UH Manoa

I am a UH Manoa student trying to climb. The lack of climbing in Hawai'i has driven me to take up some urban ascents. Unfortunately, the University frowns upon urban climbing and rappelling off of buildings.This is the letter I had to write to the University. It is clear that the utmost sincerity was used to explain my actions

Too bad you got caught. Were you climbing in the daytime? 

I used to climb campus buildings at night (mid-80s). We called it 'buildering'. And I found that they always left doors to the roof unlocked, so I always did the interior descent and never brought a rope. Before climbing gyms came along, buildering seemed more common. In the 60s, they even made a guidebook for the Univ. of WA campus. In the 80s, you could still check it out of the main library (NW Section of Suzzallo) -- maybe it is still there. 

 Between the reaction to 9/11 and the militarization of police, night-climbing on buildings may have become more dangerous since I did it last. So, you might consider trees instead. I thought that trees in Hawaii were pretty great for climbing. Good luck.

aaronishimaru wrote:

I am a UH Manoa student trying to climb. The lack of climbing in Hawai'i has driven me to take up some urban ascents. Unfortunately, the University frowns upon urban climbing and rappelling off of buildings.This is the letter I had to write to the University. It is clear that the utmost sincerity was used to explain my actions

There is climbing in Hawaii, sport, trad and bouldering. More than 500 routes and problems on Oahu alone. 

Doesn't U of H have pretty decent bouldering right above campus? A little crumbly, and there is the odd abandoned homeless camp, but not bad. 

20 kN wrote:

There is climbing in Hawaii, sport, trad and bouldering. More than 500 routes and problems on Oahu alone. 

There is a little bit of climbing. I have found some spots searching Oahu, but you can't find sustained climbing that is challenging. Eventually you are going to want more. 

aaronishimaru wrote:

There is a little bit of climbing. I have found some spots searching Oahu, but you can't find sustained climbing that is challenging. Eventually you are going to want more. 

Your profile says you lead 5.11a and climb V5 which means more than 60% of the island's climbing is above your limit. We have routes up to 5.13d, V12/ 13 and I think Maui might even have some 5.14 open projects. Come back after you've sent all of our hard 5.12s and 5.13s and V10+ boulder problems and then come and tell me there is no sustained climbing that is challenging…

20 kN wrote:

Your profile says you lead 5.11a and climb V5 which means more than 60% of the island's climbing is above your limit. We have routes up to 5.13d, V12/ 13 and I think Maui might even have some 5.14 open projects. Come back after you've sent all of our hard 5.12s and 5.13s and V10+ boulder problems and then come and tell me there is no sustained climbing that is challenging…

I like the way you do.

aaronishimaru wrote:

There is a little bit of climbing. I have found some spots searching Oahu, but you can't find sustained climbing that is challenging. Eventually you are going to want more. 

There is bouldering in town near UH

Makapuu to Rope solo (up to 5.10d)

You can take a bus to Boulder Waimea on the weekends 

There's so FA's I can point you toward if you know how to bolt or like sketchy landings on mega highball stuff

Christ, just go to the Moke. 80+ high quality sport routes, up to 80' and 5.13. 

20 kN wrote:

Your profile says you lead 5.11a and climb V5 which means more than 60% of the island's climbing is above your limit. We have routes up to 5.13d, V12/ 13 and I think Maui might even have some 5.14 open projects. Come back after you've sent all of our hard 5.12s and 5.13s and V10+ boulder problems and then come and tell me there is no sustained climbing that is challenging…

20-30 meters is not sustained climbing. Yeah you can go crush 60 feet on a route but the climbing is limited in that sense. Hawai'i does not have much climbing

aaronishimaru wrote:

20-30 meters is not sustained climbing. Yeah you can go crush 60 feet on a route but the climbing is limited in that sense. Hawai'i does not have much climbing

So rappelling down 5-story parking garages at UH risking expulsion is more fun than actual climbing?

20 kN wrote:

So rappelling down 5-story parking garages at UH risking expulsion is more fun than actual climbing?

Now I just think hes trollin ya!

aaronishimaru wrote:

20-30 meters is not sustained climbing. Yeah you can go crush 60 feet on a route but the climbing is limited in that sense. Hawai'i does not have much climbing

If 20-30 meters on a 5.13 (Immortal's Path, Trinity, God Machine-only 12d) isn't sustained enough for you, then you moved to the wrong place. The tallest climbs are going to be a couple hundred meters at most and will be way casual. Climbing 60 feet isn't limited it is focused, if you want to go trounce around on big walls that are well within your ability you should. But don't knock the climbing in Hawaii, it is good quality and fun routes.

P.S. 

Your opinions would hold much more sway if you could say you have climbed all the islands have to offer.

20 kN wrote:

So rappelling down 5-story parking garages at UH risking expulsion is more fun than actual climbing?

Look man, I'm just making an observation on the climbing scene out here. It's definitely a unique experience, but the amount/type of climbing is limited and I'm not content with that. Clearly we have different perspectives on the matter, but at the end of the day we're all just trying to climb.

Gummy wrote:

If 20-30 meters on a 5.13 (Immortal's Path, Trinity, God Machine-only 12d) isn't sustained enough for you, then you moved to the wrong place. The tallest climbs are going to be a couple hundred meters at most and will be way casual. Climbing 60 feet isn't limited it is focused, if you want to go trounce around on big walls that are well within your ability you should. But don't knock the climbing in Hawaii, it is good quality and fun routes.

P.S. 

Your opinions would hold much more sway if you could say you have climbed all the islands have to offer.

I am moving. Even if my skill level was at that of a 5.13, I'm not trying to work on the same projects for the rest of my life. 

aish wrote:

I am moving. Even if my skill level was at that of a 5.13, I'm not trying to work on the same projects for the rest of my life. 

I can respect not wanting to project for a while, however there is a huge amount of rock on the islands, especially on the inner parts of the islands. 

Gummy wrote:

I can respect not wanting to project for a while, however there is a huge amount of rock on the islands, especially on the inner parts of the islands. 

Agreed, but the Islands need heavy developing. As a young and over-stoked climber, I need to be in parts of the world that offer a wide variety of routes. 

aish wrote:

Agreed, but the Islands need heavy developing. As a young and over-stoked climber, I need to be in parts of the world that offer a wide variety of routes. 

Your personality is that of Aleks minus the troll part. Good luck with your forearm crushing 5.14 warmups bro-dude.

aish wrote:

I am a UH Manoa student trying to climb. The lack of climbing in Hawai'i has driven me to take up some urban ascents. Unfortunately, the University frowns upon urban climbing and rappelling off of buildings.This is the letter I had to write to the University. It is clear that the utmost sincerity was used to explain my actions

This letter is amazing.