Waimea Bouldering (June 6, 2011)

Renowned for its tsunami sized swells in the winter and calm, relaxing beach in the summer, Waimea Bay on the North Shore is a regular escape for both locals and tourists alike. Jumping off Waimea Rock, catching some waves, swimming, sun bathing and rock climbing… Wait a minute, ROCK CLIMBING? Well, to be more specific, bouldering. “Some” simple differences between the two: bouldering is often a short, quick climb, involving little equipment and a quick problem solving approach (See Below); rock climbing on the other hand, is mostly the opposite, where the climber will often use ropes and harness(es) etc, and a longer climb.

David Chat (right) warming up, while Justin Ridgely (left) tackles an advanced bouldering problem. To watch Joe’s video of Justin climbing this problem Click here.

Spending much of my life outdoors in Hawaii, I’m embarrassed to say that I have only recently been introduced to bouldering at the Volcanic Rock Gym(VRG) in Waipio, from my friend David Chatsuthipan. I’ve quickly taken a liking to learning bouldering techniques, as it significantly improves my ability to hike the more vertical trails here in Hawaii. The day’s festivities at Waimea Bay were promoted by Justin Ridgely, owner of the Volcanic Rock Gym, which included a beach clean-up, yoga and bouldering.

The large vertical rock face opposite the beach has several problems, most of which top-out to Kamehmeha Hwy. A few attendees brought crash pads, however the sand was soft/deep enough where they appeared not to need them to break a fall.

Camp was setup next to the overhang, where there are several bouldering problems.

Spiderman, Joe Segal, traversing a long stretch of the rock face from different angles.

Bouldering is “by no means a guy only sport.” Geneva Pearson and Christine Hou can actually put most guys to shame at the Volcanic Rock Gym. Note Frank, Geneva’s spotter dog, cheering her on. hehe.

Matt Lutey climbing over the overhang as Joe Segal films with his GoPro from the top. Click on the photo to view Joe’s sick youtube video of Matt doing “dubstep” and “T-Rex” on this rock face.

One of many awesome dogs in support of today activities, “Tuna-fish”

Being new to the sport, most of the Lost Trailblazers just spectated on the day’s festivities. However, there were much good times to be had, food to be consumed and beer to toasted. I’m hoping to be able to conquer a couple of these problems for the next trip to the North Shore after more sessions at the VRG. For now, we had to decide whether we were going to stand in line at Matusmoto’s or go for a quick in and out at Aoki’s. The above photos depict our decision.

To view more posts on climbing CLICK HERE, or look at the “Climbing Photo Gallery”. To view this location on a Google Map also known as my “Adventure Map“, Click Here. For more adventures of the Lost Trailblazers, either look at my other blogposts and “Adventures with the Lost Trailblazers” photo gallery, or David’s website“UnrealHawaii.com“.