Spoke to Whitney care of Rock 102 FM, today. Yesterday the discussion revolved much around her co-host, Sully. A Vancouver transplant, Sully had never experienced a real winter. Not a harsh winter like the ones that Saskatchewan is notoriously known for. There's a reason why the late-Roddy Piper used to refer to Saskatoon as the coldest place on Earth. Clearly it is not, but sometimes it does feel like it.
Saskatoon experienced a warmer than usual autumn and early winter. The snow really never flew until after the New Year had already begun. It was a nice change from the ordinary, but in the back of my mind, I knew that we, people, were going to pay dearly for the good weather. Last Wednesday, proved just that as temperatures took a nasty plunge. The frigid polar freeze timed itself perfectly for Sully, who despite being warned of how terrible the weather would be, hopped on a plane and flew, he and his family, to Hawaii. Good timing, on his part. Perfectly timed, as by the time his jet lands in Saskatoon coming back, the cold snap will have passed almost entirely and Sully will have missed the worst of it.
So the discussion on the radio, yesterday, was revolving around how to get back at Sully. People were calling in suggestions on how to further his journey into being Saskatchewanized, but not much by way of punishment for missing the cold spell.
While flipping through Facebook a few days ago, I saw a post from a friend. She and a gal pal, donned in swimwear, took to the South Saskatchewan for their own polar plunge. I don't know how it turned out for them, but it intrigued me all the same. A Polar Plunge, I texted in to the station. Sully should jump in the South Saskatchewan, just as my friend had, and that should be quite chilly. I was immediately prompted to call in, but as I was working at the time, I was unable, but arranged to call in this afternoon.
It was a lengthy discussion, lasting almost twice as long as previous discussions. We conversed on a few topics, finally coming around to the polar plunge idea. I even offered to do it with him, as I would never suggest anything that I wouldn't be willing to do, myself. Plus, a polar plunge sounds kind of fun and it's something that I'd love to say that I've done. Just like being in a vehicle roll over (controlled) and driving a truck through a house. All Bucket List items.
Somehow, the discussion came around to my telling Whitney that I had fallen through ice, once. This admission took her by surprise. At her behest, I described the incident at hand. I explained how my sister's first husband had a dugout behind the gas station that he ran, just outside the city, to the east. In the dugout, my former brother-in-law had fish, so to prevent the ice from freezing completely, which would kill the fish, he ran an air hose to the water's edge, aerating the water, thus preventing it from freezing. However, sometimes when the temperatures dipped to the extremes that it has been over the last few days here, the air hose would freeze which required one of us gas jockey's to run out to the ice and pull the hose in to thaw.
Earlier that day, as memory recalls, it was a strange day, weather wise in Saskatoon. I was out at my dad's house. I remember despite it being a Sunday afternoon in January, it was also four degrees above zero. I was outside, literally, in just a T-shirt and I felt fine. I had to work a few hours later, out at the gas station and like usual, the weather took a nasty turn and it was about -30C by six o'clock that evening. I can't remember who it was that I was working with, but it may have been one of the teenage girls that worked there. That's likely why I volunteered to go check on the hose and lug it in if it were froze.
What happens next, I only remember in chunks. I remember walking down the narrow path that had been trudged in the snow. I remember gazing past the water's edge to see the ice hole had froze, prompting me to get on the ice to pull the hose out. The ice was thick enough to walk on. My ex-brother-in-law used to go ice fishing on the ice, throughout the winter months, so I never hesitated to step onto the ice. As I was pulling the hose out, I remember hearing cracking in the ice. It wasn't thunderous. It never echoed off the buildings or anything, but it was loud enough to provide me with my very own Wile E. Coyote moment. No soon than hearing the cracking noises, I looked up at the camera that wasn't there, looked through to the imaginary audience, mouthed 'Oh shit!', then disappeared from frame.
If the make believe camera were to pan down to the ice level, it would have recorded my have fallen though the ice up to my armpits, like the fellow pictured above. I was wearing a heavy parka, ski pants, heavy boots, mitts and a toque. I was dressed for the weather at hand, but not for taking a quick swim in the frigid water. At first, I just sat there, dumbfounded by the predicament I happened to find myself in. There was only two of us working and it being a functioning gas station, my cohort would likely not have an opportunity to come look for me in the near future. Plus, as a petite teen, it's doubtful she'd have the strength to pull me out, anyway.
So I was stuck, forced to think about how I might pull myself out of this hole, without further breaking ice. The weight of all the garments I was wearing would surely pull me under and that would suuuck. As I glanced about for my options, I couldn't help but reflect that it really didn't feel that bad. I was dry, despite being submerged almost to my shoulders. "I don't know what all those people are whining about." I thought to myself, referencing any interviews I've watched where people had fallen into icy waters. No sooner had that thought expired, than I began feeling the water grazing my legs. Now I was getting saturated and I had to act fast before I would weigh more than I could muscle.
I can't recall the exact strategy or method I used to clench and claw my way out, but [[SPOILER ALERT]] I survived. I got the the beach and began walking back to the main building. It wasn't far, but it was enough distance that made it challenging. Because the temperature was SO low, lower with the wind chill is factored in, I'd only taken a few steps before my soaked clothing began to crystalize and freeze. I was reminded of the scene in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, when the T-1000 is frozen with liquid nitrogen. How it crystalized then solidified. I was not in a position where I was in danger of freezing solid 🥶, but if I were in the middle of nowhere, who the hell knows. In this case, the clothing froze in small sections separated by cracks. All-in-all, it was kind of neat, but I must have had a guardian angel at my side that night, as things could've went really bad.
Of course, I gave Whitney the abridged version, cutting out some of the descriptive dialogue, but that's what happened. I made it into the gas station, my coworker was shocked and scared, calling the boss who arrived with my sister and a bag of dry clothes. They were all so concerned about my well-being, but I really didn't see what the big deal was all about. I survived.
I don't think a polar plunge would be all that devastating. It's a controlled event. No one jumps in blindly, I wouldn't think. Not smart people, anyway. There's definitely some planning involved. No big whoop. Like I said before; I wouldn't suggest anything that I wouldn't be willing to do myself. I mean... What could possibly go wrong?! 😄
No comments:
Post a Comment