While there had been legends for many years of small-scale plunges, Gilliar is credited with creating the modern version of what we now call the Polar Bear Swim. A swimmer in high school, Gilliar thought that jumping into the frozen lake would be exciting and exhilarating. The thrill was intensified by the fact that her first dip in 1994 was not monitored by the College.
"We did a lot of things that were breaking the rules. We had no permission and no one to supervise us," Gilliar said.
Gilliar explained that she and her friends had attached ropes to swimmers, but, other than that, the friends were left to watch for each other's safety.
Within a few years the Polar Bear Swim was huge. By 1998 the event was famous enough to attract the attention of home and garden guru Martha Stewart, who donated commemorative polar bear buttons and towels in the shade of Dartmouth green to the first 200 participants.
Because the Polar Bear Swim has become a Winter Carnival tradition, the College has mandated several precautionary changes. The plunge is now attended by trained EMT personnel as well as Safety and Security officers. Each swimmer also has a rope tied around them just in case they go into shock or get trapped under the ice.
In addition, the event is now subject to a safety review by Facilities and Operations Management of weather conditions, which will determine whether the event will even take place. FO&M may not give their final evaluation of the ice until the day the swimming begins, according to swim coordinator Alex Kehl '07.
Last year above-normal temperatures and a lack of thick ice caused the Polar Bear Swim to be canceled at the last minute. The ice has to be thick enough to drive a truck on, which amounts to seven-and-a-half to eight inches thick, E.J. Kiefer of the College's Public Programs office explained.
Kehl said he hoped that everything will go as planned, but he acknowledged that warm weather and inadequate snowfall threatened the event again.
"There is danger not only from thin ice or weak areas, but also from the slush and water on top of the ice since people could fall and get seriously injured," Kehl said.
Thin ice has become a major concern of the College since 1997, when several parents of students fell through the ice on their way to watch the swim.
"All of a sudden I turned around, and my parents were up to their shoulders in ice," Marc Resteghini '99 told The Dartmouth at the time.
Resteghini said that a stranger saved the pair by pulling them out of the water and ushering them to safety.
In the past, the swim has been customized for the Carnival's theme. Last year, following the Peter Pan theme, the organizers planned to create a block of ice protruding out into the water in order to simulate "walking the plank." Other plunges have included a rope used for swinging above the pond and prolonging the experience before plummeting into the icy water.
While appreciative of the young Dartmouth tradition, many spectators may wonder why anyone would be willing to jump practically -- or entirely -- naked into freezing water. But for most participants it's the thrill of trying something crazy that drives them to participate in the swim.
"I think it's just another big tradition like touching the fire, rushing the field, the blue light challenge and the Ledyard challenge that everyone talks about, but only a select few actually follow through with," Ian Dumont '09 said. "It is going to be shockingly frigid -- I know that much."
Other students who are reluctant to join in the plunge plan to take part by cheering on their friends from the sidelines.
"I am definitely not going to jump into any body of water during Winter Carnival. Despite how much I enjoy strutting around in my bathing suit, I just don't find hypothermia very attractive," Brittany Crosby '09 said.
The success of Gilliar's first swim 12 years ago may be evidenced by hundreds of students expected to accept the challenge this year.
"I think that at Dartmouth, building a tradition takes four years," Gilliar said. "By the fourth year [1998], I heard people say, 'Oh, you have to do it -- it's a tradition.'"
Despite the shock of hitting the bitterly cold water, most participants agree that glory and the thrill of participating in a time-honored Dartmouth tradition more than outweighs any risk of frostbite. The Polar Bear Swim will be held Friday at noon.
