Climbing

Conveniently situated near/on the University of Hawaii at Manoa's campus, the UH boulders are a short ~10 minute hike off of Dole Street, at the base of Waahila Ridge... I recently had the opportunity to visit two bouldering walls (East and West) here, that have been well-known for sometime. There are several traverse and top-out problems on either. The "West Wall" is slight graded in the mauka direction, and landings can be precarious. However, there are several somewhat weather-resistant mattresses that are there for use in addition to your own crash pad(s). The landing for the "East Wall" are pretty...

STAY TUNED!!! A fairly new bouldering spot in Honolulu, the Town Boulders have been getting some recent attention by climbers who frequent the Volcanic Rock Gym. Feel free to view the Photo Gallery, until the post is finished. To view more posts on climbing CLICK HERE, or look at the "Climbing Photo Gallery". To view more photos from the town boulders , CLICK HERE. 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...

To tell you the truth, I haven't had much experience bouldering outdoors... probably not even double digits yet, haha. However, whenever there is a chance to learn from the professionals (e.g., Matt lutey, Matt Rimroth, Nick Testa, and Phil Langford, etc.), I quickly seize the opportunity. A fairly new site called "Angel's boulder," has been getting some recent attention from local boulderer enthusiasts, particularly those who frequent the Volcanic Rock Gym in Waipio. It's located near Kaena Point, just after the end of Dillingham Highway... with the swath up to the site beginning a couple...

[Part 1] [Part2] [Part 3] [View Gallery] As I mentioned in my earlier posts from this series, Joshua Tree is renowned for it's superb climbing areas. The rock features here may not be as high as the ones you would find at Yosemite, but they were still amazing in their own right. The rocks at Joshua tree are composed of quartz monzonite, a very rough type of granite, and especially so since there is no snow or ice to polish it as in places like Yosemite. Whether it being top-roping, leading climbing... bouldering, or even scrambling, etc... there are enumerate routes and problems...

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [View Gallery] Yosemite Valley is recognized as one of the most popular climbing areas in the United States, and is heavily responsible for the development of climbing as a sport. Of the many sites to boulder in Yosemite, Camp 4 (where we camped) is probably the most popular, as it has the highest concentration of problems in a given area. If you aren't familiar with "bouldering," the sport is different from traditional rocking climbing as it involves quick "problem solving" climbs consisting of dynamic / technical moves and involves little equipment....

Fairly new to rock climbing and only bouldering outdoors a few times, I was honored to be invited to a night-climb at a remote bouldering site, called "The Green Boulders" in Mokuleia (see above for name significance). We (David, Reanne, Ken, Wayne, Phil, Cat and myself) met up at Joe's house in Waialua to consolidate our gear and vehicle situation, and convoyed out to Mokuleia. In addition to typical camping and photography gear, several of the crew strapped on huge crash-pads over their packs as they were necessary to climb safely at the site. Despite being flagged, the trail was fairly...

Always attentive to potential nocturnal outdoor activities around the time of the full moon, this month the Lost Trailblazers chose to hit up Makapuu Crag to climb in the moonlight. Unlike the Mokuleia Crag, Makapuu is much shorter in height and is in a more convenient location (unless living on the north shore). However, there are far fewer routes here, most of which are less difficult than the 26 or so routes found at Mokuleia. Seven of us;

Instead of doing a normal hiking adventure on Sunday, the Lost Trailblazers (Troy Takara, Dale Acoba, David Chatsuthiphan, Reanne Solomon, Jenelyn Castillo and myself, as well as guests Baron Yamamoto and Rosanna Ho) decided to revisit Mokuleia Crag, as it had been almost six months since all of us had climbed here together. That was also the day we were introduced to rock climbing using top-rope (as opposed to bouldering or lead climbing), a safer style of climbing which uses a rope looped through an anchor at the top of a rock face and connected to both the climber and belayer. Many of us wanted...

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [View All Photos] In addition to the many activities to experience while camping at Kalalau, this trip was specifically planned around watching the full moonrise from Kalalau Beach in July. As the beach gets moonlit to near daylight, a different perspective of landscape illuminates. This may be contradictory to what other people may anticipate, as the intensity of the moon does drown most of the star light and creates less distinct constellations. The last time I was here was during a near new moon, so everything was looked like this picture...

After doing two long hikes in a row (Kamiloiki Ridge to Makapuu Tomtom and Moanalua Saddle to Haiku Stairs), I was in no mood for any long hikes on the 4th of July... Luckily, I was invited to go rock climbing at the Makapuu Crag by fellow Lost Trailblazer Jennifer Liu. Hosted by Angie and Lance, and their friend Craig, we met up at 715am at the upper parking lot of Makapuu Lookout. The crag is only 10-15 minutes away from the parking lot and consists of several problems, ranging in skill level/difficulty. Since Angie and Lance were familiar with Top-Roping (as opposed to lead climbing...