Does lounging with friends in Lake Superior’s 35°F water in the middle of winter sound attractive? Welcome to the world of the Duluth Cold Water Dolphins, a group of courageous (outrageous?) souls who practice cold water immersion in frigid Lake Superior year-round. This out-sized natural resource offers more water than any other swimming hole on earth, yet ironically many of us can’t even get in. It’s too cold! The world’s largest ice bath is notorious for its freezing temps in every season. The Dolphins, meanwhile, embrace this quality: these hardcore health advocates pursue the benefits of Superior’s readily accessible liquid therapy. The Dolphins experience “enhanced connection with people,” “increased vivacity,” and “energizing peace that lasts all day” through group cold water immersion—and you’re invited to join them. So, throw your inhibitions out the window and let’s see what cold water immersion can do for you.
Loralee Pasley founded the Duluth Cold Water Dolphins in 2020. She started the group as a response to the pandemic. “I just had this innate calling to go to nature during covid,” recounts Pasley. “I wanted to go to the cold water. I was called to it.”
Pasley knew she couldn’t go in ice cold water alone. It was too dangerous. “I was going with my kids at first. I always thought that safety and support were really important,” says Pasley.
As she built up her cold-water stamina, Pasley found herself feeling more and more invigorated. She noticed herself getting a dose of mega immunity as well. “I never got sick during covid,” Pasley recalls. “The cold water boosted my immunity because it wakes up the mitochondria in your cells. Your body says, ‘Hey, what’s going on here?’ Everything wakes up.”
When Pasley saw her kids getting tired of accompanying her to the lake to take photographs and watch her, she knew it was time to start a group of like-minded “dolphins.” With an invitation to plunge extended to four original members, the group was born. Pasley then started a Facebook page in October 2020 for “anyone in Duluth, or visitors, who want to experience the benefits of ice water immersion.”
Pasley says she has always been intrigued by dolphins, thus her optimistic group name choice. Dolphins are very social animals, and their Duluth morphotype is no different.
“The connection to other members of the Cold Water Dolphins community is huge,” explains Libby Gaalaas, a devoted Dolphin. “I meet people here I probably never would have met anywhere else, and I love that.”
This connection is formed through shared experience and mutual support. “There always seems to be at least one person who lifts up the group if others aren’t as excited about getting in,” Gaalaas notes.
| LORALEE PASLEY
So what, exactly, is the point of traumatizing your body with Superior’s icy waters? It may seem counterintuitive, but Pasley insists that cold water immersion brings a flood of energy. “Scientific studies have found cold water immersion drives up to a 250 percent increase in the body’s dopamine levels. That’s the chemical of motivation, inspiration, and energy. That’s why it feels empowering and invigorating,” notes Pasley.
Dolphins get oxytocin in mass amounts too. “Cold water generates a huge release of oxytocin. That’s why the Dolphins, all of us, we just love each other,” affirms Pasley. “Oxytocin is the bonding hormone, the love chemical. We are all a family.”
Nobody knows cold water’s transformative properties as well as Sveta Vold, who’s in her 14th season of promoting cold water immersion in Minnesota. Hailing originally from Belarus, where she dipped in frigid waters from a young age, Vold is one of Minnesota’s biggest proponents of cold-water immersion today. She transported the practice with her to the Twin Cities when she moved there in 2010, founding the Night Water Butterflies group. “The first few years a few people joined me, but not so many. People were saying ‘Oh, crazy girl.’ I didn’t believe it would become popular,” laughs Vold.
But Vold kept cutting her plunge hole in the ice on Cedar Lake in Minneapolis. Then, about 7 years ago, Wim Hof, the Dutch breathing guru, took off in popularity. Vold says she was inundated with questions. “Everyone kept asking me, ‘Oh, do you know about Wim Hof?’ I told them, ‘You know, I’ve been doing this since 2004, and it’s part of my culture, and my education. I graduated from university in the field of sports medicine. Cold therapy was part of our classes. I knew about breathing systems long before Wim Hof.”
Vold’s Night Water Butterflies group gained traction, and Pasley came all the way to Minneapolis from Duluth to take part. The experience propelled Pasley to create a similar group of like-minded supporters in Duluth, using Vold’s model of openness and community.
“I started the group for support, safety, and inspiration,” says Pasley. “This is a place where people can gather; where they’re loved and accepted. We’re all like-minded, healthy individuals.”
Unlike Vold’s Butterflies, the Dolphins don’t have to cut a hole in the ice to get their cold-water fix. The Dolphins have hallowed Lake Superior for their home court.
Of course, Lake Superior brings its own complications: “Due to its ever-changing waves, and the weather that we have here, we really take safety, and ice formation, into consideration,” explains Pasley. “We don’t cut holes in the ice like they do in the Twin Cities or other areas. We find open water. Our location may change depending on the day. We keep close track of wind speed and direction, to be able to find the best location to go in the water.”
This task can be difficult to solve come February, when ice often starts forming on Superior. Therefore, flexibility is a key Dolphin trait, with corrections made to location and time through a WhatsApp chat.
Today, the Dolphins group page counts well over 1,000 devotees, all hungry to learn group plunge locations and dates.
So, let’s say you build up your courage, the big day comes, and you have to face your demons and overcome your fears. Will you go in? How do you make that initial bone-chilling plunge?
Start out with a simple goal, say Pasley, Gaalaas, and Vold. “I have a goal of at least two minutes in the water per trip, which is easy this time of year,” suggests Gaalaas (speaking in October). “But on a frigid February morning, it’s not always so easy. So sometimes I reach two minutes and I’m like, ‘I’m out of here. I’m done.’ I may not reach the calm state that I’m trying for. But I still get in, and even after just two minutes I feel good about having done it.”
Breathwork, mindfulness, and consistency are the keys to ice plunging success.
“It took me a while,” says Pasley. “I wanted to put together a goal. I wanted to go in Lake Superior once a week for the entire year. I achieved that goal, and actually went in probably two or three times every week. The more consistent I got, the more I craved the cold water, and the more mental and physical health benefits it gave me.”
Of course, the dolphins don’t have a monopoly on Lake Superior plunging. Groups hit the water from Two Harbors to Grand Portage, and up the Canadian shore. The key to all these groups is camaraderie and mutual support. Going with friends and supporters helps ease the shock, and provides a needed safety element.
This winter, embrace the energy and positivity of ice water. Lake Superior is a health resource open to all. And who knew it had dolphins?
