STOCKHOLM – 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 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 -18 degrees – but the monotony, even though they were allowed to come down for 10-minute toilet breaks every other hour.