Reporter returns for icy dip at 2013 Mat-Su Plunge

WASILLA — I almost didn’t jump into a frozen lake this year.

Unlike past years when I didn’t jump into a frozen lake (29 of my 31 years on this planet), it wasn’t out of cowardice.

Well, maybe it was a little cowardice. But the main reason this time was a lack of funding. By Friday, the day before the jump, Mat-Su Plunge Eve as it were, I didn’t have the required $100 in donations needed to participate.

I’d figured it was fine, as I didn’t sign up until Tuesday. Last year, all I had to do was mention it on Facebook and I collected the money in a single day.

That didn’t work this year. What did, though, was telling my photographer, Robert DeBerry, that I was backing out due to lack of funds. DeBerry wouldn’t stand for that.

“He needs $100!” DeBerry told everyone in the building.

Emails were sent. Wallets came out. My publisher promised to match donations dollar-for-dollar. And by the time I went home I did so with a $300 check from my colleagues. It’s amazing what can be accomplished in an afternoon.

It wasn’t until I got home that it hit me. I had passed the point of no return.

Yes, my alter ego “Frontiers-Man,” enemy of ignorance, spreader of truth, wearer of newspaper capes, would return to Wasilla Lake. He would do so without his sidekick, “Copy Boy,” though. My son, Gabe, is apparently smarter than I and stayed on dry land this year.

“I’m not crazy enough to do that twice,” he told someone who asked Saturday as we stood in line to register.

Pre-registration on Friday and a whole army of volunteers kept the line moving faster this year than last. It’s quite a task to collect money and checks and paperwork from 150 people. Hats off to the organizers.

Out on the lake, I ran into the Frontiersman’s crack team of costume judges. There was stiff competition out there. One team involved a cow jumping over the moon. Gabe’s favorite was a team of masked luchadores. He’s a big fan of the WWE’s Rey Mysterio.

Les Helfrich, a Polar Plunge stalwart if ever there was one and who you might remember from his trip into the lake wearing a tutu last year (or from his wide-eyed photo on the Polar Plunge programs), jumped this year dressed as the Big Bad Wolf wearing grandma’s nightgown and cap. His jumping partner was, of course, Little Red Riding Hood, played by Ingrid Juarez.

Downstairs as I got into my costume, I chatted with Eddie Maxwell of Country Legends. I’d just seen him jump into the lake dressed as Conway Twitty with his jumping partner, who came dressed as Loretta Lynn to complete the famous duet.

“It’s a record number of jumpers this year,” Maxwell told me as he changed out of his wet clothes.

As I donned my newspaper mask his eyes got wide.

“You’re the Frontiers-Man!” he said, pulling out his camera for a photo.

When I finally got to the water’s edge, the announcer read the cue card I’d given her:

“It’s Frontiers-Man, fighting ignorance with his sidekicks News (here I raised my right fist, beneath which I wore a gauntlet made from the Friday’s news pages) and Sports!” which referred to my left fist and its sports-page gauntlet.

The water seemed much colder than last year, a fact I later confirmed in the changing rooms. And my cape did not stay on. But all told it wasn’t a bad gig, even though I had to go solo.

So how did they do this year? A quick count on the Polar Plunge web page turns up more than 150 jumpers registered to go representing 16 teams.

Also online I discovered that as of Friday, the plunge had raised $13,000 in pledges, which means the final tally is likely to be much higher.

And it all goes to a good cause. This year Mat-Su Sertoma is splitting the proceeds between two worthy charities.

• Santa Cop and Heroes provides gifts, a meal and some one to talk to for senior citizens who would otherwise be alone on the holidays.

• The Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center works to nurse injured eagles, owls and other birds back to health as well as run educational programs throughout the state. They brought an owl to the plunge.

I’ve covered both in the past and have nothing but good things to say, so maybe it was worth jumping into a lake on their behalf.

Maybe next year I’ll find a way to support them and still maintain my regular body temperature.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.