sheeeeeeeeeeee.......eee...it," was one man’s comment as he hustled up the bank for a towel.
Another bystander, who made it clear he preferred to only watch when friends tried to coax him to take the plunge, said, "I’ll have a beer, but I sure as hell am not going in there!"
The Green River Valley Winter Carnival had a wide variety of events to appeal to all ages, personalities, and degrees of bravery! Click on the pictures to see larger views. We’ve posted several video clips of the plunges. These require Windows Media Player to view.
Photos by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online
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