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MISSOULA- The annual Super Grizzly Dip hit the YMCA in Missoula this Saturday.

To jump in ice cold water most people would expect payment but Saturday afternoon, Missoulians shelled out money to jump in for a good cause. All the proceeds were donated to the Special Olympics.

Local celebrities, like our own Angela Marshall and Robin O'Day braved the cold. Some like Sergeant Mark Horner, couldn't get enough. He jumped in twice. Sergeant Horner, nicknamed "iceman", also added a bag of ice to the water for every $100 he had raised...totaling 13 bags.

"Felt okay the first time, came back around jumping in the second time it was cold. So it is true. Warms up when I put it in but when someone else jumps in after me it's a lot colder."

For one Special Olympian the quick dip had a lasting impact. Krishtina Cox said her friends were suprised to hear she had jumped in the water with the Chief of Police but as soon as they found out, they told her how "cool" it was.

And to see the faces of accomplished olympians, like Krishtina, made the event worthwhile to many others.

Krishtina Cox of the National Guard said, "That special olympian just jumping into that, just the face that you see, when they come out of that water. There's nothing more like that."
For Mary Voelz, YMCA Adapative Special Olympics director, seeing the impact of the Super Grizzly Dip is...refreshing

"It's really refreshing to know we'll be able to provide opportunities for athletes for the rest of the year," she said. "To go to competition and travel and train in sports."

Participants were invited to a chili feed in the YMCA building after the event to warm up. As of Saturday the event has raised $40,000.