In my book, Lumi and the Wolf, Lumi tries ice swimming with Oskár. The term comes from the Finnish avantouinti, which uses the word swimming even though it’s more of an ice water plunge.

It’s one of my favourite hobbies. I was inspired to try it when my grandma went ice swimming. She did it for thirty winters straight! Here’s a picture of me rolling in the snow after the sauna when I was nine years old. When I moved to Finland, I fell in love with ice-swimming, and I do it every winter, from September to April!

What exactly do I mean by ice-swimming?

I mean going to the sauna and then plunging into a hole cut into the ice.

In deep winter, the hole is usually very small, so I mostly dip in and climb straight back out. Later in spring, when the ice begins to melt, I sometimes swim a little too.

The temperature difference can be almost a hundred degrees: 80 degrees in the sauna and -20 degrees outside! The water itself cannot get much colder than 0 degrees, though, because then it would freeze.

Why do Finns enjoy ice swimming?

I think it comes from old Finnish habits.

When my grandparents were small, they did not have showers or baths at home. Instead, they went to the sauna (often the town sauna, because people didn’t have their own) and washed with rainwater or water from a nearby lake. There are lakes EVERYWHERE in Finland.

In winter, if people wanted to wash, they either melted snow or ice, or they dipped into a frozen lake. To do that, they first had to saw a hole in the ice.

So ice swimming might sound strange now, but for many Finns, sauna and cold water have been part of life for a very long time.

Why do we do it now?

These days, most Finns do not need to jump into a frozen lake to wash, thankfully! We do it because it feels amazing.

The first seconds in the cold water are a huge shock, but afterwards your whole body feels tingly and awake. I feel proud, brave, calm and full of energy all at once.

It is also very social. Finns are often thought of as quiet people, but not in the sauna! People sit together in the heat, chatting, laughing and warming up, then dare each other to go into the water. Because everyone is hot, sweaty and nearly naked, people can feel a bit braver and more honest. Secrets are easier to reveal in a dark sauna, too. That’s why some business meetings are held in saunas.

Some people believe ice swimming can be good for your health, especially your immune system, blood circulation, and mood.

I’d be interested to know if you’d try ice-swimming? Feel free to email me and let me know!