The first line of participants brave the chilly waters of Lake Washington for the 14th annual Polar Bear Plunge at Matthews Beach Park in Seattle on New Year&#8217;s Day, Friday, Jan. 1, 2016. Hundreds of participants took the plunge into an estimated 48-degree Lake Washington, while air temperatures hovered at about 40 degrees during the noontime event.   (Lindsey Wasson / The Seattle Times)