Steam and ice thrills at Finnish sauna club

Stepping naked out of the sauna, steaming bodies walk purposefully towards a hole in the ice to plunge into the Baltic Sea. Minutes later they emerge lightheaded, savouring a typically Finnish high.

“It feels very good, and it’s legal,” says Jussi, as he admires the sunset, sitting naked on a bench after his freezing dip.

At the exclusive Helsinki Suomen Saunaseura (the Finnish Sauna Society), a strict egalitar-ianism reigns.

A few years ago, President Martti Ahtisaari, who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize, was repeatedly called “Mr President” by a man just as naked and sweaty as himself. At first he did not react. Then he turned to him and said: “Are you talking to me? Nice to meet you, I’m Martti.”

The anecdote perfectly illustrates the atmosphere at the Suomen Saunaseura, says society president Seppo Pukkila.

Mr Pukkila is more than the president, owner or manager of a private club where double sponsorship is required to join. All importantly, he is also in charge of the temperature.