As another frigid winter settles over Minnesota, with temperatures dipping into the teens, people like Ed Kranz are embracing the cold—and working up quite a sweat. Kranz and his wife, Colleen, are among the Minnesotans who believe the best way to endure winter is to heat up in saunas, then cool off in their state's icy weather. On a bone-chilling Sunday morning, they set up a mobile wood-fired sauna from their business, Saunable, near a frozen lake in the Minneapolis suburb of Eagan. After about 10 minutes of sweating in the 185-degree-Fahrenheit sauna, they moseyed outside into the 15-degree temps, lingering around a fire in bathing suits before repeating the process three or four more times. One brave soul dipped into a hole in the frozen lake for a post-sauna cold plunge.
Their hot-and-cold venture is common in Minnesota, where plenty of residents embrace sauna culture for warmth and community, per the AP. Devotees say they're mingling Old World traditions with newfangled internet-based communities, and making social connections in a society that can feel isolating.
- How it works: Sauna and cold plunges go together like peanut butter and jelly, says Glenn Auerbach, a self-described sauna evangelist. A typical temperature to achieve the holy trinity of the sauna experience—heat, steam, and ventilation—is about 180 to 200 degrees.
- Cost: The craftiest in the sauna community can build a facility for about $10,000, according to Auerbach. Those looking to skip the physical labor can outsource the construction. The popularity of saunas, which enthusiasts say spiked following the pandemic, has brought with it a rise in manufacturers selling saunas for about $30,000 to $40,000.
- Internet trend: In addition to a desire for in-person experiences following the pandemic, sauna enthusiasts say interest rose after some of the internet's most famous figures, such as podcasters Joe Rogan and Andrew Huberman, touted it. "Every big podcaster in the world discovered that you could jump in cold water and it feels kind of good. And then people click on it online," says Justin Juntunen, founder of Cedar and Stone Nordic Sauna.
- 'Good heat is contagious': Almost all of sauna adherents say its rise is inextricably linked to a desire for community. Those who committed to building their own saunas have hosted friends, neighbors, and former high school hockey teammates.
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