Mr.Freeze
Outside Magazine|September/October 2020
Wim Hof became famous for submerging himself in frigid water with the calm of a Zen master, and his teachings about breathwork and the health benefits of cold plunges have attracted millions of followers. Our writer traveled to Iceland to chill with the man who made cold extremely hot.
SUSAN CASEY
Mr.Freeze

JÖKULSÁRLÓN LAGOON, ICELAND.

The air is cold but the water is colder, its surface gridlocked with icebergs. Slabs and hunks and blocks of ice the size of ships, houses, buses—they’re everywhere, crowded into the glacial lagoon. The icebergs are dazzling white and pale gray and a light milky blue, and striped with volcanic ash; the water is the color of dull metal. Low clouds press down. Seabirds shriek. On the far side of the lagoon, a glacier called Vatnajökull hunkers like the beast that it is: a 3,100-square-mile ice cap that sprawls over southeast Iceland, dwarfing other European glaciers. For anyone unaware that it is ill-advised to jump in for a dip, a big red sign spells out the hazards: NO SWIMMING— FREEZING WATER. YOU ONLY SURVIVE FEW MINUTES. And if that isn’t enough of a deterrent: DANGEROUS CURRENTS. ROLL- ING ICEBERGS FORM WAVES.

“Oooh, look at all those fears!” Wim Hof says, reading the sign in mock terror. He is 61 years old and scruffily bearded, with a growly, booming voice that’s easily heard at a distance. Hof is Dutch, his accent full of rolling r’s and long vowels. There’s nothing slick about his appearance. He’s wearing surf shorts, rubber sandals, and a tropical-print T-shirt under a thin raincoat that flaps in the wind. It’s not much in the way of clothing; by comparison, I’m swaddled in so many layers I can barely move my arms. It’s about 40 degrees Fahrenheit outside, with plenty of windchills. Farther down the beach, little clots of tourists who’ve braved the sour weather look like they’re huddled together for survival.

Denne historien er fra September/October 2020-utgaven av Outside Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September/October 2020-utgaven av Outside Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA OUTSIDE MAGAZINESe alt
#she hunts
Outside Magazine

#she hunts

A new school of social-media influencers are giving hunting a fresh and decidedly female face. Food writer RACHEL LEVIN joins two rising stars of“Instagram” in the Arizona backcountry to chase mule deer for her first photographs by Jen Judgetime. Can she stomach what it takes to be an omnivore?

time-read
10+ mins  |
September/October 2020
Breaking the Waves
Outside Magazine

Breaking the Waves

What has life under lockdown taught the greatest surfer on earth? That switching it up was exactly what he needed.

time-read
3 mins  |
September/October 2020
Wellness That Endures
Outside Magazine

Wellness That Endures

Strategies and tips to help you get through anything

time-read
10 mins  |
September/October 2020
The New Reality
Outside Magazine

The New Reality

AFTER A NEARLY TWO-DECADE HIATUS, ECO-CHALLENGE MAKES A COMEBACK ON AMAZON PRIME AT JUST THE RIGHT MOMENT

time-read
2 mins  |
September/October 2020
Out There, Nobody Can Hear You Scream
Outside Magazine

Out There, Nobody Can Hear You Scream

Two years ago, LATRIA GRAHAM wrote about the challenges of being Black in the outdoors, and countless readers asked her for advice. She didn’t write back, because she had no idea what to say. In the aftermath of a revolutionary summer, she responds.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September/October 2020
Mr.Freeze
Outside Magazine

Mr.Freeze

Wim Hof became famous for submerging himself in frigid water with the calm of a Zen master, and his teachings about breathwork and the health benefits of cold plunges have attracted millions of followers. Our writer traveled to Iceland to chill with the man who made cold extremely hot.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September/October 2020
Life Is a Highway
Outside Magazine

Life Is a Highway

TOOLS TO HELP YOU SAVOR THE JOURNEY

time-read
2 mins  |
September/October 2020
Enter Sandman
Outside Magazine

Enter Sandman

SLUMBER WELL IN CAMP, NO MATTER HOW FAR OFF THE BEATEN PATH YOU PARK

time-read
1 min  |
September/October 2020
All Together Now
Outside Magazine

All Together Now

MARINE BIOLOGIST AYANA ELIZABETH JOHNSON BECAME A STAR IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT BY DEFTLY COMMUNICATING WHAT FEW PEOPLE UNDERSTAND: THAT CLEANING UP THE PLANET REQUIRES A COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL JUSTICE

time-read
6 mins  |
September/October 2020
In It for the Long Haul
Outside Magazine

In It for the Long Haul

GEAR THAT STANDS THE TEST OF TIME

time-read
1 min  |
September/October 2020