A crowd of people washed off the stink of 2017 by jumping into Kootenay Lake for the annual Polar Bear Swim on Monday.
It was a relatively mild -6 Celsius when Nelsonites made the ill-advised decision to strip off their clothes and dive into the lake.
Most realized their error almost immediately and ran back to the beach, although a few remained in the water in a bizarre show of courage, or insanity, depending on your perspective.
The event was put on by Kootenay Co-op Radio, which accepted donations for either the station or for the Friends of Kootenay Lake Stewardship Society.
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