We have approximately 700 sq. ft. of bouldering (unroped climbing on 14 foot high walls). The structures in this area are basically designed for younger or beginning climbers, yet will provide advance/expert routes using our choice selection of nicros holds and different shaped volumes. This space also has a comfortable observation area where members can watch friends and family climb and participate in virtual reality adventures. Please stop by and see us sometime. If you don’t have climbing shoes, we can rent them to you. If you have your own shoes, please bring them! Sweaty folks should bring their own towel as well. Please see our FAQ for more information. We are on the corner of Kalakaua and Keawe in downtown Hilo, 1 block up from the Tsunami Museum.
We host private parties for the climbing walls and for the virtual reality. Sometimes there are buyouts. We encourage our guests and members to check our calendar on this website before coming in to make sure we are not closed for a buyout condition.
We are open every day of the week from Noon to 9pm. Every Second Saturday we are open at 10am to allow for guests from EHCC for Keiki Day. Please see our calendar for more information on all hours of operation – and any special events! Member events happen all the time, just check the calendar in the gym and online to see what’s goin on.
Private Instruction and Group Clinics
We are introducing private classes at the gym starting May 2022. Clinics will be priced at $25 for members and $40 for non-members. Private Classes begin at $75/hour for private instruction for up to 2 people. Please inquire at the front desk if you are interested in a private class. They will be held on Fridays and Saturdays as the instructor is available.
Clinics are held with a minimum of 3 participants who have signed up and paid. We will have a maximum in a clinic of 6 participants. Most clinic prices are $25 for members, $40 for non-members - shoes and liquid chalk will be included. Some clinics are taught by our Route Setters - see below for more information on them.
Designed to provide newer climbers with the tools they need to have a successful day on the wall. This class will go over climbing basics such as how to use your climbing shoes effectively, how to avoid over-gripping, establishing efficient movement, and basic body positioning techniques.
What You’ll Learn
- How to build your skills
- Getting to the top of a climb
- Basic climbing knowledge while bouldering
- How to make tweaks and important corrections to improve your climbing technique
Bouldering Skills (basic)
After completing our Bouldering Skills class, you will have the skills needed to begin a regular bouldering routine. You will learn how to properly fall onto a padded floor, warm up for and structure a proper bouldering session, and identify and practice skills. You will also learn about bouldering terminology and proper etiquette. We will help you overcome the social barriers to climbing and understand how climbers work together while bouldering.
Bouldering relies on padded flooring rather than ropes and harnesses for protection. Climbers generally only climb between 10 and 15 feet high. For that reason, no additional equipment other than the padded floor is needed. This class is ideal for climbers who are new to the sport and want to establish a dependable foundation of skills.
Age Requirement: 14 Years of Age and Over
Duration: 1.5 - 2 Hours
Includes: Shoes, liquid chalk and day pass
Intermediate Skills (V2-V3)
Self motivation and team encouragement
Increased desire to excel and developed willpower
Efforts yield tangible rewards like improbed balance, flexibility and strength
Climbing teaches us to know our limits and expand them
Clear communication skills with climbing partners
Engaging with nature through a unique activity
Develops values such as solidarity, cooperation, respect and inclusiveness
Improved mental abilities including visualization, memorization and coordination
Promotes character formation and integration into a community of fellow climbers
Keiki Class - for climbers 4 - 10 
This class is intended to introduce new climbers AND their parents to the fast growing sport climbing discipline of Bouldering
.
— What is sport climbing and bouldering
— Falling practice
— Safe spotting technique for parent
— Traverse practice
— Climbing games
Parents required on mats with keiki under 5
PARTIES
General Party Pricing:
Parties for up to 15 people:
Weekday Party 1.5-2 hours Weekend Party (incl. Friday night)
$200 climbing only $350
$350 climbing & virtual reality $550
Each additional person in the party $22, weekday or $30 on weekends
We can pull together a quote for you depending on your needs. You are always welcome to bring your food and drink into the gym – just can’t have food/drink while using the VR equipment or while on the mats and walls. We will even take your trash!
