Winter Dipping in Lake Champlain In January, the UK s
Guardianwrote about the exhilarating joy of outdoor ice-bathing, a centuries-old practice that has soared during lockdown as a much-needed pandemic stress reliever and endorphin releaser. It s pretty normal if you re in Sweden or Denmark or Finland, said Burlington painter Katharine Montstream of the pastime. In the UK, this is
huge, and it s really blowing up. Especially with [the] pandemic, they have had a huge surge of people wanting to do this and needing outlets. The same is true in Vermont, it seems. Montstream has been winter dipping regularly in Lake Champlain for three years, but the pandemic prompted her to begin plunging in nearly every day. She s amassed a group of friends, playfully dubbed the Red Hot Chilly Dippers, who join in her shivery adventures. Montstream documents their dips through photos and videos on an Instagram page that has more than 1,500 followers.