Photo by Madscenery by Kevin Madson, provided by Visit Keweenaw

HANCOCK – With polar-like weather across the Upper Peninsula, the Polar Plunge, scheduled for Saturday in Hancock is still on.

Visit Keweenaw and the city of Hancock have worked with Takka Sauna and Small Craft, on Navy Street, to bring back the Polar Plunge, said Jesse Wiederhold, managing director of Visit Keweenaw.

Wiederhold said after a nearly decade-long hiatus, the return of the Polar Plunge is in response to its apparent popularity.

“This is totally one of the biggest things we’ve heard in our visitors centers,” he said. “One of the biggest questions we get at Visit Keweenaw, the city of Hancock, and Finns and Friends is when is the Plunge coming back? And we wanted to make that happen.”

With extremely low temperatures and wind chills predicted in excess of 20 below this weekend, the health and safety of participants are not being dismissed.

Wiederhold said several sources have been, and continue to be, consulted, including paramedics with Mercy EMS.

“We understand the biggest challenge is going to be getting people right into the warm-up,” but we will be able to do that,” Wiederhold said. “It would about a 30-60-second walk to the saunas, so as people are out of the water – and we will be there to help folks in and out – they will be able to warm up immediately after.”

Additionally, said Wiederhold, there is another concern being closely monitored.

“There’s a certain threshold that we are working with,” he said. “If temperatures are plummeting down to about -19 without factoring in the windchill, this is going to be a very critical point for cancellation.”

If a cancellation is announced, said Wiederhold, it will be announced Saturday morning.

The polar weather does not seem to be a deterrent to interest. So far, 30 people have pre-registered for the plunge, Wiederhold said.

“I would like to say that these folks have been checking the weather, so hopefully they’re committed and we do believe we will be doing this plunge as long as we don’t hit that very low temperature threshold,” he said. “But again, we do not want to dismiss any safety concerns. We want this to be the safest polar plunge possible. Having all the EMS there there is a good start.”

At the same time, thought, said Wiederhold, participants must sign a liability waver.

“I think folks really do need to remember that this is the Keweenaw,” he added. “We do have these intense snow systems so you do have to be very dedicated to want to do this.”