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Icy Acrobatics / Haute voltige de glace

  • December 23, 2021
  • Mountain Life Media
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For French-language text, click here or scroll down. words :: Frédérique Sauvée.

Three long seconds. Three, two, one, impact! Cold, brutal, harsh. Last March, Quebec high-diving athlete Lysanne Richard launched herself headfirst from a 22-metre platform into a hole dug through the ice of a flooded quarry in Thetford Mines. It was a feat that had never been achieved before and probably never even imagined.

Lysanne Richard hole in ice FREDERIC BLAIS LACOURSIERE
Photo: FRÉDÉRIC BLAIS LACOURSIÈRE

“The cold is what most unsettles me. It’s what most challenges me,” admits the cold-averse mother of three, who was ranked second in the world in high diving before the pandemic. 

Accustomed to diving into temperate water outdoors in summer or into indoor pools in winter, that was her first time in 3°C water. Yet she had trained for the challenge physically and mentally for many long weeks. Repeated cold showers, exercises in ice water and breathing and meditation helped increase her confidence and cold tolerance.

Lysanne Richard wetsuit FREDERIC BLAIS LACOURSIERE
Photo: FRÉDÉRIC BLAIS LACOURSIÈRE

“You have to learn to trick your mind into thinking that everything is fine when the danger of the cold and impact is very real.” The surface of the water is denser and hits harder, despite the efforts of Lysanne’s team on-site to stir the water and prevent it from solidifying on contact with the icy air. 

“The cold makes your muscles contract, affects your reflexes and restricts your range of motion, which is so important in high diving.”

Once on the diving board, enveloped in her ultra-thick wetsuit, Lysanne could clearly see the 8×12-metre oval-shaped opening dug out of the ice, more than 20 metres below her feet. Her target was beautiful and black as ebony. “Despite all the preparation, I suddenly didn’t feel like it. Actually, I was petrified.

Lysanne Richard the dive FREDERIC BLAIS LACOURSIERE
Photo: FRÉDÉRIC BLAIS LACOURSIÈRE

But I had to do it out of respect for the whole team of friends and collaborators who had gotten on board with me for this completely crazy project!” Yet a few seconds before the dive, she was filled with a sense of peace and mindfulness that gave her the strength and willpower to throw her body into the void. Her dive was like an aerial dance with multiple twists and spins. “At that point, everything slowed down for me like a slow-motion sequence thanks to many hours of training and meditation.”

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A post shared by Lysanne Richard (@lysanne_richard)

Then the dreaded impact with the water’s surface came stronger and harder than any she had ever felt. Then the extreme cold—more  paralyzing than any of the icy showers she had taken in previous weeks—gripped her. The team was there to make sure she was okay and hoist her back onto the ice. “All I wanted was a nice hot bath, my first one in months!”

Lysanne Richard the ramp night FREDERIC BLAIS LACOURSIERE
Photo: FRÉDÉRIC BLAIS LACOURSIÈRE

And you know what? Since the jump, she has only one desire—to do it again. Maybe from higher up, maybe in front of spectators this time—maybe at night. She admits to being hooked on daunting feats and new sensations and having a crazy hunger for the grandiose. 


Trois longues secondes. Trois, deux, un, puis c’est l’impact. Froid, brutal, implacable. En mars dernier, l’athlète québécoise de plongeon de haut vol Lysanne Richard s’est élancée d’une plateforme de 22 mètres de haut, tête première, dans un trou creusé à travers la glace d’une carrière inondée à Thetford Mines. Un exploit encore jamais réalisé, sûrement même jamais imaginé auparavant.

« Le froid est l’élément le plus déstabilisant pour moi, c’est celui qui me challenge le plus », admet cette frileuse maman de trois enfants, deuxième au classement mondial de plongée de haut vol avant la pandémie. 

Habituée au plongeon en eau tempérée à l’extérieur l’été ou en bassin intérieur l’hiver, c’était la première fois qu’elle affrontait une eau à 3 °C. Elle s’était pourtant entraînée physiquement et mentalement durant de longues semaines avant son défi. Douches froides à répétition, exercices en eau glacée, respiration et méditation ont contribué à braver avec un peu plus de confiance sa frilosité. « Il faut apprendre à déjouer son esprit, lui faire croire que tout va bien alors que le danger du froid et de l’impact dans l’eau est bien réel. » Car, malgré les efforts de l’équipe de plongeurs sur place à remuer l’eau afin d’éviter qu’elle se solidifie au contact de l’air glacial, la surface de l’eau est plus dense et donc plus percutante. 

« Le froid crispe les muscles, affecte les réflexes
et restreint l’amplitude des mouvements,
si importante en plongeon de haut vol. »

Une fois sur le plongeoir, engoncée dans sa combinaison thermique ultra épaisse, Lysanne pouvait voir distinctement l’ouverture elliptique de 8 mètres sur 12 creusée dans la glace, à plus de 20 mètres sous ses pieds. Une belle cible, noire comme l’ébène, à atteindre. « Malgré toute la préparation, ça ne me tentait plus tout à coup, j’avais très peur, en fait. Mais je devais le faire par respect pour toute l’équipe d’amis et de collaborateurs qui avait embarqué avec moi dans ce projet complètement fou ! » Quelques secondes avant le plongeon, c’est pourtant une sensation de paix qui l’envahit, un état de pleine conscience qui donne le courage et la force d’engager son corps dans le vide. 

Le saut ressemble à une danse aérienne avec de multiples vrilles et pirouettes. « Dans ma tête alors, tout était au ralenti, comme une séquence en slow motion, que j’ai pu vivre ainsi grâce à de nombreuses heures d’entraînement et de méditation. » 

Puis l’impact tant redouté sur la surface de l’eau s’est produit, plus fort et plus dur que tous ceux qu’elle avait ressentis jusque-là dans sa vie. Puis le froid extrême tant redouté l’a saisie, plus paralysant que toutes les douches glacées qu’elle avait prises dans les dernières semaines. L’équipe était là pour s’assurer qu’elle allait bien et la hisser sur la banquise du lac. « Tout ce dont je rêvais, c’était un bon bain chaud, le premier depuis des mois ! »

Et savez-vous quoi ? Depuis ce saut, elle n’a qu’une seule envie : recommencer. Peut-être de plus haut, peut-être devant un public cette fois, peut-être de nuit ? Une dépendance à l’exploit, aux nouvelles sensations, une soif de grandiose totalement givrée, avoue-t-elle !  

Vie en montagne Winter/Spring ’22 Issue Out Now
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