Konahuanui West

Konahuanui West

Posted to OHE on 17 December 2001 by Stan Yamada

Finally a nice sunny day to attempt a possibly dangerous climb, well, an exploratory anyway. We've been wanting to summit Konahuanui (3150') via the west ridge coming up from the Pali Lookout. Most of the climb looks routine, but a scary rock face blocks the way for all but the demented few. Adam was to be occupied with his new girlfriend so I had the car today. Despite the sunny hot weather in town, I donned my favorite long sleeved, beat up (Lanihuli took its toll on my equipment), Nike lucky shirt. It's always cool up on the Pali. That and some convertible pants and I was ready for any type of weather. Driving up the Pali Highway, I was greeted by the fluted summit of Pu'u Lanihuli, my last real hike (I do short stints on Tantalus, but they don't count anymore). I arrived at the turn-off only to be routed to the town bound lanes by orange cones. They're doing road work today. Hmmm, didn't check the other entrance so I proceeded over to the Pali Golf Course and studied the ridge with my 12x25 power mini-binocs. Looks awesome from that viewpoint, but we now know it's doable without a top rope thanks to Drush. I snapped some photos of the entire ridgeline, including Lanihuli and Likelike Pali. Close observation of the L.P. finds two or three very risky looking spots. We'll see on an upcoming adventure. After about 30 minutes of gawking (while being the gawkee of several golfers), I headed for the other Lookout entrance and hoped for the best. As luck would have it, the gates were open and I proceeded to a virtually deserted parking lot. Very high winds today, probably 50 mph gusts or more. As a result, I opt to take the sheltered inland route up instead of the cool rock climb up the ridgeline with its precipitous drop to the windward side. I sure don't want to fall over that edge while leaning to the left to fight the wind! I had previously reported that the inland route was fraught with peril of the benign sort (loose soil, piles of leaves, thin cord/wire hand holds). Today it was great due to the recent rains. Dry tack. Perfect for climbing. I happened upon a large blow down right in the middle of the trail. Two foot diameter ironwood; must have been some kind of gust to take down that big boy. Pretty recent too as the stump was nice and freshly cut and the needles were only just turning brown. Fun to negotiate the huge log, but watch for ants. Zillions have made it their own condo in the sky. I hit the open ridgeline and could hardly stand against the onslaught of nature's violent breath. Kept things nice and cool. Long sleeved DriFit shirts keep you snug though, even when soaking wet. I began the slog up the mountain. Intermittent trail then rock climb. Nice dike rocks here, a pleasure to climb. Up higher, I again take the inland route instead of the exposed outside line. I'm glad I did as the inland chute is cool to climb. A narrow foot wide or so slot with hard rock hand and foot holds galore. This is fun. Eventually, I got to the top of the first "tooth". Sat and rested while I studied the upcoming rock face with the binos. I spy what looks like a thin rope coming down from the top of the face. Hmmm, that must be the rope Drush spoke of that wasn't necessary. I can see with the binos (I didn't have them the last time I was here), that he is right. The face is featured and looks like good rock to me. Emboldened by this discovery, I proceed with excitement tempered by caution as always. Negotiating the down-climb from the first tooth to the first gap and then up-climb to the center tooth went without mishap or fear. This is good rock and many holds for safety. I crawled along the top of the center tooth due to the high winds and my belief that if I fall, it shouldn't be like that. I want to fall (!?!) while doing a cool maneuver like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2 (welcome to my fantasy life). So I crawled to the lip of the overhang and looked down at the second gap twenty feet below. Just as I remembered it, lots of holds up top with good rock, but sort of featureless lower down and slightly overhanging. Today, however, I have rope, cordelette and biners. I rigged my line on a stout bush and tested it for strength. Only in Hawaii do we risk our lives on plants (I hope). Satisfied for the moment, I headed down. I found that trying to down climb featureless rock while holding on to a knotted rope works great when there's little exposure, but the route I chose looks down upon a nice drop of a few hundred feet, and then it's a steep slope from the first bounce. I lost my nerve and went back up, the give of the plant and rope not promoting trust on my part. I never attempt anything dangerous unless I am sure I can make it alive and I am anxious and excited to do it. Confidence is paramount in these endeavors in my opinion. So I rested, made doubly sure that the plant was bomber and hydrated. Things always look brighter after a short respite. I removed my pack and chose to climb straight down to the gap