Hibernation Challenge

🐻 THE KODIAK AWARD 🐻

First introduced in 2024.

The award was crafted using a native burl from the south west region of WA with the help of a fellow Hibernator,

Ryan poured many hours of love into crafting and perfecting the burl to be used as our award!

The casting of the bears head was sourced from a European outlet, but upon arriving we weren’t impressed by the bears colour composition.

With that, we reached out to WA’s hobby painting community. We were lucky enough to have one of WA and Australia’s best hobby painters revamp the colour and painting of the bears head!

We’re proud to have created such a special award to honour the Kodak Bear from each Season. 🐻

🏆 THE BLACK BEAR CUP - honouring the hand ball lord or lordess at our end of challenge retreat. 🎾

There’s been controversy.
There’s been glory
There’s been blood.
There’s been tears.

The cup is a coveted prize for our brother and sister bears to win each year.

Some say the secret technique is to simply not care.

Some train all year round at elevated heights using questionable Russian hand ball techniques.

Many bears enter, one bear leaves! 🐻 🎾

⚔️ IRON SHARPENS IRON! ⚒️



This man, on the right.

Dan. The Iron Bear. Franco.

X2 Iron Bear of The Year Winner.

For many Winters Dan has been the lead Caver taking our Sleuth to the depths of the cave.

Those willing to crash again the cave walls, he’s gate kept the boundaries.

Those who have stumbled, he has helped raise back up.

Those who have lost their way in the darkest of caves, he has been the guiding paw.

Dan is the embodiment of the challenge itself.

We are forever grateful that he guides and leads us.
His work never goes unnoticed.
He is our brother.
Our Den Lead.
And a dear friend to many of us.

🫡 🐻 ⚔️

❤️ 2025, Season 5 marked a special turning point for our wonderful challenge. It was the first year we welcomed the sisters into the challenge.

For 5 years we had women, partners, sisters, mothers, ask about joining. There was so much interest we couldn’t ignore it.

We opened our doors, our dens, our claws, and our hearts to welcome in our sisters.

What unfolded was a blessing. Our dens sisters added such a unique magic and contribution that enhanced not only our challenge, but the community as a whole.

A massive shout out to all the women who stepped into the cave. We love and appreciate you all! ❤️

🐻 A Season 5 highlight was dropping our first hibernation hoodie!

What should we drop this season?

🐻 Throw back to our 2024 end of challenge retreat.

What a marvellous group of men celebrating a hard winters journey! 🫡

Excited for Hibernation 2026?

and flexing out after a beautiful ice bath at

has been a Day 1 of our challenge.

He was there at the inception of the challenge and concept and has remained a stalwart brother all the way through.

George is our gentle giant.
Clam. Powerful. Strong.

We’re privileged to have him journey with us each time he steps into the container!!!

❄️ WINTER IS….well and truly here!

We wish everyone the best in navigating their winters hibernation.

Just like a good ice bath.
It’s uncomfortable.
It’s unforgiving.
It never gets easy.
But those who brave it….
Reap the rewards.

Thus the same applies for those that endure a hard winters training.

A very fitting quote as we start Hibernation SEASON 5 2025.

Take stock of these words and meditate on what is it that you’re addicted to, attached to, or what might be subconsciously engrained into your being right now?

When you remove the vices that do not serve you…. We are left with voids.

These voids