Last week, Eliot Stephens climbed a new Font 8B+ at Neath Abbey Quarry in South Wales. The 28-year-old crusher has been unstoppable in recent months, climbing Big Paw (f8C) (8B+) and Arzak (f8C) (8C) in late 2019 and From Dirt Grows The Flowers (f8C) (8C) last month.

Eliot's new problem is a link of two existing problems. It starts up an 8A+ that Eliot established last year called The Woodshed (f8A+) and then moves into another problem given 7B+. Eliot told UKC:

'The middle section is probably 4 moves of 8A or 8A+ on their own, with some quite awkward and powerful positions. During the first session, I kind of doubted the possibility of the middle moves, but with some vision from a friend and a bit of tinkering, the moves came together.'

The crux for Eliot was linking all the moves in the middle section together and then having enough left in the tank for the (relatively) easier section.

The problem took Eliot around four sessions this year to complete and that doesn't include the time spent on the two independent problems the previous year.

He has named the problem Húsafell (f8B+) after an Icelandic lifting stone made famous by the World's Strongest Men competitions:

'This boulder felt to me always slightly awkward and powerful at the same time, so it kind of fit. The problem that Húsafell finishes up is called 'Atlas Stone' too, so it only seemed right to continue the theme!'