Bora Bora, 8-12-2017--Climbing Mt. Ohue

By David

Note: For those who may be searching online for information on the climb to Mt. Ohue and Mt. Pahia, we've included detail below. 

More than 50 years ago, when I (David) was a young child in Iowa, I read a short story about 2 boys growing up on Bora Bora. The author described it as the best place in the world for a boy to grow up. Sailing and swimming in the turquiose waters of the lagoon, fishing every day, what else could a boy want?  

Even at that age, I had a strong sense that wild lands, mountains and the ocean called to me in a way that Iowa just couldn't. Bora Bora sounded exotic beyond my imagination and I knew that someday I wanted to see it. 

We'd been cautioned by several people who have visited Bora Bora in recent years that while it was stunning from the water, it had lost much of its exotic appeal due to over development. For the most part they were right. Our experience of it was good, but only because we'd been forewarned and because we saw it in an unconventional way. 

It's reputed to be outrageously expensive and indeed it can be, with with most expensive rooms going for $10K per night. Aiming at the other end of the spectrum, we found a tent for rent on the Air B&B website. While $35 per person per night seemed expensive for a tent, it was Bora Bora after all, and came with shower, access to kitchen, wifi, and 3 wonderfully accommodating hosts. Teava, his wife Vaihere and his mother Eleonore were super friendly. 

Teava set up a small pop-up tent with pads and sheets on a deck in the side yard and we were good to go. We explained that we wanted to climb Mt. Ohua the next day and Teava offered to drive us to the where the route the next morning.  

We left his place at 6:45am and 15 minutes later he dropped us off. Online we'd seen a few descriptions of where the route began, but discovered it had been marked wrong on Google Earth. Soon though, we hailed a Polynesian fellow who graciously took us through his yard and pointed us in the right direction. 

As we write this, we're reminded of how fortunate we were in regard to the weather on the day of the climb. It's now 2 days later and the only saving grace of today's weather is that it's not cold. It is however windy and rainy. On the day of the climb, such weather would have made conditions miserably muddy, dangerous in places and the view would have been obscured by clouds.

Not least among the day's successes was that David appears finally to be fully recovered from the illness he suffered in Nuku Hiva. As recently as our visit to Manihi in the Tuamotus 3 weeks ago, he felt exhausted after just a day of activity. In contrast during the climb, his stamina was good throughout and his knee gave no trouble. 

Furthermore, he still felt good after bicycling around Bora Bora the next morning. Much of that he owes to the outstanding care from his care-givers. Once again, here's a heartfelt thank you from both of us to all of you. 

The Maupiti Express 2, our ferry for the 2-1/2 hour trip to Bora Bora.

Marina Uturoa, Minimus's new home on Raiatea

Bora Bora rises out of the sea

(L-R) Pearl, Teava's mother Eleonore, Teava and his wife Vaihere

Our Air B&B tent for the night.  Teava provided pads and sheets.  He and his wife and mother were wonderful hosts.  Highly recommended.  

Mt. Ohue (left) and Pahia (right) dominate the skyline above the village of Vaitape.  

We're adding a bit more detail to this photo in case anyone else wanting to do the climb happens to read this.

The climb to Mt. Ohue took us about 2-1/2 hours, which should be about average for anyone fit and experienced with bushwhacking and route finding.  It's basically a scramble through jungle and some cliffy areas.  Once on the route, it's mostly easy to follow.  

The road to the beginning of the climbing route is about a block south of the ferry dock in the village of Vaitape. The correct road is between the green auto rental sign and the Hina Pearl store shown in the photo.  The road is concrete for the first couple blocks, then turns to dirt, with homes on both sides. There are many dogs along the road, but like all the dogs we encountered on Bora Bora, none of them paid any attention to us. 

By the way, the road to the beginning of the route as shown on Google Maps is incorrect.

Follow the road about half a kilometer to the end.  About 50 meters beyond the last gray utility pole, the narrow dirt road turns abruptly left and winds through a banana orchard. Several minor roads branch off, but stay on the main road to the upper end of the orchard. Just past the last of the banana trees, turn right onto a path. This is the beginning of the climb. 

Teava dropped us off and we soon made our way through a banana orchard and found the beginning of the route.

Soon the route comes to a view point on a rocky ledge beside a large, gnarly tree.
Above that point, the route is fairly distinct until several hundred feet higher, where it becomes less so for a while. Not long after this point, the correct route comes to a black rope about 5 meters long up a rocky slope.
Above that, and all the way to the top, we found the route clear and easy to follow, although often steep and requiring climbing over and under many branches. In muddy conditions it would have been a very different experience.  

Pearl makes her way up along a fixed rope...

...to one of many outstanding views.  The village of Vaitape is in the foreground.

Another view of the Bora Bora lagoon

Cliffs and lagoon not far from the top of Mt. Ohue

The last fixed rope below the top of Mt. Ohue

Mt. Otemanu (left) and Pahia (right)

Sun rotted rope on the last fixed rope below the summit of Mt. Ohue.  Occasional fixed ropes along the way aren't strictly necessary but do help in getting up short sections of steep rock. Although we didn't find any part of the climb involved potentially fatal exposure, caution is advised when using the fixed ropes, as can be seen in the photo.  All the ropes were polypropylene and some, like the one above, were badly sun rotted.

No technical gear is required to climb either Mt. Ohua or Pahia. Mt. Pahia however involves crossing a saddle from the top of Mt. Ohua, then ascending the peak. Near the top of Pahia is a fixed rope which, should it fail, could involve a fatal fall. Given the condition of the last fixed rope up Mt. Ohue, I (David) decided not to trust it. 

Two dead sticks provide the anchor for the last fixed rope below the summit of Mt. Ohue

The view from Mt. Ohue is outstanding

David, who first read about Bora Bora as a child, finally gets there at age 62.

This photo is on a somewhat personal note. Our friend Gene Troutner, who is 90 and going strong, was here on a troop ship in World War II. At that time there were some 6000 US troops stationed on Bora Bora.
In more recent years, he made a pendant of an iconic desert bird, the Gambel's Quail, for his wife Maria. She entrusted it to us before the voyage to remind us of our home in Cascabel, Arizona. It seemed fitting to photograph it atop Ohua peak, overooking the waters that Gene saw so long ago. Thank you Gene and Maria, we haven't forgotten Cascabel! 

Mt. Otemanu, looking north from Mt. Ohue