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Allison Plean

Allison Plean's column appears Fridays in the 4 Points arts and entertainment section in the Steamboat Today. Contact her at 871-4204 or e-mail aplean@steamboatpilot.com.

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Allison Plean: Totally tubular triumph

Pilot & Today staff members Alexis DeLaCruz, Allison Plean and Matt Stensland take part in the Penguin Plunge.

Steamboat Springs — Frigorific. No - there is no word that can begin to describe what it felt like.

When I jumped into the 35-degree pool at Lake Catamount for the fourth annual Penguin Plunge, the whole world stopped for a moment.

Seconds later, paralysis sets in. Only then can you understand why you signed a release that said, "I fully understand the event involves risk of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis and death : and there may be other risks either known to me or not readily foreseeable at this time."

That is not encouraging jargon for a fundraiser whose proceeds benefit Yampa Valley Medical Center's emergency department. Were we raising money for our own treatment? What does a SonoSite Ultrasound - which will be purchased with the proceeds - actually do?

Seconds after Team Totally Tubular (a trio that included Alexis DeLaCruz, Matt Stensland and me) hit the icy water, my first challenge was to retrieve my flip-flops, which escaped in the jump.

Somehow in the polar haze, I thought to put them on my hands to propel me across the pool that was half covered in an iceberg.

One of our fellow penguins, Stan Urban, perfectly described the trek across the pool.

"It was like that hallway scene in 'The Shining,'" he said. "You look at the length of the pool, and it just keeps expanding. It wasn't a pool, it was an aisle."

No side ponytail, leg warmers or '80s soundtrack could prepare you for that.

And don't think that jumping into the cold river at Strawberry Park Hot Springs can give you any comparison.

My college suitemates used to love to throw cold buckets of water on me when I was taking a hot shower. The shock of that is not even close to this.

The Coney Island Polar Bear Club is the oldest winter bathing organization in the United States - founded in 1903. Members swim in the Atlantic Ocean every Sunday from October through April. The annual New Year's Day Swim attracts hundreds of people every year.

The participants may be crazy, but at least it's for a good cause - most clubs do the dip to raise money for charities. The 2007 Penguin Plunge raised $50,000 for a durable, wireless, ultrasound laptop.

Each member of the 14 teams on Saturday had to earn their jumps by raising at least $100. And some participants like the emperor penguin Pegi Simmerman - who swam across the pool six times - raised $6,000.

The best part of the event (besides the necessary early afternoon cocktails) was that each person jumped "Steamboat Style." Teams' themes included wearing 1980s prom dresses, "Wizard of Oz" costumes, Titanic crew outfits and synchronized swimming suits - complete with choreography.

There are a lot of crazy things I would do to raise money for a worthy cause. I would even taste 25 desserts at Advocates Against Battering and Abuse's Decadent Desserts fundraiser. But there is no other event that I am more excited to participate in than the 2008 Penguin Plunge.