Meet the Pen y Fan Plungers, a group of friends from Brecon who enjoy delving into any icy pool of water not far from the mountain to start their days.
While at first glance this might sound a bit out there, there is evidence to suggest cold water plunging has incredible physical and mental health benefits as well as allegedly helping with issues like fatigue, asthma and anxiety.
The group started around two months ago when Des Lally posted online to see if others were interested in having a go at the extreme activity. Des said that while he started the group, it is for everyone in the community who is interested.
The cold water lover from Brecon said: “It’s been about two months since we first set it up and, the take-up when it first started erupted - I think we had around 850 members saying they were interested online although, as you saw, there were nine or ten of this morning.
“A lot of people have thought about it but they haven’t had the platform to do it, or they’ve not had the confidence or someone else to do it with.
“I’ve been going up there most days for three or four years - I quite often walk up Pen y Fan to see the sun rise and then go in there when I come back down.
“I started because I’d been up Pen y Fan and I ran back down and it was a boiling hot day and I’d ran out of water so I decided to jump in the cold water to cool down when I came back down.”
The unusual activity is helping people socially as well as physically and mentally - especially following isolation from Covid-19.
Des explained: “We’re just a friendly bunch of ordinary people - there’s no judgement. When we set this up, one thing I was determined to do was to make it open so that people would do what was comfortable for them. We’re all pretty similar and we all enjoy life.
“Even if you come along and you dip a toe in, you tried it. People do what they are comfortable with - everybody’s the same, nobody is better than anyone else here. The group is for everyone and it is fully inclusive. Especially after the lockdowns with the social side of it - part of it is the belonging to something.
“Some people come along and it just goes over their feet and they decide it’s not for them. There’s no expectation and no pressure.”
The Pen y Fan Plungers meet every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at Pont ar Daf carpark near the Storey Arms. From the carpark, which is popular with walkers and others venturing into the Beacons, it is only two minutes to get to the site used by the group in the morning.
With this in mind and after a week of telling everybody I came across that I would be there to observe and that there was absolutely no way that I would be taking the plunge, I decided that I had to give the cold water a chance.
After a quick text to Des on the Friday evening, the excitement for the task at hand set in. However, fast forward to Saturday morning and after little sleep, the nerves had ramped up.
While Des had reassured me that I would not be hiking to get to the icy pool, my mind couldn’t help but thinking about the worst case scenarios including walking miles with terrible physical fitness, the idea of not being able to touch the ground in the water or creatures being in the water with me, and of course the intense cold.
When I was stood at the side of the pool, there was something surreal about seeing the clear water when I already felt cold and could see dog-walkers and mountain lovers in their woolly hats and big coats.
The one thing the group were keen to remind me was that even if I only managed to dip a toe into the water, there would be no judgement.
Local celebrity 46-year-old Des said: “Everybody is different and has a different cold threshold. The best thing you can do is to take your time getting in the water and taking time to get used to it.
“Breathing out is really important when you get in - it’s a mistake trying to catch your breath, although you can’t help it at first, but it’s so cold that you won’t do it. When you control your breathing, the cold becomes manageable.”
Any self-consciousness I had felt vanished through a mix of nerves, excitement, comradery and eventually cold induced adrenaline.
After trying to avoid the water on the way to the mountain pool, the reality set in fully as its filled my neglected trainers - , it is important to mention the group will not judge you if you have a strong verbal reaction to the cold.
The group, who helped me navigate the rocks in and out of the water, talked me through the slow cold adjustments until I was eventually in as deep as I was able to go - roughly up to my chest.
Crucially, as I stopped walking, they stressed the importance of breathing out and controlled breathing.
After an initial few seconds where I felt like I couldn’t breathe, it passed and I felt relatively normal although exhilarated.
What had seemed like madness made me feel alive and it was truly surreal acknowledging that I was in a pool near the base of Pen y Fan in December.
After a couple of minutes, we left the water - again with the help of the group - before chucking some dry and warm clothes on.
