February 15th, 2025 | by Katharine Montstream
Kath Montstream is a landscape painter from Burlington Vermont working out of the Soda Plant on Pine Street. She lives with her husband and dog, and their 3 grown children live in the area. When not coloring, Kath loves to ski, skate, paddle and chilly dip year round in Lake Champlain. Her favorite thing is searching out new swimming holes in the Green Mountains. See her paintings and greeting cards here: www.kmmstudio.com.
Keep up with her chilly dipping adventures here!
Kath Montstream is a landscape painter from Burlington Vermont working out of the Soda Plant on Pine Street. She lives with her husband and dog, and their 3 grown children live in the area. When not coloring, Kath loves to ski, skate, paddle and chilly dip year round in Lake Champlain. Her favorite thing is searching out new swimming holes in the Green Mountains. See her paintings and greeting cards here: www.kmmstudio.com.
Keep up with her chilly dipping adventures here!
It was 4:00 in the afternoon on December 23rd.
There was this ethereal lightness in the atmosphere, a few inches of snow lay on the ground, snowflakes fell slowly in the stillness, and a gauzy filter enveloped the landscape. After months of excuses to avoid getting in the cold lake, this was it. I was actually going to do it. I was so inspired by my friend’s resilience, this was the day I would slay this dragon. Elise wore me down, and I was happy for it. We stood at the lakeshore, cold and excited…and then we marched in like penguins, diving down, popping up and quickly out. Big smiles, and, to my surprise, I had survived. Somehow I imagined that my heart might stop, but it did not.
That was 7 years ago. At first, I loved the idea of going in every month. But then, that seemed silly, why wait? If the exhilaration, the adrenaline and the serotonin hit were all so good, it seemed ludicrous to not go more often. And so I did.
Finding sneaky spots was half the fun, and then scouting for the next good painting spot, as well as getting the dog out for a hike were all just a win-win.
During the pandemic, I found this practice to be very helpful in getting rid of excess stress and tension; “leave it in the lake” was my thought. And that worked well. I would post photos of the latest adventure on my Instagram page, and soon I was getting inquiries asking “when are you going again?“ It seemed there was a need to let off some steam and do something safe, outdoors and with proper social distancing. If people wanted to meet up at the lake, they could easily socialize a little, find comradery and kindred souls while not putting themselves at risk.
It was 4:00 in the afternoon on December 23rd.
There was this ethereal lightness in the atmosphere, a few inches of snow lay on the ground, snowflakes fell slowly in the stillness, and a gauzy filter enveloped the landscape. After months of excuses to avoid getting in the cold lake, this was it. I was actually going to do it. I was so inspired by my friend’s resilience, this was the day I would slay this dragon. Elise wore me down, and I was happy for it. We stood at the lakeshore, cold and excited…and then we marched in like penguins, diving down, popping up and quickly out. Big smiles, and, to my surprise, I had survived. Somehow I imagined that my heart might stop, but it did not.
That was 7 years ago. At first, I loved the idea of going in every month. But then, that seemed silly, why wait? If the exhilaration, the adrenaline and the serotonin hit were all so good, it seemed ludicrous to not go more often. And so I did.
Finding sneaky spots was half the fun, and then scouting for the next good painting spot, as well as getting the dog out for a hike were all just a win-win.
During the pandemic, I found this practice to be very helpful in getting rid of excess stress and tension; “leave it in the lake” was my thought. And that worked well. I would post photos of the latest adventure on my Instagram page, and soon I was getting inquiries asking “when are you going again?“ It seemed there was a need to let off some steam and do something safe, outdoors and with proper social distancing. If people wanted to meet up at the lake, they could easily socialize a little, find comradery and kindred souls while not putting themselves at risk.
As the months wore on, we started gathering names and decided that we could do some ‘open dips’ for folks that want to get in the lake with the support of others. A name seemed like a good idea for the group:
The Seal Club. -no, let’s not club seals.
Ladies of the Lake. -nah, seemed a little generic.
the Polar Bear Club. -nope, it’s been done a million times.
My youngest nailed it when she said, “Mom. Red Hot Chilly Dippers.” Done. Named and ready to roll, we started setting up weekly dips with anyone who wanted to come in the fall of 2020.
As the months wore on, we started gathering names and decided that we could do some ‘open dips’ for folks that want to get in the lake with the support of others. A name seemed like a good idea for the group:
The Seal Club. -no, let’s not club seals.
Ladies of the Lake. -nah, seemed a little generic.
the Polar Bear Club. -nope, it’s been done a million times.
My youngest nailed it when she said, “Mom. Red Hot Chilly Dippers.” Done. Named and ready to roll, we started setting up weekly dips with anyone who wanted to come in the fall of 2020.
