'I'm used to the cold' says Danish tourist who rescued men from Yukon lake
Jeppe Lyngaa Aaquist jumped into frigid Kathleen Lake to reach canoeists in distress
Jeppe Lyngaa Aaquist went to Yukon's spectacular Kathleen Lake last weekend hoping to reel in a fish or two.
Instead, he helped land a couple of canoeists who had dumped into the dangerously cold and choppy waters.
"I knew that if I just took my clothes off, I could swim out there and pull them in," said Aaquist, a Dane who has been travelling around Canada on a work and travel visa.
"Back in Denmark when it's wintertime, we go in [swimming] sometimes. So, I'm used to the cold water."
Aaquist was on shore with a couple of friends on Saturday afternoon when they spotted Frank Glass and Donald Francis paddling their canoe a ways offshore. It was windy and the waves were building, so the three friends decided to keep an eye on the canoeists.
They were about to head back to their car when they saw the canoe had capsized.
"We could see that they [were] trying to get in, but it was hard. So we knew we had to react fast," Aaquist said.
"[Glass] was not swimming so much anymore, and there was still maybe 20, 30 meters to the shore."
'I was so high on adrenaline'
Aaquist stripped down and plunged into the water, swimming to the elderly men and helping pull them to shore.
"I was so high on adrenaline, I didn't notice how cold the water was," he said.
They were soon out of the water, but not yet out of danger. It was still a hike back to shelter, and Glass in particular "looked very bad".
Aaquist dressed Glass in his dry clothes and the three friends slowly helped the cold canoeists back to where an ambulance could reach them. Glass was taken to the nearby Haines Junction health centre, where he was checked out.
On Monday, Glass and Francis — both uninjured, though a little rattled — expressed their gratitude for Aaquist's quick and brave actions. Glass said he's convinced he would not have made it to shore alone.
Glass, who lives in Quebec, also said he wants to send his rescuer a bottle of maple syrup every year, as thanks.
"That would be sweet," said Aaquist.
With files from Sandi Coleman