That's a really difficult question because the Husafell is so different to a barbell - along with the fact you have to carry it 35m. There are aspects of grip and wingspan involved, too.
I say this as someone who hasn't touched the Husafell in Iceland (yet), so take it with a pinch of salt: From what I've seen, if you haven't hit a ~200kg (440 lb) squat and a ~250kg (550 lb) deadlift, you might struggle with the Husafell stone.
A bit of both. Scotland definitely has a concentration of stonelifters in the community. But there are plenty of stones that I haven't added to the map (in Iceland, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, and Japan especially). I try to branch out to other countries and cultures as possible.
Yeah, I speak a little Japanese, so I was able to ask one of the people working at the museum.
It really depends on the shrine. Some explicitly allow lifting and some have stones that you're not allowed to touch. So it's best to ask in just about every case.
Those are fair points. I guess the audience I wrote this article for is people who are already aware of stonelifting and who are planning to go and lift some stones. I've added a TODO to make it a little more clear in this article.
>From what I gather, this is more about lifting stones in public places than, say, using stones in your own personal gym? With an emphasis on historic stones?
Exactly!
A stonelifting tour is when you visit a place (often a country like Scotland or Iceland) to lift various historic stones on the same trip. Sometimes that's with other lifters.
Like the other reply, stones range in sizes and weights. Even if you're not massive, there are plenty of more accessible historic stones. You obviously tend to hear about the heaviest and most challenging ones that giants lift.
One of the most inspiring (and insane) feats of strength I've ever seen was Chloe Brennan's lift of the Replica Dinnie Stones (weighing 333kg (734 lb)) in 2022. She weighed ~64kg (140 lb): https://youtu.be/CRaEALQSxTI?&t=434
I do add some monuments. For Japanese stones, I'm a little more conservative about adding them, generally. I'll be adding the Hida no Sato stones to the map alongside the article though.
As for Benelux, I'm not aware of any historic stones. There is one person who set up a stonelifting challenge in Belgium. Feel free to email me (via the contact email on the site) and I can share more info if you want it.
Funnily enough, I went to Hida no Sato in May to visit the stones (the museum itself is great too)! They're going to be the subject of one of my future articles. The stones at Hida folk village are lighter than most, but the setting makes them wonderful. I got permission to lift of course. That's the key really - especially with Japanese stones when they're often in shrines.
Stoneland, Fullsterkur, and Levantadores are many people's introduction to stonelifting. They're wonderful documentaries. Martins Licis (2019 World's Strongest Man) also produces some great documentaries related to stonelifting and other obscure strength sports with "Strength Unknown" that I recommend to anyone interested.
I'm don't know of any events in South East Asia - although I wouldn't be surprised if there were some. Japan, China, South Korea, and India all have stonelifting cultures, so it wouldn't be odd to see it elsewhere in Asia.
I've been (mostly lurking) on Hacker News for about a decade, so I visit pretty often. I only caught it this time because of a traffic spike notification.