Every winter North shore beaches get pounded by someof the biggest waves on the planet.
Surfers come from all over to ride the wild waves, making the North Shore the unofficial surf capital of the world.

But the surf here isn’t the only thing that’s world class…the shave ice is too…the beaches aren’t bad either and neither is the journey from Waikiki which can be downright heavenly.

The Haiku Stairs are 2500 vertical feet almost straight up.  They’re also known as the Stairway to Heaven.

The stairs, stitched to knife-edged ridgelines are not for the faint of heart, and are not currently open to the public, but Oahu city planner, Terry Hildebrandt and ex-marine and president of the Friends of the Haiku Stairs are working to change that and offered to usher me up every single step.

The stairs were built by the Navy in 1942 to access a long wave radio station used during World War 2.

“They put it in so they could communicate from Pearl Harbor all the way to Tokyo Bay, so to speak...so they were actually communicating to submerged submarines half way around... all the way around the Pacific”, says John.

These days the radio station is not is use and sections of the stairway must be fixed before the public is invited up, but the views need no repair.

As we continue our slow, but steady climb the noise from the highway below begins to fade and the weather begins to shift from clear to cloudy.

“As we get higher and higher, it gets windier and wetter, the stairs become a little bit more treacherous in places and it's a different environment”, John says.

Finally our destination appears shrouded in the mist.

“This is what makes the plants grow and everything kind of get wet, and the way it is most of the time...so you're seeing it the way it should be seen”, John says.

Back down at sea level, the weather is clear.
And so is the road we follow North to a little town with a big reputation. 

The town of Haleiwa on Oahu’s North shore is the world’s surfing mecca.

“In the Winter time, if you want to see surf stars, you just hang out right here”, says Strong Current Surf Shop owner, John Moore.

“It's a sleepy, artsy kind of town, you know, real laid back, especially in the Summer time.  In the winter time, when the surf season starts, every car will have a surfboard on the roof”, says John.

No matter what time of year you come, John says there’s one place you shouldn’t miss.

“You gotta stop at this place when you come to town, Matsumoto Shave Ice.  Everybody has to have a Matsumoto Shave Ice”, says John.

The Matsumoto family has been serving up colorful treats for more than fifty years.
The line often goes out the door, but it’s worth the wait.

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Haleiwa Beach is just one of many on the North Shore, placid in the summer, but pounding in the wnter.

“When you look back at those mountains back there, when the waves come in, it's a quarter of the size of that mountain, that's what it looks like coming in toward you”, says John.

The waves, generated by big storms far to the North crest at famous North Shore breaks such as Pipline, Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay.

The best surfers in the world are here all winter to challenge these heaving giants

Doug asks, “What do you think is the biggest wave ever ridden out here?”
“8 story building”, replies John
“If you could harness the power of that wave, you could probably light up this island for a year.”

Sliding down the face of an eighty foot wave is something that most of us will never experience, but experiencing the natural power of Oahu is easy…along its picture perfect beaches, in its warm, inviting waters…and on its remote and heavenly mountain tops.

BAB Show #S4