Sweat again

First, Congratulations ski fans on Lindsey Vonn's (fomerly of Buck Hill, Minnesota) victory in the World Cup to make her the most successful US woman skier ever.

Now, to business.
Tuesday was sauna day again. (They say that back in the Old Days of Europe the Rus were the cleanest people around. This was all thanks to their love for the sauna, the purpose of which was to chase the bone-charring cold out of a person's very soul. The bonus was cleanliness.) I went, again, since it is the best, culturally relevant way to build relationships. The bonus is that it keeps my foot in the door for Sunday afternoon sports day (basketball and soccer) which I find much more interesting than sauna in terms of meeting new people.

So, the sauna is a small room, panelled in pine or cedar. Temps in a good sauna start at 212F. Yeah, I never thought it was possible to be in a room that hot and I'm sure you could make antelope jerky in 24 hours or less, but really is the minimum optimal temperature.

After a good sweat the beatings begin. This consists of a flogging with oak branches, which have been previously dried with their leaves on, (a few other types of foliage are also used). These are soaked in hot water and become soft again. The thrashing isn't all that painful except for the heat which becomes like a convection oven. After it's over your skin is red and even welted.
You're thinking "But 'Why do this?'"
"I don't have a clue", I answer, "it's just like the complicated grammar of the Russian language: nobody knows for sure why."

And then there's the cold water pool. After the heat gets to be too much you cool off in the pool. This is a pretty big 'pond' 10' x 10' and 6' deep. The water is somehow colder than ice water. I know this because there is a lake where we do the sauna. During one of our cool-offs we went to the lake and dipped in through a hole in the ice; the pool was colder.
In fact, it's so cold that you dont' want to get too far from the ladder because after 5 seconds your muscles stiffen so much you can barely get up the ladder. Really.

Well, there's some sauna stuff. I'm headed for basketball this Sunday so I hope to make some new connections there.