Phil McIntyre Paul and Steve Fabro slid into 2017 in grand style.
The good friends and frequent all-weather paddlers climbed into a canoe and slid down a snowy Canoe Beach slope over the ice and into the icy waters of Shuswap Lake on Jan. 1.
McIntyre Paul is no stranger to cold-weather canoeing.
"I go paddling in the afternoon every Christmas; it's so quiet and peaceful and even the highway is quiet," he says, noting Fabro was away so his sons Ben and Jake joined him on the water.
"This year Steve and I said 'Let's slide into Canada 150,'" laughs McIntyre Paul of his friend who returned in time for New Year's festivities. "If it (the slope) was too steep we wouldn't have done it, but we looked at each other and decided we could do it."
This is not the first time the friends have managed the feat safely, it's just the first time the action has been caught on camera.
McIntyre-Paul says the key to their accomplishment is to begin paddling in the snow so they are already paddling when they hit the water.
An experienced paddle instructor, McIntyre-Paul says winter paddling is not for everyone.
Both he and Fabro are safety-conscious and take precautions seriously.
Layering clothing and wearing life-jackets, the paddlers remain very close to shore where they could walk out of the lake if need be.