For the brave — and thick skinned — it’s become a bucket list item that’s hard to turn down.
For the past several years, hundreds gather at Stansbury Lake to take part, or watch, in the annual Polar Plunge on or around New Year’s Day.
Last Saturday, there were 98 courageous souls — some in swimming suits, costumes or just regular clothes — who dove into a hole in the ice cut by firefighters from the North Tooele Fire District with divers in winter diving suits floating nearby to help if needed.
The rite of passage to begin a new year has grown in popularity and has become somewhat of a festival with music and fun.
It’s also turned into a fund-raiser. Over $3,200 was reportedly raised this year, along with a pick-up truck full of food and clothes for New Life Christian Fellowship’s local outreach ministries that helps individuals and families in need.