Hair-freezing contest canceled for unusual reason
A hair-freezing contest has been canceled – as it’s not cold enough.
The annual competition is held at the chilly Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs in Yukon, Canada.
Brave souls step into the naturally warmed water and can make hair-raising shapes when their wet locks freeze.
However, temperatures didn’t drop below -20°C during winter, the conditions needed to get the best-frozen hairstyles.
Categories usually range from best female and male, to best group, best facial hair and people’s choice award.
Satyam Jain, spokesperson for the springs, says: “Last winter, it wasn’t cold enough for an extended period, that’s why postponed the contest to this year. We took some photos last year but that wasn’t enough for a proper contest.
“We kick off the Hair Freezing contest as soon as the temperature drops to -20°C or lower. We usually keep an eye on the forecast to see how long the cold temp will last and start the contest anytime between December and March, depending on the temperature.
“If we get a consistent temp -20 in November we can also start the contest in November too, but we all know that won’t happen.
“I believe climate change is definitely a factor. For the hair to freeze like in the photos, it needs to be at least -20°C.
“The colder it is, the better and faster the freezing effect. The best results I’ve seen are at -22°C and below.”
A Yukon University report from 2022 warned that due to climate change temperatures in the region could rise between 0.7 to 3.7 degrees in the next 50 years, leading to warmer winters.
A 2017 Canadian government report said research on climate change showed that temperatures in Yukon have risen at a faster rate than in Canada as a whole.
It reported that in 2016, most of Yukon had average temperatures that were more than 3 degrees Celsius higher than those recorded from 1961 to 1990, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
