Pacific Snow

Hawaiian Snow 2012

We live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, twenty-five hundred miles from the nearest continental shoreline. And many miles farther to the nearest ski slope. Hawaii's two tallest mountains Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa had been blanketed with several feet of snow the weekend before, but it was a week later before we could make our way up to the top of the 14,000 foot mountain. 

The Monday before my daughter Kailana's senior class took the traditional senior snow day off and all of them jumped in cars and  trucks and headed for the top of the mountain. There they snowboarded, skied, had snowball fights and a general great time. I of course as a father only heard about it afterward and was given no photos or detailed stories to share. Same thing happened when Leilani was a senior. Grumble, grumble, harrumph.

So a week later Josh, Luke and I took off for the mountain summit and and hour and a half later we were making our way up the gravel road to the summit. Although the powder was compacted and the drifts were icy and lava rocks were poking through the snow it was still a beautiful and fun place to be.

Unfortunately Lukes buddy Josh was overcome with altitude sickness as we neared the top. Luke pulled out my aviation oxygen tank and hooked him up. It would be a while before he was feeling better  so Luke and I decided to jump out and spend a short time playing in the snow before getting Josh back down to thicker air.

Luke filled up the cooler with snow for the traditional snow ball fight back down in the 80 degree sea level. When Luke was four years old we all went to the summit one winter. After we got to the top I climbed into the back of the Excursion and tried to put his shoes on which he had taken off when we were at the beach earlier that day. He threw a tantrum screaming that he didn't want to wear his shoes, he wanted to go barefoot. OK I said, let's go. We jumped out of the car into two feet of fresh snow. Luke ran a dozen yards up the hill laughing at how he had fooled his dad and gotten his way. He stood there smiling for a minute, then the smile disappeared and as he raised his feet one at a time out of the frozen snow he began to cry. Then the screaming started and he tried to make his way back to the car without stepping in the evil cold stuff again. Funnier than hell!

Well, Luke tried it again now that he is almost 15 and I have to say he did much better.

Though I was a bit disappointed that ten years later I still couldn't get him to understand that walking in snow barefoot was a bad idea. Guess that's what happens when you're born and raised in Hawaii.

There were people skiing, snowboarding and just falling down the mountain in the snow, but I loved the girls in bikini's running around at 14,00' in the snow!

Luke took a break from filling the snow ball cooler to toss a shovel full of snow at his old man...don't worry, he was punished.

Here is a panorama shot of the summit showing what the top of Mauna Kea looks like in the Hawaiian winter.

After heading down the mountain back to more reasonable air Josh began to feel better and we made our way to the Lambrects house where a pool party and sleepover were underway. Luke and Josh made snowballs and called the other kids out and a rather weak snowball fight ensued.

Well, it wasn't much of a snowball fight compared to what happens in colder neighborhoods on the mainland. But then again when it was over everyone jumped in the pool and ran around in their trunks in February!

Snow in Hawaii!

Laters...Brian