A cold-water cure? My weekend with the ‘Ice Man’
Jonny Weeks
“Look at this beautiful tree. An oak, Quercus robur. It’s yelling at us, ‘Helloooo!’†says Wim Hof, the doyen of cold endurance stunts, as we head across Hampstead Heath, north London, for a swim in one of the ponds.
Soon he’s catapulting himself into a gaping hole in its trunk, peeping out excitedly like a child. “Here I am, talking to the tree,†he beams. “I see the tree has personality. I go in. We are one. It’s alive. We are alive. Is that crazy? Bloody crazy! Yes I am.â€
Best known for trying to scale Mount Everest in only a pair of shorts and hiking boots, Hof has broken more world records than even he can count. His feats include a near-fatal 57-metre swim under ice during which he went temporarily blind, and a barefoot half-marathon in the Arctic.
More: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/08/wim-hof-cold-water-immersion-cure-ice-man-outdoor-swimming
Cold does a lot of good, but pushing it too much can do danger. Still, I've always heard about the value of cold showers, for example.
