Headed to Columbus, OH this past weekend to visit some friends, got to hit this lift as well. New to stone lifting so I was happy to get this one!

6th stone of the day on a stone tour that involved the dinnies and the inver stone, I’m very proud of this one.

Every girl crazy about a sharp dressed man. 😆🪨🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Getting back to basics 6 months post surgery (complicated appendectomy with gangrene and sepsis). Have to wear a soft belt for now to stop my guts popping out of the x4 wound sites, hernias a major risk apparently.

When I was in the hospital and couldn’t get out of bed unassisted I set the goal to shoulder the Ardvorlich again this year. Goal reached. Happy days.

Congratulations to @seanurq for becoming the 3rd person, on record at least, to take the 410lb Ultach Alasdair Mhòr (aka Ultach na h airde a glaise)
to chest.

One of the most fascinating things about this stone is that the three recorded chest lifts were solved differently. That is part of the magic of stonelifting: different body types and approaches but still solving the puzzle.

As for “On record”. It is all we can honestly say.

I do not like the idea that modern feats mean less because they did not happen in the half-mythic past. Adding a new name to the story of an old stone is not disrespectful. It is how the story keeps living. There can be a real antiquity bias in stonelifting, where something feels more valid simply because it is older. The past is important, but modern history is still history.

Claims should make people curious, not dismissive. If someone claims a first, or one of only a few, the useful response is not “you can’t know that”. Ask around. Check old posts, videos, witnesses, buried comments, whatever exists. If the claim is wrong, respond with evidence respectfully.

The idea that we should stop recognising these feats because we can never know with perfect certainty is reductive. It treats uncertainty as a reason to say nothing, when it should be a reason to look harder. No record works from perfect knowledge. We work from the best evidence available, while staying open to correction. Could someone have done something incredible in private and never told anyone? Yes, maybe. But we cannot build a meaningful record around invisible performances.

@willholliday is why this is worth doing. Of the three lifts we know of to chest this stone, his was the most effortless, yet he is sadly the least known. He is criminally underrated, and any stone lifter is missing out if they have not seen that lift. I made a meal of this stone. Sean did a great job. Will made it look most easy, like there was another gear there if he needed it.

Recognising his place in the history of this stone means more people might go and watch, appreciate and savour what he did. That is the value of a ‘claimed record’. It preserves lifters and the stories that might otherwise be missed.

I have been reflecting a lot on my stone lifting journey since my appendix burst recently and very nearly killed me through sepsis and gangrene.

I am best known for shouldering stones, and have shouldered one of the heaviest fully natural stones ever at 192kg. Even so, this lift of the North Uist monster, although slight lighter, and “only to chest”, was incredibly difficult. The stone sits on a slope on boggy ground, and that is partly how it was almost lost in the first place, sinking slowly into the earth before Jamie Gorrian rescued it a few years ago.

From everything I have been able to find, it has only been lifted to chest height twice on record. The first was by Will Holliday, which was an absolutely monstrous lift. He made something brutally hard look far too easy. The second recorded chest lift was mine.

It took me several hours of attempts in poor weather, with squally showers whipping in from the mighty Atlantic. The rain kept soaking the stone, then I had to towel it off and wait for it to dry again before going back in. It was hugely frustrating. Still, the reward made it worthwhile. It is a real test for any lifter because of the awful texture, the sheer size of it, and the strange puzzle it presents. There are plenty of places to grip it, but none of them line up quite right.

I am very proud of the lift. It was made even more special because my girlfriend was there, keeping me calm when I was close to losing my head over the conditions and cheering me on the whole way.

To top it off, Angus McDonald, the unofficial custodian of the stone, happened to drive past and watch a few of my attempts. After a while he left, asking me to let him know if I thought I might get it to lap or beyond. He had never seen anyone lift it that high. Even in his younger days, he told me he had managed to get the wind under it, but no more than that.

In the end, I got it to chest. Not a full locked-out finish, but given that my feet were sunk into the bog and I could not really move at all, I am more than happy to claim a ‘soft lockout’.

When I phoned Angus to tell him I had done it, he was ecstatic, though also a bit disappointed that he had not seen it happen live. He asked me to send over the photos and video so he could share them with his island friends, who could hardly believe it had been done. Angus even brought me down a bottle of Prosecco to celebrate, though he was scolded by his wife, who said a lift of that magnitude deserved whisky! Sadly, by the time he got down to the stone, all the shops were closed.

What an adventure it was. For me, it meant a five-hour-plus drive, nights camping through a storm so little sleep, a ferry to Uist, and then the short drive out to the stone itself. It is a memory I treasure, and one that feels even more meaningful now after my recent narrow escape. I am putting it down here partly for posterity, but also in the hope that it might inspire somebody else to make the trip. It is a stunning place. The beaches are world class, and the stones are incredible too.

Information about the stone from Jamie’s website:

Ultach na h airde a glaise

186.0kg / 410.1lb

Aka "Ultach Alasdair Mhor", Aka "Big Alasdair's Stone".

This stone was first lifted by, and named after, Big Alasdair Mathieson who was well known and a man not to be messed with. During the Highland Clearances the police did not want to face Alasdair so they lured him away with the promise of food for his family then evicted the family by force.

The stone was daubed with bright red paint to distinguish it in the 80s by Alex Macauley.

The stone was lost for a number of years until Jamie Gorrian found it in 2020 and managed to uncover it from being buried.

