Scott Barthelmass has no problem being cold.
The Eureka Fire Protection District public information officer has plunged into frigid water about 170 times to help support a good cause.
Barthelmass is a member of a group of “super plungers,” who annually go in and out of typically cold water on the last weekend of February at the Lake of the Ozarks to raise money for Special Olympics Missouri.
The event is in its 26th year, and it calls for participants to go in and out of the water 24 times over 24 hours.
“It starts about (3 p.m.) on Friday, and we continue every hour until (3 p.m.) on Saturday,” Barthelmass, 49, of Kirkwood said. “The worst plunges are ones like 5 and 6 on Saturday morning. The easy ones are on a Saturday afternoon because you know you’re in the home stretch.”
He said he became involved in Special Olympics Missouri in 1997 when he was an officer with the Overland Police Department. Barthelmass, who worked for Overland from 1994 to 2016, said he started to run events such as the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics.
He said he started participating in plunges in 2014, and he has collected more than $30,000 in pledges in the last seven years.
Barthelmass said he raised about $3,300 this year for his plunges, and the group of 15 “super plungers” collected about $100,000 in donations.
“The most we have ever raised,” he said.
Barthelmass said he has stayed involved in the Special Olympics Missouri because of the athletes who are involved.
“Despite the fact (the athletes are) presented with many challenges in life, they have an outstanding attitude, and they go out there and try,” he said. “They go out there to better themselves, and I just think that they kind of are role models for us all.”
Eureka Fire Chief Greg Brown said he would not be as brave.
“I think the Special Olympics is a wonderful organization and his support of it is just amazing, but to go and jump into cold water every hour for 24 hours, I think he’s crazy,” he said.
Brown said Barthelmass takes a couple of days off for the plunge.
“Scott is one of those guys who is constantly working, always busy,” he said. “So, for him to take a little time and do such a great thing is just fine.”
Barthelmass said his fellow “super plungers” come from a variety of backgrounds.
“There are police officers. There’s an insurance agent. There’s a weatherman from one of the central Missouri TV stations, one of the DJs from the central Missouri country station,” he said.
Barthelmass said the weather is normally about 30 degrees each year.
“We had one year that it was 70 degrees all weekend, and the water had gotten up into the high 40s,” he said.
Barthelmass said this year ice had to be broken so he and the others could jump into the water.
“It was really cold on Friday into Saturday morning. Then Saturday day turned out to be a little warmer,” he said. “It wasn’t as bad.”
Barthelmass said firefighters and divers monitor participants during the plunges.
“One of our rules is that you have to go all the way under for it to count, and then you get out and sprint to the nearest building where you can get dried off,” he said.
Barthelmass said every year before the event, he takes extra vitamins and gets into the “mindset” for the 24 plunges.
He said the “super plungers” also participate in the Polar Bear Strut 5K, another weekend fundraiser held for the Special Olympics Missouri.
Barthelmass said many people run the race, but he typically walks the 3.1-mile course.
“There’s not much running going on at that point,” he said.
Another generation involved
A related event during the weekend is the Peewee Plunge, which is for children. Barthelmass said his 5-year-old son, Jackson, participated in the youth event for the sixth time this year.
“He did his first plunge when he was 4 months old in a large bucket,” his father said.
Barthelmass said the Peewee Plunge happens at a fire station at the Lake of the Ozarks.
He said the water temperature is chilly but safe for children. Jackson raised about $1,700 for his plunge.
“We just try to teach him the value of doing the right thing and giving back to the community,” he said of having his son involved in the fundraising event. “We want him to have that on his mind as he grows older. He loves the water, and he understands that he’s helping people.”