instead of over the lee side. This route has the most overhang, but if I fell, I probably wouldn't die. So I bit the bullet and rappelled down in the classic style, trusting my gear. The rope and plant had a little give when my full weight was offered, but they held and I made it down with a thud. I was soooo happy. Then I looked around to the windward side to check out that possible bypass and kicked myself. A clear and easy looking contour was right there. I decided to check it out on my expected return. The up climb to the ridge trail from the second gap was a breeze on good featured rock again. Thereafter the trail is nice along the ridgeline and goes on a few ups and downs for a hundred yards or so. Along the way I see to my surprise fresh droppings. Pig or sea bird? Gotta be pig, there's some nice piles there. I see contour pig trails on the lee side. Easier way up? Nah, the way I went is too much fun to abandon in favor of a zig-zag pig trail. Before I knew it, I was at the crux. Impressive looking dagger to surmount before the actual face. Up close though, it's a pussy cat, the rock is solid and offers good placements. On the way up I spotted a contour to the lee. I down climbed, opting to check that out instead. I'm glad I did, as it appears to be an ancient overgrown path perhaps used by warriors long ago. Only a tiny pig could use it as it is on a sheer face with no opu room to the side. The side of the dagger is peppered with holes about 6-8 inches deep and of similar diameter. Cannon shot remnants from the ancient battle for Oahu by Kamehameha the Great? Perhaps, or just places where rocks were dislodged by prior climbers. Looks like solid lava rock interior though. Now the tough part; how do I get up on the other side of the dagger? Again, the climb would be cake were it not for the drop below mentally pulling me down. I climb up using available vegetation until I hit the rock section. Perched on a thin mud step, I looked up and to both sides. I sneaked a peek down just to remind me to be careful, I'm all alone up here. My first attempt is a failure as I chicken out when it looks like I might have to jump to the next solid hold. So I retreated back down to the mud ledge. To the left I see a faint contour and a possible weakness. So on I went, intent on getting to the rock face. Here, I gladly used some new moves I learned from "Advanced Rock Climbing" by Long and Luebben (Globe Pequot Press, 1997), purchased in preparation for this climb. A hand jam in a horizontal crack, rest, mantle up on a little ledge, rest, side holds to the left and right, rest, grab over and around a large outcrop with both hands, pray, pull with all my strength, release my bomber footholds, plop up on the ridge. Whew! Made it. I looked up at the dagger while lying on my back, knowing that going over the top would have been much easier, but damn that was fun. The wind is howling up here. I have to grab on to anything just to stand up. The rock face is right there, jagged edged boulders, cracks and chips everywhere. Easy climbing. The old rope is untrustworthy, but probably not needed except in case of panic. I will leave a modern static rope when I next pass through. I went up a way until I was about 25 feet below the top where a hook-like rock rests like a Buddha statuette. There's the rope, tied around the Buddha and draped over the edge in a little slot. I took some pictures, rested, enjoyed the impressive view of the windward side and Olomana, and recuperated. In my mind, this is going to be alright to do. I could have climbed it today had I prepared properly or if I had company. As it was, I just wanted a look see to be sure it's doable by me. Yup. I have no doubt now that I was up close and personal with it.

So I headed back down totally pumped by the experience. I down climbed via an easier route to the bypass trail below the dagger. It took a leap of faith of two feet to do it, but the vegetation at that spot made it doable. The wind was too strong now to test the dagger's point. When I got to the second gap where I left the end of my rope tied to a bush, I first tested a pig trail down the lee side before retreating when it went down a steep drop into a dark tunnel of trees. Then I went around to the windward side, wanting to avoid pulling myself up the overhang relying on a little bush for safety. The windward side bypass is easy as pie. If you can do Olomana 3 you can do that. I got to the top and retrieved my pack, shades and rope. I had forgotten to untie the rope at the bottom, so I tugged to free it from the little branch I had tied it to to keep it from whipping around (the wind was so strong it wouldn't stay put and I might have needed it for the up climb). Unfortunately, the little bush was not very strong and I uprooted it with my incredible strength. :-) No worries, just clidemia.

After that it was a short stint to the now full parking lot and home, three hours after I left. I took a lot of photos today so look forward to those once we summit within a week or so, depending on the weather. sky 12/17/01