Little did I know that somehow, the folks who like doing this also happen to be this rare breed who are highly supportive, non judgmental, adventure seeking nut jobs…these are my people. My term of endearment for this nimble group of women is described as “collectively, my best friend.” In early 2021, with few scheduled events, kids not being chauffeured to school, sports and lessons and working from home, there were many opportunities to get outside for a minute to get cold in the lake with these crazy mermaids. All it took was a text and they would show up ready to go.
Little did I know that somehow, the folks who like doing this also happen to be this rare breed who are highly supportive, non judgmental, adventure seeking nut jobs…these are my people. My term of endearment for this nimble group of women is described as “collectively, my best friend.” In early 2021, with few scheduled events, kids not being chauffeured to school, sports and lessons and working from home, there were many opportunities to get outside for a minute to get cold in the lake with these crazy mermaids. All it took was a text and they would show up ready to go.
Little did I know that somehow, the folks who like doing this also happen to be this rare breed who are highly supportive, non judgmental, adventure seeking nut jobs…these are my people. My term of endearment for this nibble group of women is described as “collectively, my best friend.” In early 2021, with few scheduled events, kids not being chauffeured to school, sports and lessons and working from home, there were many opportunities to get outside for a minute to get cold in the lake with these crazy mermaids. All it took was a text and they would show up ready to go.
More folks have shown interest in cold water dipping than I would imagine, and I get it. There’s something really empowering about being able to do this. And yet it only takes a few minutes or less to get in and out and feel the natural high and all the buzz-buzz feels. It’s kind of like coffee, but better.
Little did I know that somehow, the folks who like doing this also happen to be this rare breed who are highly supportive, non judgmental, adventure seeking nut jobs…these are my people. My term of endearment for this nibble group of women is described as “collectively, my best friend.” In early 2021, with few scheduled events, kids not being chauffeured to school, sports and lessons and working from home, there were many opportunities to get outside for a minute to get cold in the lake with these crazy mermaids. All it took was a text and they would show up ready to go.
More folks have shown interest in cold water dipping than I would imagine, and I get it. There’s something really empowering about being able to do this. And yet it only takes a few minutes or less to get in and out and feel the natural high and all the buzz-buzz feels. It’s kind of like coffee, but better.
7 years in and I’m still loving the excitement and thrill of being able to do this and a chance to meet up with these people I adore. But, not everyone will understand, one woman watched me go in a couple years ago. There was a lot of ice on the lake. She yelled out to me,
"You're crazy!”
My answer back?
“No, this is what makes me sane.”
7 years in and I’m still loving the excitement and thrill of being able to do this and a chance to meet up with these people I adore. But, not everyone will understand, one woman watched me go in a couple years ago. There was a lot of ice on the lake. She yelled out to me,
"You're crazy!”
My answer back?
“No, this is what makes me sane.”
Lots of unexpected things have come of this practice besides just the benefits of cold water exposure. Outside Magazine quoted us in a piece, Seven Days did a “ Stuck in Vermont” video segment which won an award, podcasts have been ongoing, New England news stations have picked up our story, a short film by Hannah Maia was made and shown at a few film festivals called “Chilly Dipper,” VPR did a story which went on to NPR, and National Geographic came and did a photo shoot which may or may not be published in the future. Connecticut Public Television did a piece on our Latina women and their experience with cold water, a publication in China featured our photos and story. And then 11,000 folks follow us on our Instagram page. We have also raised thousands of dollars for Spectrum Youth and Family Services in their annual Sleep Out helping youth facing homelessness in our community.
For anyone who doesn’t really get it, I like to share this quote by my filmmaker friend, Hannah, from her beautiful short, “My Big White Thighs and Me”
Lots of unexpected things have come of this practice besides just the benefits of cold water exposure. Outside Magazine quoted us in a piece, Seven Days did a “ Stuck in Vermont” video segment which won an award, podcasts have been ongoing, New England news stations have picked up our story, a short film by Hannah Maia was made and shown at a few film festivals called “Chilly Dipper,” VPR did a story which went on to NPR, and National Geographic came and did a photo shoot which may or may not be published in the future. Connecticut Public Television did a piece on our Latina women and their experience with cold water, a publication in China featured our photos and story. And then 11,000 folks follow us on our Instagram page. We have also raised thousands of dollars for Spectrum Youth and Family Services in their annual Sleep Out helping youth facing homelessness in our community.
For anyone who doesn’t really get it, I like to share this quote by my filmmaker friend, Hannah, from her beautiful short, “My Big White Thighs and Me”
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