On a frigid February morning in Ireland’s Wicklow Mountains, swimmer Donal Buckley dives headfirst into the boomerang-shaped Lough Dan. Submerged in 38-degree water with no wetsuit for warmth, Buckley begins to freestyle his way across the frozen lake. His goal? To join an elusive club of fewer than a hundred swimmers across the world who have completed an official, mile-long ice swim.

“Imagine taking off all your clothes and climbing into the chilled water in your refrigerator,” says Buckley. “An ice mile is colder than that.”

As he plows on, his muscles contract in the freezing water, delivering less power with every stroke. Fine motor skills are lost. As his body struggles to stay warm, his brain begs for more oxygen. In the final 200 meters, Buckley experiences tunnel vision as he churns closer and closer to shore. Finally, he reaches the beach, where friends await to lift him out of the lake by his tired limbs. He crumples in a moderately hypothermic heap a few yards away. The total time is 38 minutes. 

Antarctic Origin Story

Superman’s Fortress of Solitude was an ice cave in the Arctic where the DC Comics superhero could temporarily escape from the hectic pace of life in Metropolis. , a world-record-holding extreme swimmer from Israel who now lives in South Africa, shares the Man of Steel’s affinity for polar wastelands, and some might consider him a Superman in his own right—he’s appeared on both Stan Lee’s Superhumans and the Discovery Channel’s Superhuman Showdown. However, instead of beginning on the planet Krypton, Barkai’s story has its origins in a frozen lake in Antarctica.

On an excursion to Antarctica in 2008, the then-38-year-old Barkai convinced his expedition leader to let him go for a swim. He’d become a fan of open-water swimming starting in his younger days, when he’d served in Israel’s army, and subsequently enjoyed regular frosty swims in the cold ocean surrounding his home in Cape Town. He leaped into a frozen lake and swam for a full kilometer, for which he later received a Guinness World Record.

“Give me a challenge to excite me, and I’ll find a way to prove everyone wrong,” Barkai says. “I took on the cold water in the sea as a demon I had to face, to get familiar with and conquer.”

After completing another wintry swim in Lake Zurich the following year, this one 2.3 kilometers, Barkai decided to formalize cold, open-water swimming. He created the in 2009, an organization that standardized the benchmark to one mile in water temperatures below 41 degrees Fahrenheit and that follows English Channel rules (unassisted and uninterrupted time in the water, no wetsuits allowed). Today, only 87 swimmers from 17 countries have successfully completed an ice swim—locations include sites in Norway, Alaska, Sweden, and the U.S. (Boston Harbor) in the middle of winter. Barkai says that number is growing, however, and he hopes to one day make ice swimming a sport at the Winter Olympics. 

How They Train

Proper training and experience are more than just a question of peak performance for those attempting to swim a mile in freezing waters: they’re a matter of life and death. An ice swim is not an experience the weekend Ironman contender should try on a whim.

Training begins with covering significant distances in normal water temperatures before even attempting cold swims. Of course, intimate familiarity with cold-water submersion is a must. Barkai recommends daily dunks of under a minute to help acclimate the body over time to the piercing sensations frigid waters impose. Many swimmers use ice baths to store these pain perceptions in their memory so they don’t come as a shock later on in open water. Much emphasis is placed on the fundamentals—stroke, breathing, and speed—since technique tends to devolve in a freezing lake.

Perhaps even more important than physical conditioning is its mental counterpart. Understanding how the cold affects your body while in the water is essential, and being able to stay calm under such intense conditions is what will keep you from drowning in a panic.

The cold has an incredible ability to focus the mind. From the second you plunge into the water, you don’t have the luxury of letting your attention wander to outside thoughts. The mind must be zeroed in on every single stroke, every single breath. Despite the pain, you must continue to move.

“Unlike marathon swimming, you can’t just switch off your brain—it’s too dangerous,” Barkai says. “I run a regular checklist, like I would in an airplane: hands, fingers, toes, tongue, vision, rationality. I make sure that I am still capable, both physically and mentally. When that’s not the case, it’s time to get out.”

