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‘Psycho bouldering’ at the End of the World

April 26, 2023

As I approach the End of the World, a dark seaside cliff of hardened lava, my gaze pivots between the clifftop and the rolling swell of ocean below. The rocks look a lot higher in person than the photos led me to believe. Adrenaline hits me.

End of the World is on the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii, where my wife, son and our nanny, Sofia, took an eight-day vacation this month. Climbing was merely icing on the cake of what was supposed to be a freediving trip for me, but things didn’t quite turn out as planned.

At the side of the cave we eye potential routes and mime sequences we envision. “You can’t fall in the middle of the cave because the tide will smash you into the rocks,” a local teenager tells us. “I’ve seen people medivacked out of here.”

Great, I think. Just what we need: another trip to the hospital.

On the first one, fie days ago, I went in for what I thought was a sinus infection and ended up COVID positive. So much for freediving. Or much of anything really.

By the last day of our trip I was out of isolation, so we decided to check out the climbing.

“Deep water soloing” is the English term for climbing above the sea without a rope, but I prefer the European name for this crazy climbing style. “Psicobloc,” as they call it, literally means “psycho bouldering.” And it’s no wonder why: It’s easy to fall off uncontrolled and hit the water all wonky, and the currents are unpredictable.

Back in 2009, in Mallorca, Spain, my friend James was on a horizontal roof 30 feet above the waves. He groped for a hold, then tried to move off it when … crack! “Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!” He screamed as he plummeted, arms and legs flailing. His left hand dropped the broken hold and his back smacked the water with a sickening slap. Then all went quiet.

Sofia Gonzalez climbs bravely through the middle of the cave, just moments before her plunge into the sea. (Chris Weidner / Courtesy photo)

“James!” I shouted. “You OK?”

“Help…” he muttered feebly between gulps of seawater. I stripped my shirt and prepared to jump in, but by then he grabbed our safety line and signaled “OK.” With effort, he slowly hand-over-handed the rope and flopped onto a ledge like a drowned rat. His back was bright purple for days.

“You have to be careful which pockets you put your fingers in,” a Hawaiian kid says, snapping me out of my reverie, “because some will slice your fingers open.”

I downclimb to what looks like the easiest route and start climbing. Indeed, the sculpted rock is the sharpest I’ve ever climbed. The moves feel casual, but I’m nervous. I test every hold before pulling hard, even the ones that look solid. I top out shaky but satisfied.

Sofia and Heather, on the other hand, both float up it, unafraid.

Next, I attempt the belly of the cave but I can’t seem to find a way. I climb up and down to no avail. All I see is wet rock above, and the only possible routes look way harder than they’re graded. Excuses overwhelm my brain, and I retreat. I don’t even earn style points by falling off trying.

Heather Weidner on her successful ascent of “Rip Hide,” the central line in the cave — and a play on words considering what the sharp rock does to skin. (Chris Weidner / Courtesy photo)

Sofia, however, wins big points by going for it and whipping from the middle of the cave (against which we were warned). She takes a thigh-slapping plunge but escapes the tide to safety. Heather, like me, tries to find a way but backs off. Unlike me, she tries again. This time she commits and is upside-down in the roof, grasping for holds she can’t see. The water churns beneath her, white and foamy like the jaws of a hungry beast, yet her focus remains on each move. She pulls the lip — all four limbs spread-eagled — and then her left foot cuts loose. Her audience (me, Sofia and some locals) watches from the side and collectively gasps. She halts the swing, gets her foot back on and rocks over the final bulge.

After a week of vacation COVID, Heather’s success at the End of the World feels like a victory for us all.

Contact Chris Weidner at [email protected]. Follow him on Instagram @christopherweidner and Twitter @cweidner8.

Orange County Register

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