# In Lapland, a ski lift carried a sauna up the mountain, with people in swimsuits inside.

- Series: [Saunantakaa](https://miu.fm/saunantakaa.md)
- Published: 2026-10-13
- Place: [Helsinki](https://miu.fm/helsinki.md)
- Page: https://miu.fm/saunantakaa/in-lapland-a-ski-lift-carried-a-sauna-up-the-mountain-with

## Story

In Lapland, a ski lift carried a sauna up the mountain, with people in swimsuits inside.

In 2008 one of the gondola cabins at Ylläs was a sauna. It was heated through a power socket, the bathers rode in swimsuits with warm clothes on board, and there was a fire extinguisher. Thirteen minutes, up and down.

Saunas have gone into buses, boats and even bicycles. Then Helsinki made one go round: a 40-metre Ferris wheel by the harbour, with one wooden gondola that is a sauna for four or five people. One lap takes about twelve minutes. On a Saturday the hour costs 320 euros.

So who was first? Helsinki calls its SkySauna the first sauna on a Ferris wheel. Ylläs calls its cabin the only sauna in a gondola lift in the world. Both are right. Different machines.

There is just one small detail. The Ferris wheel sauna is closed in winter, November to March. In Finland.

A Finn hears this and nods slowly. Then he walks home, to a sauna that does not close.

Would you ride it?

Sources: SkyWheel Helsinki, skywheel.fi (SkySauna prices and the November to March closure, 2026); Wikipedia, Finnair SkyWheel and Ylläs; Vol.at, 30 July 2008, on Doppelmayr's sauna gondola at Ylläs. The "world firsts" are each venue's own claim.
Sounds: Freesound (CC0): keng-wai-chane-chick-te, dmartinp, greatsoundstube, evanmack01, ivolipa, bone666138, newagesoup, am7, Melilaura, douglasbruce@look.ca, Junikaefer, kyles, Vrymaa, justjare, Jadester64, bruno.auzet, NightVoice, j_p_higgins. Yle Arkisto (autumn forest, water, winter wind, steps in the snow), CC BY 4.0.

## Watch

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## Nearby

- [Lautta sumussa](https://miu.fm/pienisuurikyla/lauantai-iltana-3-10-2026-suomenlinnan-etelapuolinen.md) (Suomenlinna, 3 km)
- [Kuka katosi autojen takapenkiltä?](https://miu.fm/kylalegendat/kuka-katosi-autojen-takapenkilta.md) (Espoo, 16 km)
- [Tänään: Gateway Arch valmistui](https://miu.fm/pienisuurikyla/tanaan-61-vuotta-sitten-torstaina-28-10-1965-eero-saarisen.md) (Kirkkonummi, 28 km)

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