I'm Renan. I build safe ways into wild places.
Waterfalls, cliffs and jungle trails are where I've spent my working life. Elevate Terrain is how I bring what I've learned to the people who own, run and guide them.
- 16 years guiding on Kauai
- 14+ years leading waterfall rappel
- 15,000+ guests on rope
- Zero insurance claims
The short version
Learning the whole site
I started guiding waterfall rappel near Līhu'e in 2012. Over the next fourteen years I went from guide to head of the department running the operation. I cut and rebuilt the trails, rigged and inspected the anchors every morning, wrote the operations manual and emergency plan, and trained every guide on the team. Two tours a day, six days a week, and more than 15,000 guests went over the edge with me without a single insurance claim.
Along the way I spent years training in canyoneering rigging and rescue with experienced mentors, and took rigging and rescue workshops with the American Canyoneering Association. In 2023 I was head instructor for a three-day jungle rappel and rescue training for U.S. Air Force personnel.
Why Elevate Terrain
I've seen what makes a steep site work: the trail, the anchors, the paperwork and the people all have to fit together. Most landowners and operators only get one piece from each contractor. I'd rather understand the whole thing, from the first walk-through to the guide's last anchor check, and leave it better than I found it.
Waterfall photo: Michelle Mishina
Training and credentials
- Wilderness First Aid (WFA)
- CPR
- Years of mentored training in canyoneering rigging and rescue
- American Canyoneering Association rigging and rescue workshops
- Head instructor, jungle rappel and rescue training for U.S. Air Force personnel, 2023
What I believe
Safety is the product.
If it's not safe, we don't go.
Leave the land better.
Trails that drain, anchors that last, and respect for the place and its history.
Teach, don't gatekeep.
Good systems should be easy to understand.
Have a site, a team or a trip in mind?
Tell me what you're working with. I reply within two business days.