Schutte swims a mile in waters below 4 degrees Celcius

Cecilia Schutte

But for Schutte this was just the beginning of her winter swim challenges. She was setting her sights on the highest mountain range in SA, the Drakensberg mountains. Her swim took place at the Afri-Ski resort in Lesotho at one of the highest swimmable lakes in the mountain range on Tuesday morning, 30 July 2013.

She had to undergo rigorous prepping for such an icy swim. She trains outdoors combining ocean and pool training along with specialised Virgin Active dry land training programmes as part of her routine. Just Wednesday, 24 July, she sat in a big plastic container, set up as an icy bath at I&J in the V&A Waterfront Cape Town for 12min at a water temperature averaging at -0.2C!

"The ice bath was the coldest water I have been in to date, painfully freezing esp in the hands. But the the swim at Afri-Ski in Lesotho was the coldest water I had ever swum in and of course doing it at altitude was totally new to me," says Schutte.

Inspiring others to push their limits

It is Schutte's mission in life to inspire people to shrug off their fear of conquering the elements and push the boundaries of the body's capacity to survive. And use this new-found strength to change the conditions they find around them.

"We had locals watching the swim, as the word got out that someone was going to do a swim in the icy waters of the lake. People watched in amazement, never having seen anything like it. Some people came up to me and told me how they have gotten inspired to push for their goals they have set out in life, and that if I can swim in these cold conditions and push the mind to overcome what the body is protesting, that they can do the same. This was really inspiring to me and what I hope to achieve with my extreme pioneer swims. I really felt I have accomplished part of my goal: to inspire young men and women to push their own boundaries, and to use their own talents to better the conditions of others," says Schutte.

The swim was for drug awareness and in particular, NGO, Narconon who run drug education and drug prevention programmes in schools and the community nationally. "I understand that many people in SA and abroad have been touched by the effects of drugs on our youth, friends and family. It's a massive issue that has to be addressed and handled effectively," says Schutte.

She had to contend with extreme alpine conditions; this along with overcoming swimming at a high altitude was a daunting task. She was assisted by Roxy Van Eyck from Big Bay Events with water safety during the swim as this is crucial to make sure the person does not lose consciousness or lose focus of their surroundings.

Breaking the ice

The swim was delayed in the morning, as the buoys that were set out the day before had got frozen into the thick ice from the freezing weather conditions of the night before, therefore blocking off part of the course she had to do for the mile swim. "We had to get Roxy a spade to break the ice as her paddle was not heavy or hard enough and progress was slow, it was so thick she had to consistently bang the ice to try to break it up.

"During the swim I had to remind myself to breathe a bit deeper and swim at a slow and steady pace as this was also an altitude swim; coming from Cape Town which is at sea level it really felt different to exercise at a higher altitude. I had to swim slower around the buoys and change my stroke to breaststroke to wade through the shards of ice we had to break up for my swim. This was something new to me, to push the ice aside to get to the buoy," says Schutte.

"My core temperature had dropped for the first time below 31C. Thanks to Medi-Clinic's Dr Sean Gottschalk, local Drakensberg paramedic Akhlaaq Husain Salee and Dr Bruce Harris who also helped prepping my muscles for the swim, I was safely monitored consistently through the recovery phase after the swim. The monitoring consists of checking the heart rate and the body temperature periodically. The first 20 minutes after the swim being the most dangerous part, as your core temperature drops further due to the warming process that allows the cold blood to flow through the veins again. The swim could not have taken place successfully without the help of Wingfield Motors and The Doc in Parklands, it really takes a team to set up such an event successfully and therefore set a platform to create change in various ways in our community and in this case for drug awareness programs," says Schutte.

Schutte has achieved a number of accomplishments in swimming in icy waters, pioneering the sport for other extreme swimmers like herself. The Drakensberg swim was to prepare her for a global project she is planning, so watch this space! With her track record of good work and sheer perseverance, there is little doubt that this warm-hearted lass will break the ice in new territories. The challenge is on!

For further information, future sponsorships or to contact Cecilia Schutte directly email moc.ettuhcsailicec@ofni or go to www.ceciliaschutte.com.