Hardcore Factor

Being ice swim–ready means more than simply being physically fit: you must of course be fit in terms of strength, but you must also be fit in terms of overall health, says Barkai. In such frigid temperatures, your body must pump more blood to your arteries, which results in higher blood pressure. For those who don’t know what they’re doing, risks can include temporary or permanent nerve damage; drowning from involuntary aspiration, due to cold-shock response; hypothermia; and loss of motor control.

Based on his own experience, Buckley is concerned that less knowledgeable swimmers will attempt the feat without the requisite training, background, or confidence; he believes that the IISA should only permit ice swims once a participant can present a verified training log. Even the most skilled cold-water swimmers don’t undertake the challenge without a proper support system in case of emergency. Let’s just say that ice swimming is not for the faint—or weak—of heart.

“The biggest danger actually presents itself post-swim, from cardiac fibrillation,” says Buckley. “I’ve spoken with two doctors who have expertise in cold water, and they believe there is significant cardiac risk for everyone, regardless of experience.”

To read more about Donal Buckley’s ice swim, including how he trains and the associated risks, check out his .Below, see a short documentary about Buckley.

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There’s a group of people who believe that in a world of extreme natural disasters (think Superstorm Sandy or the ), being ready for any catastrophe—natural, manmade, or otherwise—is more than just a precaution. It’s practical.



One such person is Creek Stewart, owner of the and author of the book Stewart preaches the gospel of disaster preparedness, teaching individuals and groups how to survive—and thrive—no matter the circumstances.



Sometimes that means adapting regular household items, even trash, when more specialized tools aren’t on hand. “Innovation may very well be the most important survival skill,” says Stewart. So whether you think the world is coming to an end or just want to prepare for an accident in the backcountry, you’ll need the following everyday objects in your bug-out bag if (or should we say when?) disaster strikes.

Bra Cup Debris Mask

Survivors can face serious respiratory problems as the result of breathing in toxic ash, pulverized concrete, particles, and dust. “Believe it or not, the cup of a bra can make an impressive debris mask in a pinch,” Stewart says. Most are sized perfectly to cover the nose and mouth, and the straps can be reworked to tie around the head for hands-free use.

Chewing Gum Fire Starter

In the middle of a catastrophe, that pack of Juicy Fruit serves a far greater purpose than just staving off hunger or freshening your breath. Use the foil-backed wrapper to short circuit an AA battery and create a flame. First, tear the wrapper into an hourglass shape and touch the foil to the positive and negative battery terminals. The electrical current will briefly cause the paper wrapper to ignite. Use the flame to light a candle or tinder.

Tuna Can Emergency Light

In case of a mass power outage, you’ll need to illuminate your surroundings. If the flashlight batteries are dead, a can of tuna can provide hours of light. Stab a small hole in the top of an oil-packed tuna can, then roll a two-by-five inch piece of newspaper into a wick. Shove the wick into the hole, leaving a half-inch exposed. Wait a moment for the oil to soak to the top of the wick, then light with matches. “Your new oil lamp will burn for almost two hours,” Stewart says, “and the tuna will still be good to eat afterward.”

Tampon Tinder

In inclement weather, starting a fire Boy-Scout-style can be a bit tricky. Thankfully, Stewart says tampons are among the best tinder on the planet. Begin by removing the cotton plug from its waterproof wrapper and plastic applicator. Then pull apart the tampon to expose the highly-flammable individual fibers—these will burst into flame with just a spark from a ferro rod or cigarette lighter.

Lip Balm Candle

When Chicago was hit with a serious blizzard in 2011, dozens of drivers were snowed into their vehicles on Lake Shore Drive. Those who ran out of gas because they left their engines running to maintain heat risked hypothermia. “It may surprise you to learn that a candle can actually provide enough heat to raise the temperature of a small space a few life-saving degrees,” Stewart says. Take the cotton string from a tampon and, using a paperclip, stick it into a tube of lip-balm. Light the end, and you’ll get an instant candle that can burn for about two hours. Keep the plastic tube from catching fire by slowly twisting out the lip balm as the wick burns down.

