Taking the plunge: Omar tries free-diving in frigid waters of ice-covered quarry

I get to Morrison's Quarry in Chelsea, Que., just north of Ottawa,on a cold andblustery day.It feels like21 with the wind chill, andPhilip Beauchamp is chainsawing a portal into the icy water below.

We're about to jump in.

This is an extreme sport. Free-diving means no air supply you needjust one big breathand a whole lot of lung capacity.

Without supervision, things can turn bad in a heartbeat.

"It's the kind of thing you don't do just because you feel like it. You need to be certified. You need to know what to do," says Philip Beauchamp, a free-dive instructor forApnea City.

'What limits you is your state of mind'

Beauchamp is one of the best. His record is 75 metres, and that's about threeminutes of dive timeon a single breath.He assures me most people can hold their breath much longer than they think, and in a single weekend he says he can teach newbies to hold their breath for about twominutes.

"Most of the time what limits you is your state of mind rather than your breath hold," Beauchamp says.

So, why free-divein winter?

The ice covering Morrison'sQuarry keeps the water undisturbed. The sheet of ice filters the light and blankets the plane and car wreck below in shades ofturquoise and pink. This is an aquatic playground unlike any other.

"The visibility that we get here is equivalent to what we get in the Caribbean. It's worth enduring the cold because the visibility is amazing. You'll never get that in summer," saysFrancois Leduc, another free-dive instructor at Apnea City.

'The worst five minutes of your life'

I get suited up to see this for myself. Is it cold? Yes. Absolutely.

Layered in a wetsuit,I plunge in. My body hyperventilates. I'm breathing in short, sharp spurts. My muscles twitch. My face stings.

"The first five minutes are pretty much the worst five minutes of your life," Beauchamp tells me.

Then my body thermoregulates. My hands and feet tingle,but I feel pretty good.

"As long as there's pain and sensation it's fine. Eventually if it starts to freeze, the pain goes away. If it gets to that point, you stop. You get out of the water," saysLeduc.

The team from Apnea City go under. On one breaththey dive down eightmetres, enter the underwater plane wreck and hang out for a while to check out the scenery.

Panic sets in

My challenge is much more modest. I just want to touch that planebut it looks dangerously far away. I take a deep breath, kick my flippers and plunge underneath. Halfway there, the panic sets in. I rush back to the surface.

Beauchamp is smiling.

"Stay calm once you're underwater. I know that sounds harder than it may seem, but the more you do it, the more you get used tothe experience," he tells me.

The next three tries are failsbut they've got me hooked. Under Beauchamp's close watch, I get closer and closer. On the fourth tryI actually manage totouch the wreck, and I feel like I could stay here a lot longer. It's quiet, colourful and bright.

Oh, and the cold? We've now been playing underwater for more than half an hourI guess time really does fly when you're having fun. But I can't feel my feet or hands very well anymore. And that means one thing:time to get out!

Have you enjoyed this tale of winter fun? Check out Omar's attempts at fat biking in the snow, and his experience with snowshoe running.