Swedish ice pole-sitting contest has 6 winners

[February 11, 2013]  STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Six contestants have braved butt-numbing cold and boredom to win an annual ice pole-sitting contest in northern Sweden.

Two women and four men shared the 20,000-kronor prize ($3,100) for remaining on 8.25-foot-tall (2.5-meter) blocks of ice during the 48-hour contest, which ended Saturday.

Competitors said the worst part of the competition was not the cold -- temperatures dipped below minus 18 F (minus 28 C) -- but the monotony, even though they were allowed to come down for 10-minute toilet breaks every other hour.

Organizer Annica Andersson said the contest has been held annually for a dozen years, and was brought to the Swedish town of Vilhelmnina by a local resident who had participated in a similar competition in Russia.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.