The 10th annual Alki Beach Polar Plunge on New Year's  Day proved to be popular with more than 500 people who shed most of their clothes even though the outside temperature hovered around 36 degrees. The water was actually warmer in the 40's as the mass of otherwise sane people were led by White Center's Mark Ufkes for around thirty seconds.

Many have come for years to the event. 

Ufkes said this could have been the biggest yet and, "It's a great way to wash away the complexities of the last year, and reaffirm the unlimited possibilities the new year brings to our lives."