A popular rock-climbing area known as Mokuleia Wall will soon reopen to the public after 2 1⁄2 years.
The Board of Land and Natural Resources approved a month-to-month revocable permit Friday for the Hawaii Climbing Coalition, a nonprofit organization, to manage the basalt rock-climbing site. The coalition aims to reopen the area the first week of January.
"We’re awaiting the reopening of the wall with much anticipation," said the group’s Debora Halbert.
The state closed the area in June 2012 after a young girl was injured by a falling rock.
The approval of the permit was possible under a new law passed last year that provides the state with certain liability protections.
The revocable permit, which expires Dec. 31, 2015, was issued on a trial basis following an agreement between the state and the coalition. Under the permit, the group will be responsible for maintaining compliance at Mokuleia Wall that meets the certification and safety standards of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks.
Mokuleia has about 50 rock-climbing routes, each rated with varying levels of difficulty. The area is mostly geared for moderate to experienced climbers. Each route — with names like Dragon Slayer, Mission Impossible and Cactus Garden — has an anchor system and a series of titanium bolts.
One of the highest climbs is estimated at 80 to 100 feet, according to Halbert.
The state welcomed the agreement with the nonprofit group to oversee the rock-climbing wall.
Curt Cottrell, assistant administrator of the Division of State Parks, said the state lacks the resources and the training to oversee the site.
"We don’t have the expertise to do this, but the climbers do," he said.
For decades, the Mokuleia Wall has been popular with climbing enthusiasts and is considered "the only geologic area with suitable rock faces that are stable enough for recreational rock climbing activities," according to State Parks Administrator Daniel Quinn in an October submittal to the Land Board requesting approval of the design and placement of new warning signs.
The signs, created by the state to warn the public about the hazards of rock climbing, will be posted at the site, on state land about 300 yards away from Camp Erdman.
In June 2012, the state closed the climbing wall to the public after a 12-year-old girl who was part of a group from Camp Erdman was hit on the head by a falling rock and knocked out.
The group was getting a safety briefing by counselors at the base of the cliff at the time. The girl had yet to put on any equipment and was not wearing a helmet.
During the wall’s closure, Halbert said some rock climbers turned to bouldering — rock climbing without ropes or harnesses on small cliffs and boulders, according to the website climbing.about.com.
Some ignored the closure and continued to climb at the Mokuleia site.
Under the permit, climbers will now be required to sign an online liability waiver. The waiver is expected to be available on a website to be hosted by the coalition.
Halbert said the website is being developed.
A rock-climbing enthusiast would log on, read the waiver and click on a box to agree to its terms. Cottrell said, "It puts the burden of the responsibility on the user rather than the state."
The attorney general’s office said it is finalizing details of the permit.
