Dave, Mike and new Lake/Ice Monster James made it out to MSW today for a swim in the tumultuous lake. Here’s Dave’s report!
The sun was shining and the air was 29F. The water was 36F. The winds were producing a nice washing machine effect. Mr. James Hooper from Brighton, England decided the best way to fight off his jet lag from England was to join our world famous English Channel Mike and Ladder #1′s Diver Dave from Open Water Chicago, for a nice cool dip in the pool followed by some fresh pineapple from Hawaii!
With the bright sunshine it was another great day at the beach. With a little luck next weekend a few more of you will find a way to get out of bed to join us before winter ends!
Diver Dave
Ladder # 1
James, Lake Monster #163 / Ice Monster #11 (congrats!)
This time of year is one of extremes out at the lake. The air is often bracingly cold. The sun can be preternaturally bright on a clear day. And if the lake is swimmable at all, it’s usually in that transitional state between liquid and slush.
We got all three this morning.
Nick called me as we were in transit and informed us that the swim area was clear but that the ladders were all iced over. After cursing myself for once again forgetting to pack a hammer, we decided to meet out there regardless and go over other swimming options.
When we arrived, Nick and I went down to the ladder he had managed to clear halfway. Fortunately, during the time it took us to get out there, the sun had loosened up the ice on the lower rungs. So Nick able to kick it all away and thus give us clear access to the lake (hooray!).
We were already suited up, so we donned our hoods and gloves and quickly trotted out to the ladder and got into the drink. Mike and Nick reached the halfway point ahead of me, and I slogged through the floes as fast as I could so as not to keep them waiting. When I arrived there, we all realized that ice had formed on us during the swim and had accumulated on our hoods, gloved, and booties. In short, the lake was slowly and insidiously encasing us in ice.
I took out my camera and snapped a few pictures. When I finished, I tried unsuccessfully to stow my camera down the front of my wetsuit without letting in gushes of icy lake water. As a result, I once again had to finish the second half of the swim with my precious core body heat compromised by a chestful of 32F water (ugh).
I made it back to the ladder a few minutes after Nick and Mike exited and took some additional camera shots. I then sprinted back to the car and began the excruciating ritual of transitioning out of my swim gear in the 18F parking lot.
And did I mention that we also had a sustained east wind just to add to the fun?
We were all quite frozen after the swim, and I had a particularly nasty afterdrop. I bundled up in multiple layers of clothing but still shivered pretty vigorously for about 15 minutes. I believe this was due to the cold water flooding my wetsuit at the halfway point. Needless to say, I will certainly have to come up with a better procedure during our next swim!
Here’s Dave, Mike, and Nick out at MSW getting in a morning swim in a blazing hot 37.5F Lake Michigan! I’m still fighting off a cold, so I can only pine away in envy at the sidelines…
Dave and Mike took advantage of the amazing weather earlier in the week to get in a swim at Tower Beach. They, of course, texted Nick and I letting us know we were missing out on near perfect swim conditions. Those cads!!!
The general consensus of this morning was that it was one of the coldest – if not the coldest – swim outing we’ve had since we’ve been doing this…
By the time we arrived at MSW, the west wind had picked up considerably, bringing with it some snow flurries to add to the fun. Nick had measured the lake temperature before we showed up, and the official reading came in at a bone-cracking 32.5F. We were already mostly suited up, so we quickly donned our gloves and hoods and trotted out to the ladder since our hands were already getting numb – and we hadn’t even gotten in the water yet!
I climbed down first and got in right away – and it was a pretty rude awakening. The water temperature was about even with the air, and we had that nasty west wind in our face right from the start of the swim. So I just buried my face in the icy waters and pounded out swim strokes.
Nick and Mike blazed past me, and I caught up with them by the lighthouse. I shot a quick video and stuffed my camera down the front of my wetsuit – which let in a torrent of very unwelcome 32F water. We all turned back, and – being the slowest of the three – I got to watch from a distance as Nick and Mike finished up and absconded the chilly lake in favor of their warm cars.
I finally made it to the ladder and snapped off a few more shots before trudging back to the parking lot. Once there, the deep freeze really set in as the wind intensified to a hearty gust that blasted us non-stopas we changed out of our neoprene in the unprotected parking lot.
Nevertheless, we survived the ordeal and bested the lake once again. And I’ll take a half-mile in this hell over a boring pool workout any day of the year!
Yet another strange adventure out at the lakefront…
Mike and I rolled into the park by Montrose Beach just before 8:00am, and something just didn’t seem right. A “German Shepherd” out in the park was running around without a leash, and it had a strange looking tail. Turns out it was a coyote! While we stood there gawking, it nonchalantly trotted past the car and down the road (probably in search of the even more elusive Midwest species of road runner).
Here is a pic and video clip:
After this brief encounter, we checked out the MSW swim area. I had to navigate through some treacherous snow on the steps down to the lakefront, but the lake itself looked just prime for swimming. Unfortunately, the rungs of the ladder were completely encased in ice, and I did not have a hammer with me to de-ice them (my bad)!
So since it was just the two of us, we shifted our geographic target farther north and decided to check out Tower Road Beach up in Winnetka. When we arrived there, we were relieved to find the narrow, downhill road mostly bereft of ice and snow. So we parked the car, geared up, and headed out to the lake.
The beach at this location drops off very close to shore, so we didn’t have to wade out a long distance to get into swimmable water. We did a fairly quick north-south swim parallel to the beach – about 1/2 mile total – and the clouds burned off mid-swim giving us a nice, blazing sun right in our eyes during the return leg.
Overall, we were quite comfortable in our winter swim gear – with the exception of our fingertips. They started to get cold as soon as we left the car and got exposed to the 20F air temperature. However, once we got in the 33F lake, they “warmed up” a bit and didn’t really start to squawk until the latter part of the swim.
And once again, we had to make do without a “recovery tent” out in the parking lot!
Lots of snow out at MSW!
January skyline
Iced ladder
Tower Road
Smooth and clear swim area!
Our new system for quick and efficient gear removal:
Nick, Mike, and I met at Montrose South Wall for a Sunday morning swim, and we lucked out with crystal clear skies and a calm lake. The lake temp at 8:00am came in at 33.8F per Nick’s fancy new digital thermometer. The air temperature started at around 28F but warmed up to match the lake by the time we finished. We also had a number of spectators stop by the lakeside to check us out. I wonder why?
MSW’s version of L1
Nick and Mike pre-swim
Nick and Mike with the skyline (and jetliner!) in the background
Mike and I snuck out to Gillson Beach for a mid-morning swim. The sun was out in force, and the wonderfully calm lake came in at a refreshing 35F. The days are getting longer, and Spring is just a few short months away!
We sure lucked out this morning. The wind forecast called for up to 10mph gusts, but the lake was quite calm out at the south wall. The lake temp came in at 35F with the air measuring a balmy 31F. Plus, we had a fantastic sunrise that helped warm things up in the water.
Nick, Dave, Mike, and I did and out-and-back to the lighthouse, and the only challenges we ran into were some cold fingertips during the last half of the swim. But the neoprene held out, and we were otherwise quite comfortable in the lake.
I’m really bummed about not being up in Chicago during the holidays. After all, I’ve already missed out on at least one really cool lake swim. So I have had to make do with Key West until I return later this week…
