While many south King County residents welcomed the New Year with a single icy dip into Puget Sound, Burien resident Michael Stein-Ross and his son Graham took the challenge much further.
The pair completed what they called a Polar Bear Plunge “Quadfecta” on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, bravely plunging into Puget Sound four separate times at four different locations within three or so hours.
According to Stein-Ross, the father and son began their New Year’s Day at 9 a.m. with a “warm-up” plunge at Seahurst Park Beach in Burien.
From there, they traveled south to Des Moines for a 10 a.m. plunge, followed by an 11 a.m. dip at the Normandy Park Cove.
They completed the Quadfecta with a final plunge at Noon at Three Tree Point, returning to Burien to finish the day’s cold water challenge.
Video/Photos
Polar Bear Plunges are a long-running New Year’s Day tradition, drawing brave, fun-loving people to beaches and shorelines throughout the world and locally.
While most plungers participate in a single event, Stein-Ross and his son opted to take part in all four scheduled plunges along the central Puget Sound shoreline (which could be a record if such records were kept).
The outdoor temperature on Jan. 1, 2026 hovered around 41 degrees, while the waters of Puget Sound were warmer – around a toasty 47 degrees.
The Stein-Ross’ Quadfecta connected four separate community events and highlighted the popularity of the annual New Year’s Day tradition across the region.
Congrats to this intrepid team for this feat, and Happy New Year!
Nice 🙂