A bearded man in a black bathrobe with a towel around his neck smiles while behind him, two people stand in a river with snow covering the river banks.

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PHOTOS: Waiting for summer for an outdoor dip? A Chagrin Falls woman is not

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Josh Sherman of Eastlake stands before a swimming hole in the Chagrin River in Bentleyville, OH while two of his fellow "polar plungers" take a dip in the near-freezing water on Feb. 9, 2025. (Ygal Kaufman / Ideastream Public Media)

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Patricia Bussert, left, and Carmita Suarez walk hand-in-hand into the near-freezing water of the Chagrin River. Bussert, an ice water "plunger" for five years, is helping Suarez, a first-timer, acclimate to the shockingly cold water. (Ygal Kaufman / Ideastream Public Media)

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Nathan Rutz of Cleveland sits in the snow to put on his shoes following his swim with other "polar plungers" in the icy Chagrin River in Bentleyville, OH. (Ygal Kaufman / Ideastream Public Media)

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Claire Hilbers acclimatizes to the near-freezing water of the Chagrin River. (Ygal Kaufman / Ideastream Public Media)

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The Chagrin River at the Cleveland Metroparks South Chagrin Reservation in Bentleyville, OH. (Ygal Kaufman / Ideastream Public Media)