Red Bull Jump and Freeze
Punters plunge into icy waters at Gudauri winter resort

Skiiers and snowboarders wearing creative costumes showed off their downhill tricks before plunging into icy water at Georgia’s Gudarui winter resort at the latest international challenge by Red Bull.

Georgia’s iconic winter playground hosted the 2016 Red Bull Jump and Freeze spectacle on Sunday, where all types of personalities careered down a slope and performed a trick before landing in a frigid pool of water, all while wearing a creative costume.

A participant dressed as a character from the 2001 animation film Monsters, Inc. jumps into the pool during the competition. Photo by David Mdzinarashili/Reuters.

Organised by Red Bull Georgia and hosted by Gudauri Ski Resort, the contest featured 20 teams of skiers or snowboarders who slid down a short slope before a springboard launched them into the freezing water.

The contestants competed for a number of awards including Best Jump and Creative Team, while several 2017 winter season passes for Gudauri winter resort from the Mountain Resorts Development Company of Georgia were up for grabs, as were gift vouchers from the event's partners.

A skiing man wears a costume of the fairytale character Little Red Riding Hood. Photo by Nick Paniashvili.

Rules stated teams must include three participants, and both males and females took advantage of the winter fun.

Some dressed up as fairytale characters, while others wore Georgian national dress. Some participants also wore historic costumes depicting ancient Pharaohs.

The Car Mechanic Girls team pose after their show. Photo by Nick Paniashvili.

Teams chose creative names for themselves, including Car Mechanic Girls, We Were Four but Rules Said Three and Pirates.

The Red Bull event took advantage of the recent heavy snow in Georgia's winter resort, which has extended the season slightly longer than usual.

A contestant with special makeup swims after taking his plunge into the pool. Photo by Reuters.

This was the second time the Red Bull Jump and Freeze event has come to Georgia. The first time event of this kind was held in Gudauri in 2013.

In recent years the event has been hosted in a range of countries including Lebanon and Ukraine.