People looking to start 2011 with a shock to their system can look no further than Driftwood Point Park Saturday. Lake Tapps residents will host a polar bear plunge at 12:30 p.m.

It’s not the first time Scott Thorsteinson, along with his family and friends, has taken an ice-cold dip in the lake. They began the tradition in 2006 after Thorsteinson and his wife moved to the lake. But it is the first time they’re actively seeking a large group to join them.

“Last year we had seven people, I think,” Thorsteinson said. “This year our goal is to get 30 people to join us.”

In the past, the Tapps polar bears dove in at the stroke of midnight. They switched to the afternoon this year to encourage people to come who might otherwise be discouraged by the dark.

It’s a thrilling way to begin the new year, Thorsteinson said.

“At first it’s definitely breathtaking, in that all at once, the cold takes the breath right out of you,” he said. “Then you try to catch your breath quickly because it’s gone.”

His most memorable year is still the first, when he and his wife’s cousin dove into the lake when it had a thin layer of ice on top.

“In the photo of us coming up, our skin was just bright red,” he said.

Interested plungers just need to look for the big group by the water in Driftwood Point. There will be a bonfire to warm up immediately after the plunge.

A Facebook page for the plunge already has 69 people slated to attend.