Bone-chilling temperatures weren’t enough to keep ten brave people from facing the elements on Feb. 5 for Winter Walk Day.

The annual event is held Canada wide, and the Lethbridge College Be Fit for Life Centre organized this year’s walk at Henderson Lake. Participants met at Japanese Gardens and enjoyed a brisk walk around the lake with piping hot chocolate and tea to warm up with.

Austin Davenport, projects co-ordinator for the Be Fit for Life Centre, says the whole point of the walk is to try and promote physical activity in the wintertime.

“Obviously, when it gets super cold outside, people are less inclined to want to exercise [outdoors] so we wanted to show that it can be done, and it can be done quite easily,” says Davenport.

Alison Pilsner, program administrator for the Be Fit for Life Centre, says the college has been organizing a walk for the last ten years or so and that there’s been a greater turnout in years past.

“This year was weirdly cold… in years past it would be minus 15 and we’d still get 200 people,” says Pilsner. “Usually we bank on about 75, but we’ve had years where it was 100-200. It happens.”

According to shapeab.com, over 148,000 Albertans were registered to participate in this year’s Winter Walk Day, from schools to businesses to senior’s groups. How many actually walked in the -40 C weather is presently unknown, however the only requirement was to get active for at least 15 minutes. The website advises those headed outdoors for a winter walk to dress in breathable layers, wear a hat and warm, waterproof boots and pay attention to the weather forecast and wind chill index.