The group constantly made sure I was okay and emphasised the importance of getting warm properly - fortunately, I had brought a full change of clothes for the office where I intended to sit by the radiator with coffee.
“A few weeks ago, when it was colder, the getting in was freezing so it was 10 or 11 degrees outside but more like three or four degrees in the water so it actually felt warm when we got out”, said Des.
“Everyone different but the most important thing you want to do is to get out of the wet clothes and get dry. You’ll start feeling the cold, especially in your hands and feet and if you’re stood around in wet clothes or shoes - you need to get out of the cold air and get warm clothing on and warm up gradually.
“You have also got to be safe - so we always say to make sure you do it with somebody and not on your own.
“We meet at Pont ar Daf carpark and, other than the fuel to get here, there is no cost. Some people who want to do it do go at different times with their friends because they can’t fit in with the same times as us - just make sure if you do that, you go with somebody.”
When asked if he still gets nervous when he gets ready to take the plunge, Des responded with “always”.
He said: “You always get nervous, it’s not exactly normal to jump into cold water. I think it’s also part of it that you have that nervous energy which is also excitement as well. It’s a shock to the system.
“I think you need that nervous tension so that you don’t get complacent because you’ve got to be safe.”
The members who joined me on my own plunge included Phillipa Bagley, Phil Fildes-Bowen and Des as well as Tom who stayed on land while filming the experience on Go Pro.
Phil described his experiences as being more “wading” than “plunging”.
He said: “You just quietly wade in and lower yourself into the water and just experience what the cold does to your skin. After about 60 seconds you don’t really feel the cold and then you start to feel the blood going to the surface of your skin.
“You just don’t feel it as being cold until you get out, and then the wind starts to hit your skin and you start to think ‘I’d better get something on my skin’ to warm up quick.”
Fellow plunger Phillipa said: “I think for me, it’s mind over matter that I could do it - It’s only my third time doing this as well, so I think it’s that feeling of euphoria and taking you out of your comfort zone and so I think it is more the mental health for me.
“I must admit, the second time I really felt the benefit and felt energised and just more clear headed and I really just think it does your body and your mind a world of good.”
I had arrived at the site after the main group of plungers had entered the water - Phil, Des and Phillipa were happy to re-enter the water to join me.
Before entering the water, I also spoke to another plunger who said: “It’s very de-stressing if you do it at the beginning of the day and you’ve been feeling stressed with work all week and you do that in the morning, you feel incredible - it’s an incredible five minutes.
“It also boosts your mitochondria and makes more brown fat and so it has physical health benefits as well as mental. It increases your metabolism.”
From my own experience, I would encourage anybody who is interested to try this - I don’t remember the last time I felt so awake on a Saturday and so alive during the winter months. I was buzzing all day after and I cannot wait to have another opportunity to do this.
As well as the absolute rush, I was surprised by how proud I felt of myself for doing it - it truly became mind over matter for me as well.
It is important to mention that much like any “extreme” activity, cold water immersion does come with its own risks as frigid water is stressful on the body.
According to the Pen y Fan plungers, who put safety above all else: “Plunging into frigid water is stressful on the body and can have harmful effects. Hypothermia, mainly. And in rare cases immersion can provoke cardiac arrest, arrhythmia, or respiratory distress, particularly in people with underlying health issues.”
The cold shock can also induce uncontrollable hyperventilating as the lungs contract which can make the experience worrying for first-timers, however the group advises this does become less over time as the body gets more and more used to the experience.
The group, which is for anybody aged 16 or older, said on it website: “The best bet for those who are interested in testing out the potential health benefits of cold water immersion is to wade in slowly, take it easy, there is no pressure. We aim to maintain a safe relaxing environment for anybody wanting to dip a toe. Don’t stress, just relax.”
My advice from, one newbie to another, is remember your warm clothes and your hat - you’ll be thankful when you leave the water!
Visit the Pen y Fan Plungers website by clicking here to say when their plungers are scheduled
See more photos of Ariane's plunge experience by visiting The Brecon & Radnor Express Facebook page by clicking here.