X-Message-Number: 4113 From: Trygve Bauge <> Subject: Re: The rest of the story! Date: Fri, 31 Mar 1995 17:20:32 +0100 (GMT+0100) > > > A french yogi just failed to beat my world record for ice bathing! > > Please tell me more. Was this salt or fresh water? What were you > wearing? How long were you in the ice water? Did you suffer any > medical consequences? How did you know when it was time to get out? > > I speak as someone who always keeps the thermometer above 30 C, and > who doesn't like ice on the road or in my drinks or anywhere else. The world record for ice bathing in 0 degree water (32 degrees Fahrenheit) with airtemperature at or below freezing is still 1 hour and 4 minutes. I set the world record on February the 14th 1994, in a cold water tank at the Rocky Mountain Life Extension Center in Nederland Colorado. I had filled a 1500 gallon concrete tank with tap water the night before and had to cut through about an inch of ice before jumping in. Ice had also formed on the bottom of the tank before I filled the tank and there was still a layer of ice at the bottom of the tank while I was standing in the latter. The water temperature was 0 degrees and ice was forming around me while I was in the tank. The airtemperature started at 2 degrees celcius and fell to minus 1 degrees while I was in the tank. I was standing in water to above the navel, and was completely soaked. The tank was outdoor, the sun set just after I entered the water and for most of my stay in the water the air was colder than the water. The old record was 1 hour and 1 minute set by Jaye Tomlinson of Atlanta Georgia and yours truly, at Boulder reservoir around noon on January the 1st of 1994 in water that was about 2 degrees celcius. At that time it was sunny, the air temperature was a balmy 55 degrees fahrenheit (12 degrees celcius) and we were both standing in water to above the navel. Over the years Jaye and I have taken turns setting still better world records. Standing or actually walking in place in freezing cold water is not a problem, you just go numb after a while. What you have to watch for is proper reheating! If you warm up too fast it is extremely painful! and I mean it! It is the kind of pain that you all have experienced under your nails in cold weather! And it is not just under your nails! When you have been in Freezing cold water for about 25 minutes then 104 degrees fahrenheit feels like boiling. Several years ago we added a second hot tub set at 85 degrees fahrenheit but when you are in about an hour then 85 degrees fahrenheit feels like boiling too. When I set the latest record I walked from the cold tank to a small bath tub where the water was about 70 degrees fahrenheit. after a few minutes in the 70 degree water we gradually pumped in more water from a 104 degree hottub, thus gradually heating the bath tub water from 70 degrees and to 104 degrees water. Your body goes through some very strong reactions when you reheat. You feel that you are fainting, and there is some temporary pain when the warm water suddenly feels like boiling, but with gradual reheating the pain subsides in about 5 minutes. I seem to remember that the 70 degree water felt moderately warm when I first entered it, then it felt cold and I added more warm water. and at some point in the heating cycle the warming water suddenly felt like boiling, and I felt like fainting a little later it felt colder again and I just kept adding warm water, and after about 20 minutes I was back to normal. It took me 20 minutes to gradually at a steady pace warm back up to 100 degrees fahrenheit. At what point I could have dressep up and walked away. In stead I spent 5 hours lingering in a large jaccuzzi under the stars! -- The french yogi was apparently indoor, standing upright in a box with dry ice cubes and thus had melting ice and warm air around him He gave up after 56 minutes when his core temperature fell below what had been decided up front as the safe limit, and he quit. *** BUY: "The JOYFUL LIFE EXTENSION manual" by For a licensed copy of the full manual send $20 +your email address to: Trygve Bauge, Olaf Bull's vei #12 Apt. #229, 0765 Oslo, Norway. To look at samples before buying: http://www.powertech.no/~trygveb/ Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=4113