robotic
08-22-2005, 09:32 AM
Hawaii lava-rock sledders revive ancient thrill sport (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002448036_lavasledding22.html)
HONOLULU — As a boy growing up on Hawaii's Big Island, Tom "Pohaku" Stone found entertainment in barreling down grassy slopes aboard ti leaves and banana stumps.
What began as childhood fun has evolved into an academic and cultural journey aimed at reviving the 2,000-year-old Hawaiian tradition of he'e holua, or Hawaiian lava sledding.
And Stone has some scars to show for it.
Reaching speeds of up to 70 mph on a sled standing only 4 inches above the ground, Stone once ran into a steel post sticking up from the grass, tearing an 18-inch gash in his left thigh, during a demonstration on a slope on Maui.
In another crash, Stone broke his neck. It hasn't stopped him.
"You can't even imagine what it's like to be headfirst, 4 inches off the ground, doing 30, 40, 50 miles an hour on rock," Stone said. "It looks like you are riding just fluid lava. It's death-defying ... but it's a lot of fun."
Stone, a 54-year-old community-college instructor, gives classes in the ancient pastime.
Traditionally, he'e holua served both as a sport and as a vehicle for Hawaiians to honor their gods, especially Pele, the goddess of fire. After reaching the top of a slope, Hawaiians would stand up, lie down or kneel atop hardwood sleds — often carved from kauila or ohia trees and measuring 12 feet long by 6 inches wide — and speed down man-made courses of hardened lava rocks sprinkled with grass.
But missionaries who brought Christianity to Hawaii saw the sport as "a frivolous waste of time," Stone said, and its practice ended in 1825, when the last he'e holua racing event was documented.
Stone first heard about the practice, which also took place on other Pacific islands such as Tahiti, from his grandfather. In 1994, he built his first sled and soon began teaching people how to ride and craft the sleds, which are hand lashed with coconut fiber and weigh 40 to 60 pounds.
It takes Stone about two weeks, or 24 hours of nonstop work, to finish a sled, and his prices start at $3,000.
A retired lifeguard and champion surfer, Stone has discovered 57 rock slides of various lengths across the state. He spent three days with a crew making a 200-foot repair to one 700-foot course. He said there are only about a couple dozen regular riders.
Clifford "Pake" Ah Mow got hooked three years ago as he sped down a trail on the Big Island. "It's great, unbelievable," said Ah Mow, a lifeguard. "You get the chills."
This year, Stone wants to complete a mile-long rock slide on the Big Island and hold the first he'e holua event there in more than 100 years.
HONOLULU — As a boy growing up on Hawaii's Big Island, Tom "Pohaku" Stone found entertainment in barreling down grassy slopes aboard ti leaves and banana stumps.
What began as childhood fun has evolved into an academic and cultural journey aimed at reviving the 2,000-year-old Hawaiian tradition of he'e holua, or Hawaiian lava sledding.
And Stone has some scars to show for it.
Reaching speeds of up to 70 mph on a sled standing only 4 inches above the ground, Stone once ran into a steel post sticking up from the grass, tearing an 18-inch gash in his left thigh, during a demonstration on a slope on Maui.
In another crash, Stone broke his neck. It hasn't stopped him.
"You can't even imagine what it's like to be headfirst, 4 inches off the ground, doing 30, 40, 50 miles an hour on rock," Stone said. "It looks like you are riding just fluid lava. It's death-defying ... but it's a lot of fun."
Stone, a 54-year-old community-college instructor, gives classes in the ancient pastime.
Traditionally, he'e holua served both as a sport and as a vehicle for Hawaiians to honor their gods, especially Pele, the goddess of fire. After reaching the top of a slope, Hawaiians would stand up, lie down or kneel atop hardwood sleds — often carved from kauila or ohia trees and measuring 12 feet long by 6 inches wide — and speed down man-made courses of hardened lava rocks sprinkled with grass.
But missionaries who brought Christianity to Hawaii saw the sport as "a frivolous waste of time," Stone said, and its practice ended in 1825, when the last he'e holua racing event was documented.
Stone first heard about the practice, which also took place on other Pacific islands such as Tahiti, from his grandfather. In 1994, he built his first sled and soon began teaching people how to ride and craft the sleds, which are hand lashed with coconut fiber and weigh 40 to 60 pounds.
It takes Stone about two weeks, or 24 hours of nonstop work, to finish a sled, and his prices start at $3,000.
A retired lifeguard and champion surfer, Stone has discovered 57 rock slides of various lengths across the state. He spent three days with a crew making a 200-foot repair to one 700-foot course. He said there are only about a couple dozen regular riders.
Clifford "Pake" Ah Mow got hooked three years ago as he sped down a trail on the Big Island. "It's great, unbelievable," said Ah Mow, a lifeguard. "You get the chills."
This year, Stone wants to complete a mile-long rock slide on the Big Island and hold the first he'e holua event there in more than 100 years.