After a week of gray skies and rain, 2024 opened in Lake George with brilliant sunshine and air temperatures hovering around 30 degrees. It was, apparently, the perfect beach day for the nearly one thousand bathing suit-clad people, young and old, who plunged into the water off Shepard Park Beach in Lake George Monday afternoon to welcome in the new year.
Lydia and Hannah Tironi of Mechanicville, who have participated in the annual ritual for 15 years, said the water was great. “One year they had to break up ice [for the plunge],” Lydia said. However, the mild December weather left the waters open for the New Year’s Day 2024 plunge. Lydia and Hannah began plunging after seeing their father and his buddies joining a plunge. They say they come up to Lake George each New Year’s Day to get a “fresh start, to wash away the old.” Hannah says she takes any opportunity to dip her toes in water. “It regrounds you, recenters you,” she explained.
Plungers entered the lake in waves of 400. Two filled waves and a partial third wave brought the total participant count to nearly 1,000 for Polar Plunge 2024. Several thousand spectators filled the park and Lakefront Walkway to cheer them on. Master of Ceremonies Chas Giknis of Absolute Sound, still dripping from his own dip in the lake, said, with great enthusiasm, “This is the first time we’ve had to have three waves since before the pandemic!”
The New Year’s Day Lake George Polar Plunge tradition began in 1973 when Coney Island Polar Bear Club President Al Mottola visited the Lake George Winter Carnival and tested the icy waters. For many years, the New Year’s Day plunge was led by Charlie “Papa Bear” Albert who founded the Lake George Polar Bear Club. The Lake George Winter Carnival took over the event in 2000. In recent years, Duffy’s Tavern has organized the plunge as a fundraiser for the Springfield Shriners Hospitals for Children and the local volunteer fire department.
Photos: Lake George New Year’s Day Polar Plunge 2024
Beautiful people having beautiful fun!
Who is the woman with the falcon tattoo on her hip? She’s gorgeous. She was in the Times Union photos of the plunge.