Viking Stonelifting Challenge

[Bill Crawford]

Hi guys and sorry this didn't go out earlier but here is a quick report on the trip to Iceland. As most of you guessed a detailed account of the trip will be in the September Milo.
We traveled 1000 miles in 4 days and we lifted 13 named stones. I have assigned numbers to each of the 7 stone sites.
Day 1) 1) Dritvik Stones (4 stones) up to the 160 kg stone. I was happy to lift the largest of the Dritvik stones again. Roger was able to shoulder the 100kg #3 stone. Petur lifted the stone with his fingers locked in the old Icelandic way and that was very impressive.
Day 2) 2) Stones of Latra (4stones 97 to 177 kg). You have to lift them up to a plinthe (that is Roger's fancy word so ask him what that means) and carefully stack the stones. I was happy to complete the task however gingerly due to some pain in my left bicep. One of the highlights of the trip was to see Roger fight the 140kg stone for 20 minutes and lift it onto the stone platform, uh I mean plinthe. 3) Judas Stone - 130 kg stone lifted to chest. 4) Brynjolfstak - 281 kg stone lifted off the ground. Happy to get that one up but lift of the day with that stone was to see Tony Aitchison quickly and easily pull the stone up a foot off the ground, truly impressive.
Day 3) My favorite day. 5) Petursstein - 200+ kg block of slate lifted by Petur and myself. Roger found the stone after we climbed a cliff up to one of Iceland's great waterfalls, the Fjallfoss. We lifted the stone onto a plinthe (I like that word) in the most dramatic scenery. 6) Leggstein (Tombstone) in Heydalur. A 220 kg, smooth beast that I thought my arms would come out of the sockets but was able to make a full lap with the stone around the farmers grave.
Day 4) 7) Husafell - cold and rainy but we were ready. Stefan Solvi Petursson made fullsterkur with the stone. Congratulations. I was feeling good and cruising at about the 3/4 mark when I heard an audible sound from my left arm, like velcro. I dropped the stone and then lifted it two more times but was unable to bear weight on the arm.
In the end this was more epic than imagined. I think if you talk to any of the team we truly made The Brotherhood of Stone proud. I know the others feel what I have been talking about, the bond comes from lifting stones and particularly going to these great stone sites.
I will be having surgery to repair my torn left biceps tomorrow. A small price to pay to be part of history. So I will be out of stonelifting commission for a while. Plus, I will consider my scar a tattoo courtesy of Kviahellan.
Fullsterkur, Bill