Please email info@bigislandclimbing.com for a specific quote. Include the day and time of your event as well as how many people will be climbing. All parties require at least a 48 hour reservation plus a 50% deposit.
ADVENTURE BUCKS!
Our members are encouraged to collect Adventure Bucks. Every time a member climbs, they receive one Buck. One side of that Buck is put into a jar kept in the gym and once a month a prize is drawn. That prize number is posted on social media and posted in the gym. If that ticket is not claimed within 10 days of the drawing, it is added to the drawing for the following month. The other side of the ticket is kept by the member. After collecting 100 tickets, they are good for discounts on products sold in the gym or additional memberships. Adventure Bucks can be collected by several means: Attending an event, posting on social media, buying products, or just climbing in the gym. Please ask a staff member for more information.
Our rental shoes are MadRock Badgers for adults and Mad Badgers for kids. We are dealers for La Sportiva, MadRock, Friction Labs, Porta-Hang, evolv and Liberty Mountain. We carry liquid chalk from Meltolius, Evolv, Porta-Hang and Friction Labs. We have shoes of various sizes and styles from MadRock and Sportiva. Let us know if we can help you with any special orders.
Looking for a holiday or birthday gift card for that special climber in your life? Stop in the gym and get one in any amount or call us at 808.491.2582 and we'll do it for you over the phone. Ask for Donna.
WHO ARE WE?
Bradley Leighton 
Bradley has been climbing since he could walk - always trying to reach the highest point he could see. First in the 100ft fir trees surrounding his boyhood home in the Pacific Northwest. Later, he took to rock climbing in the local hills and mountains. He learned trad climbing on the Chief in Squamish, BC and the walls of Leavenworth and Index, WA. After a 30 year hiatus from climbing, Bradley has spent the last few years training at various southern california locations (Joshua Tree, Mission Gorge) for his first attempt at ascending el Cap in Yosemite. Age 61, Bradley can still climb into the 5.10 range (in the gym) and send the occasional V3 boulder problem. Outdoors, he rarely free climbs or leads beyond 5.9 but is proficient at aid climbing to C2. His ultimate goal is to have a larger gym and train the climbers in Hawaii in trad techniques so he can then host destination trips to various climbing locales on the west coast.
Donna Nichols 
Donna doesn't climb but she does help behind the desk and handles all the retail. She spent her life before semi-retirement as a communications executive in the pharmaceutical and biotech arena in San Diego, California. After meeting Bradley in 2001, she and Bradley formed a record label and subsequently produced 6 albums for Bradley and close to 80 for other musicians from around the country and Italy. Post covid Donna is sewing and selling her wares on Etsy and from the gym and she's also a Notary Public for the State of Hawaii.
Meet our Route Setters
Elle O'Brien 
Elle grew up climbing trees, and threw herself into rock climbing when she moved to the crack climbing mecca of Squamish, British Columbia, Canada in 2017. After diving fingers first into bouldering, Elle gained invaluable knowledge of training and technique through her university climbing team and a gaggle of climber friends. She realized early on that she loves all forms of climbing, and has since gained experience in many forms of indoor and outdoor skills.
Elle is known for preferring climbs that “make you look very silly,” taking naps at the top of rock faces, and sharing her passion and knowledge of climbing through route setting and teaching classes in settings such as British Columbia, Alaska, and now Hawaii.
Karina Gallant
Karina was introduced to climbing at 9 years old, and it’s been deeply woven into her life ever since. She began training and climbing competitively when she was 11 years old, but soon realized that all her training was not for competition, but leading her towards more simplicity in movement, as well as access to beautiful landscapes. She spent her summers climbing up and down the Northwest coast, before settling for a few years in a climbing mecca. She has continued on to learn and teach in many places and many communities, as climbing has been a central point in her explorations.
Her years of climbing teams and competitions have taught her technique and training, while her times of exploration have brought out her passion and curiosity. She believes both are equally important when learning to climb. She has combined her innate love of movement and nature, with her desire to facilitate learning, and finds joy in introducing and expanding climbing knowledge in others, as her teachers did for her.