O'Hara resident to provide mobile sauna at James Sharp Landing in Sharpsburg on Saturday afternoons

One way to deal with freezing temperatures is to step into a sauna.

Those courageous enough to brave the elements will have a unique opportunity to do just that throughout the next several weeks in Sharpsburg.

O’Hara resident John Barbour plans to set up his mobile sauna at James Sharp Landing, the recreation site off Main Street and along the Allegheny River, from noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays Feb. 12 through April 2.

“The wintertime is actually an appropriate time,” Barbour said. “That’s the time where people truly enjoy sauna. In Pittsburgh, where there is no sauna culture, people are disinterested in the summertime. Who would get in the sauna when it’s hot outside?”

Barbour, 67, builds saunas through his business, Warm Timber Saunas & Wine Cellars. He started the company about eight years ago after retiring as an investment broker and certified financial planner.

The one he plans to bring to the landing is a white box-trailer, inside of which is an 8-by-6-foot room appointed with western red cedar benches that seat about six people. In one corner is a small, wood stove fed with birch logs. There also is a small dressing room.

There’s a bucket and a ladle inside for people who wish to put water on the heat source for a blast of humidity.

Barbour said the ideal temperature is between 170 and 185 degrees.

Recommended use is between 10 to 20 minutes, or when it starts to become uncomfortable.

People who plan to use the sauna should bring two towels, one to sit on while inside and the second to dry off with.

Barbour said he has used the mobile sauna for private functions and never had it available at a public location.

He hopes to foster what he called a “thermaculture,” or interest in saunas.

“The regular Joe and Jane don’t have an opportunity (like this), particularly if they don’t have money or the means to have a sauna in their own house,” Barbour said. “Expose more people to saunas that might not otherwise be able to afford it.”

Barbour has built sauna rooms from Minnesota to Maryland, including several locally in Glenshaw and Squirrel Hill. He is scheduled to make one in Idaho and has multiple other projects planned for this year.

He said the business has become busier now more than ever before.

“There has been a convergence of people getting it, studies showing what we’ve known all along,” Barbour said. “You get an aerobic benefit, and that’s been demonstrated scientifically.”

Studies have shown the use of saunas can reduce the risk of vascular diseases such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke and neurocognitive diseases, according to a report in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Councilwoman Carrie Tongram said she hopes people take advantage of this unique opportunity.

“I’ve been in saunas before and enjoyed them,” she said. “I will check it out for sure. I’m hoping people in town have the chance to see what it’s all about. I think it is a unique offering for sure.”

A video of the mobile sauna featuring various photos of its interior and people using it was posted on Barbour’s business’ YouTube page.

Email john@warmtimber.com for more information and to make reservations.

Proof of residency will be required for free use.