Sport Climbing Comes to Makatea
Strong international climbers establish 60 new routes on the remote island
International climbers, including Nina Caprez and Jon Siegrist, travelled to Makatea earlier this year and established over 60 new sport routes. They were joined by Squamish-based photographer Jimmy Martinello. Makatea is a small island in northwestern French Polynesia. Above its coastlines are cliffs that rise to 80 metres above the sea to an huge upper plateau. The island is only around 24 square kilometres in area. To be the first climber to establish a crag is an amazing accomplishment, but to be part of the first team to open the walls on an island is a rare opportunity. There were over a dozen climbers on the trip, including Charlotte Durif from France and Mike Schreiber from Germany.
The island is nearly completely abandoned, with the exception
of a few dozen people, but once had a population of over 3,000 living in the now-ghost-town called Vaitepaua. The occupants were mostly there to mine phosphate, but all that’s left now is equipment that has been reclaimed by the land. “The only way to get there is by boat, a day of sailing from Tahiti when the sea is fair, or longer and wilder when it’s not,” said Caprez. “Our mission was to bring climbing to the island and help build ecotourism as a viable resource.”
The trip was the idea of Erwann Le Lann, a French mountain guide who visited the
idland on a high-lining trip. The climbers worked closely with the mayor’s son, Hai Tapu, who is himself a climber. “Years ago, he’d recognized his island’s potential, but in Polynesia, everything moves slowly,” said Caprez. “Now he had 10 of us to help for an entire month, equipped with drills and a few hundred bolts.” The climbers began building routes next to the harbour. They camped at night and almost entirely lived off coconuts.
“The sea cliffs here offered an excellent playground,” said Caprez. “We opened two new crags, on rock similar to what you would find in Kalymnos or Turkey. We bolted in the morning until noon, then the sun hit the cliff. After a short nap, we explored the island’s incredible nature. The first obvious thing to do was go snorkelling. Among the pristine coral reefs, we swam with what seemed like billions of fish, a few turtles and many curious sharks.”
After 10 days, they moved camp to the other side of the island. “Here, the wind and storms hit straight-on, which makes the place so wild and beautiful,” said Caprez. “The rock is also different. We found 40-metre walls with perfect pockets and cracks. Above the sea, we equipped routes on steep and perfectly shaped rock; quality far above what we could have ever expected.” They team was selective as to where they established routes due to the
“We opened two new crags, on rock similar to what you would find in Kalymnos or Turkey.”
number of sea birds nesting in the area.
“In addition to opening new routes, we developed an outdoor recreation school program for the local kids,” said Caprez. “At the end of our trip, over 200 people from neighbouring island came for climbing festival. For four days, we guided groups up our new routes and showed them the areas we established.” All in all, the group of climbers established 10 new crags with most routes being single-pitch up to 35 metres. The two three-pitch routes are mostly 5.10 climbing on big pockets. With the majority of routes ranging from 5.7 to 5.11, but with a few 5.12 and 5.13 climbs being established, Makatea might become a must-visit for climbers looking for a winter destination full of moderate sport climbs.—gripped