'You can’t break a record every day': Firefighter raises big bucks at beer festival ice bath
An Edmonton firefighter braved a prolonged ice bath Saturday to help raise awareness and money to support Muscular Dystrophy Canada.
Wesley Bauman took the polar plunge and stayed put in an ice bath for just shy of an hour and a half Saturday evening at the Edmonton Craft Beer Festival.
Initially, Bauman planned to shatter the Guinness World Records time of three hours.
“It didn’t go as well as expected,” Bauman told CTV News Edmonton. “Unfortunately, while I was in there, about 50 minutes in, the ice kind of shifted. Think of an ice cube in a warm glass of water, and it goes pop.”
The top of the ice went one way while the bottom shifted towards the other direction. Bauman described it as being forced into a “weird and awkward limbo” position.
“My back started spasming, so I kind of battled it for about 20 to 30 minutes,” he added. “It’s a fun event, and I’m not going to put my health in jeopardy.”
Bauman said how the two previous attempts he made at going for more than two hours were during wintertime when ice melt is slower.
“I challenged myself this time,” he said. “We raised a lot of money here, had a lot of great exposure for post-traumatic stress and mental health, and then raised a lot of money for Muscular Dystrophy Canada.
“It’s a win. You can’t break a record every day.”
While Bauman isn’t sure if he will take a stab at the world record again, he plans to continue taking ice baths for five to 10 minutes every day.
The ice stunt helped raise more than $9,000 for Muscular Dystrophy Canada.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.