Plastic Bottle Solar Still

Staying hydrated should be among your top priorities after a disaster. (The average person can only survive two or three days without water.) Use an empty plastic bottle to filter water from plants, soil, or even mud, removing salts and heavy metals. Cut off the bottom of the bottle, then fold the bottle wall up a few inches into the interior. Next, place the mini still into a muddy puddle or pan of salt water and wait for the sun to do its work. Evaporated water will collect on the inside of the bottle, run down the sides and collect within the folded lip. When you’ve collected enough liquid, remove the lid and pour the distilled water into a clean container, or drink straight from the still.

Pop Can Fishing Rod

When resources run low, use a tin pop can to make what is colloquially known as a “hand-reel hobo kit”—essentially an improvised fishing pole. Use a knife or pliers to pry off the tab on the top, and break apart one of the small rings into a barbed fishing hook. Tie it to a piece of dental floss or any other string-like material, and wind the rest around the can. Use the makeshift rod to catch perch or other small fish. You can even store worms for bait inside the empty can.

Junk Food Signal Fire

When lost in the wilderness, food is a valuable commodity. However, under the right circumstances, a bag of oily chips might be better used as kindling for a signal fire than as a snack. “A single bag can help get the flames roaring,” Stewart says, “and as the smoke rises, use the shiny mylar interior of the bag to reflect sun as a beacon to rescue planes.”

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Five years ago, when the American microbrew scene was exploding, craft beers were still largely made from grains and hops grown by factory farms. Slowly, though, brewers began embracing the locavore trend, planting hops on nearby acreage (like ) or using local spring water (like ).

Today that philosophy has reached its apex: adventurous brewers are creating distinctly regional beers by foraging their own ingredients, among them chanterelle mushrooms, sassafras leaves, and vanilla leaf. (See below.) Sampling them takes some dedication—most are available only on tap—but their numbers are growing. This spring you’ll find them at dozens of breweries across the country.

The foraged-beer trend got its start in 2011, in Colorado, where artist and hophead Eric Steen, 31, took eight home-brewers on a few hikes for ingredients like red currants and chokecherries. Before long he franchised the strolls, calling them the tours. Last year, on hikes across the West, he was joined by representatives from 35 U.S. breweries, including , , and . The original goal, says Steen, was to create a sort of terroir effect for beer. Plus, he says, “Connecting with a local plant or something growing wild nearby can provide patrons with a sense of native pride.”

Few breweries experiment with wild ingredients as devotedly as , which opened last March. Three dozen mason jars sit behind the bar, filled with everything from walnuts to black trumpet mushrooms, all gathered from the brewery’s 75-acre farm. “Look at the rise of farmers’ markets: people want something that comes from where they live,” says Scratch co-owner . “It’s fun to make that happen in beer. It’s a new frontier.”

The 5 Wildest Ingredients Appearing in Beer

1. °äłó˛ą˛ÔłŮ±đ°ů±đ±ô±ô±đ˛ő:ĚýYellow, funnel-shaped fungus that lends beer a buttery flavor and an apricot scent.
2. ł§˛ą˛ő˛ő˛ą´Ú°ů˛ą˛ő:ĚýA tree leaf often used as a thickener in gumbo, it adds a green-tea-like aroma.
3. °­łÜ»ĺłúłÜ:ĚýAn invasive species brought in to control erosion in the South in the early 1900s; it adds a fruity flavor.
4. Vanilla Leaf: Ubiquitous in the Pacific Northwest, the plant adds—surprise!—a hint of vanilla.
5. Milk Thistle: The seeds are believed to have medicinal properties, particularly in protecting the liver against toxins. 

The 4 Best Breweries Using Foraged Ingredients

1.  (Denver): Ingredients are sourced during hikes in the Rocky Mountains; in 2013, it concocted a saison with wild sage.
2. (Durham, North Carolina): One of the few that bottles its foraged beers, including wild-fig and persimmon-spiced ales.
3. (Ava, Illinois): The constantly updated menu includes a German ale with toasted pig nuts, a Belgian dark with dried chiles, and a saison with wild ginger root.
4. (Portland, Oregon): Producer of organic and sustainable beers; last year it brewed a Belgian-style red ale made with vanilla leaf.

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