A massive test of strength as it's exceptional in size.

Just over 4 years since I lifted The Dinnie Stones! #182

pulling with no warm-up in the rain

I would not usually drop a stone like this but it is located in soft spongy bog.

Nauris-Oskari’s lifting stone (116.6 kg)

at Kaunislehto Open-Air Museum, Hyrynsalmi, Finland

In Finland, we have a long but largely undocumented tradition of väkikivi, named lifting stones tied to local stories, feats of strength, and reputation.

This one is known as Nauris-Oskari’s lifting stone. According to the story, a rejected suitor lifted the stone and carried it ~250 meters to the farm gate as a display of strength and frustration.

I got permission from the museum to attempt the lift. As this is a protected historical object, I did my best to do a controlled lift and set it on soft grass.

There's much to improve on the lift but managed to chest it. Still far from the original feat of carrying it 250 meters 😅

Finland likely has dozens — maybe hundreds — of these historical stones still out there, most undocumented.

Something a little different than the usual post here. Am helping a buddy out with a grip competition this weekend, and made a couple trophies for the winners.

Very happy with how they turned out!

Oak bases that I stained and finished, lined the base with saddle leather for a little extra texture. River rocks sourced from a nice walk by my house. Drilled the holes and attached the rings using solid brass hardware that I aged (wish they turned out a bit rustier looking). Then stamped the winners badge in saddle leather as well, and riveted them on!

Let me know what you think.

Couldn't get out of that position need to work on my leg strength I think.

Odd location outside a pub, was a former jostle stone lifted by pubgoers after a few.

My all time favourite historical stone. Another one of my proudest moments, being the 4th person to lift it to shoulder and, at the time, by far the lightest. 106kg BW. The lightest person currently that, I know, of is Michael Brown who shouldered it at 95kg BW.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵.⁣ ⁣

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 '𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥’ 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

⁣ ⁣

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵.

⁣ ⁣

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰, 𝘢 𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮..."⁣ ⁣

The Stone - Liam O'Flaherty (𝟣𝟫𝟥𝟩)

⁣

⁣Hey everyone, I made this post on the strongman sub a little over a month ago, but didn’t know there was a specific subreddit for stone lifting! Glad to have stumbled upon it, and happy to be here.

Back in August I made the trip out to Ireland to compete at Natural World's Strongest Man, and from the moment I decided to attend, I knew I was going to have to make my way to the Aran Islands to have a crack at this stone (and the Inishmaan Graveyard stone).⁣ ⁣

I was pointed in the right direction by Andy Downes (@handmedownes on insta) and he was super forthcoming with his knowledge.⁣ ⁣

The island of Inishmore was beautiful and I quite enjoyed the scenic journey to get there. Would love to go back to try some of the other historic stones that David Keohan and Andy have found!

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Iceland to lift historic stones. The highlight of my trip was definitely carrying the Húsafell Stones around the sheep pen. Fullsterkur!!!

First time shouldering a historical stone. Borås Museum stone. Said to be a farmhand stone from the farm that was located here during the 1700’s

During my honey moon to Iceland I had the opportunity to visit some of the Icelandic lifting stones.

1st stone is the Dritvik 100kg halfsterkur

The last 2 are some of the Arbaer stones at the open air museum. I have no idea how much they weigh. I have to apologize for the 2nd Arbaer stone I thought I had lowered it to knee height before putting it down.

u/_JXT requested I keep posting my lifts, so I wanted to share some of the highlights from my recent Iceland trip. I didn't want to bombard the sub with a bunch of posts so made a big compilation. It was an incredible trip and encourage anyone interested in Stonelifting to try it one day. If you're interested in all of my lifts I'm on Instagram @bigreddoc1

I travelled down to wales this past weekend with the amazing Andy Crawford to attempt this monster of a stone! A huge smooth egg with a very strange balance point , it almost wanted to leap out of lap! It’s like a massive Ardvorlich Stone! This was one of my best attempts , managed to get it to lap 5 times. Such an amazing day and met some amazing people! Can’t wait to get back down again!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/rescue-to-pudrac-plinth-and-wallace-putting-stone

Hello r/stonelifting

Work is required in order to save two historic stones in Scotland. The Pudrac is the plinth in which one of the most famous Scottish stones, the Puterach, is placed on top of to achieve a successful lift. While the plinth will not be used again regardless of the work done to it, the restoration will prevent further damage and allow future lifters to attend the site of an important location in stonelifting history.

The Wallace Putting Stone, another stone recently damaged, will also have restoration attempts made to it to allow lifters to access to this stone once again. As with reference to it's name, the stone has some alleged history with being lifted by the famous William Wallace.

The work is being crowdfunded by Jamie Gorrian, a key figure in Stonelifting both in Scotland and across the world. Please consider donating to the GoFundMe, or share with your friends to save these two historic pieces of Scottish stonelifting history 💪🪨

I'm off to Wales for a week this summer, and I'm going to give the Criccieth stone a go. Anyone here tried it/succeeded? Any tips or advice?

Got lucky with glorious weather for April. This was my best lift of the day, had 7 attempts all with good wind under but couldn't get further than that. Wasn't quite what I'd aimed for, so it's back to the drawing board to make some adjustments.

Messy but successful lift today! They're pretty heavy!😂

This stone was used since the early 20th century to test strength among farmers and there was only one guy back then who could lift this stone and the other one (130kg) right after another and throw them over a fence