Photos: Polar Bear Plunge
Across the country people celebrated the first day of 2012 by going for a dip in frigid water.
Polar Bear Plunge
Ali Carden is one of the first out of the Tennessee River at the Polar Bear Plunge at Riverwalk Marina, high noon on New Year's Day in Decatur, Ala. The event is sponsored by the Polar Bear Club and is the only meeting the club holds all year. The event is open to anyone willing to take the plunge. (AP Photo/The Decatur Daily, Gary Cosby Jr.)
Polar Bear Plunge
Cassie Loeffler, left, clings to her cousin Brooke Clark after she stripped to her underwear to make a commiserating plunge after Clark fell off her paddle board and into the water while serving as a lifeguard for the 32nd annual Polar Bear Plunge held Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. "I wasn't planning on going," Loeffler said. "But I felt bad that she fell in so I figured I couldn't let her be cold by herself." (AP Photo/Coeur d'Alene Press, Jerome A. Pollos) MANDATORY CREDIT
Polar Bear Plunge
Carlos Blanas dances before the start of the annual New Year's Day Coney Island Polar Bear Club swim in New York, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Polar Bear Plunge
Lisa Levesque, right, and Erin McLachlan react after jumping in the ocean during the annual New Year's Day Coney Island Polar Bear Club swim in New York, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Polar Bear Plunge
People dive into the water during the Polar Bear Plunge at Riverwalk Marina, high noon on New Year's Day, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, in Decatur, Ala. The event is sponsored by the Polar Bear Club and is the only meeting the club holds all year. The event is open to anyone willing to take the plunge. (AP Photo/The Decatur Daily, Gary Cosby Jr.)
Polar Bear Plunge
Thalia Soriano reacts to the cold water while participating in the annual New Year's Day Coney Island Polar Bear Club swim in New York, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Polar Bear Plunge
Participants in the annual New Year's Day Coney Island Polar Bear Club swim react to the cold water in New York, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Polar Bear Plunge
Participants run from the frigid waters of English Bay as two people wear a shark costume during the 92nd annual Polar Bear Swim in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)
Polar Bear Plunge
Participants in the annual New Year's Day Coney Island Polar Bear Club swim play with an inflatable octopus in New York, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Polar Bear Plunge
Participants take to the frigid waters of English Bay during the 92nd annual Polar Bear Swim in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)
Polar Bear Plunge
Participants in the annual New Year's Day Coney Island Polar Bear Club swim run into the water in New York, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Polar Bear Plunge
A participant in the annual New Year's Day Coney Island Polar Bear Club swim drinks from a large champagne bottle in New York, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Polar Bear Plunge
Elliana Roullier, 5, has second thoughts Sunday about following her sisters into the frigid water of Lake Coeur d'Alene at Sanders Beach during the 32nd annual Polar Bear Plunge held Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Roullier had planned on taking the plunge with her sisters, but made it about knee deep before seeking warmer conditions. (AP Photo/Coeur d'Alene Press, Jerome A. Pollos)
Polar Bear Plunge
People dressed for winter weather look at Lisa Ablon, center, as she prepares to participate in the annual New Year's Day Coney Island Polar Bear Club swim in New York, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Polar Bear Plunge
Participants in the annual New Year's Day Coney Island Polar Bear Club swim prepare to enter the ocean in New York, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Polar Bear Plunge
Participants dive into Long Lake in Lacey, Wash., as part of the 28th Annual Polar Bear Plunge, Sunday, Jan 1, 2012. (AP Photo/The Olympian, Steve Bloom)