A trip to the top of the island

-           Mauna Kea’s summit is at 13,796 feet above sea level. At that elevation, even though it is located in the tropics, snow occurs yearly at the summit and even in the summer months. We went to the summit in 1982 and threw snowballs in July. In the winter, the summit is a gathering place for local skiers. However, realize that there are no ski lifts and the only way to the top is using a 4-wheel drive vehicle. In order to ski a group in a 4-wheel drive vehicle drives to the top of the ski area. Everyone then skis down except for the driver, who drives to the bottom of the ski run and picks everybody up. They then all return to the top and someone else gets behind the wheel so that the driver can take a turn. Beware though, rocks litter the surface and the run can be very dangerous. When we routinely ran tours to the summit we used to bring coolers of snow back to our neighborhood for children.

            Being the highest point in Hawaiʻi, Mauna Kea is a sacred place in Hawaiian culture and still occupies a pre-eminent place in beliefs and practices on the island. It is, therefore, a place of cultural significance. Add to this the fact that Mauna Kea is perhaps the best place in the world for astronomical observatories and you will understand that there is a cultural clash between scientific and Hawaiian communities. Unfortunately, this clash has been exacerbated by the scientific community not always acting in a proper manner respecting the beliefs of the Hawaiian community. Therefore, at this point, there are legal challenges to the proposal to build a 30-meter telescope on the mountain in addition to those that already exist there. Preliminary approval has been granted for the telescope, but, only time will tell what the result of legal appeals will be. Hopefully, traditional beliefs and scientific proposals can achieve a mutual understanding that will be right (pono) for both parties allowing the two cultures to coexist peacefully.

            Realize that there will be no place to get fuel, so make sure you start out with a full gas tank. There is also no place to eat, so you will need to bring food with you. Going to the top of Mauna Kea officially requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle due to the steepness of the road and the fact that a portion of it is unpaved. If you do not have one, there are tour companies which go to the top, but do not explore the observatories, as they primarily use the 9,000-foot level for telescope observation after dark. Also, children, below the age of 16, should not venture above the 9,000-foot level. For further information about visiting Mauna Kea see http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/. Also, before you take the trip, check the weather conditions because winter storms can very quickly close the road. Current weather and road conditions can be checked at http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu/forecast/mko/.

A weather computer model

We have, in Kona, successfully survived Hurricane Iselle. Many parts of the island, especially in the Puna district in the southeast were devastated by the storm. In Kona we had a negligible impact. While many areas got up to 15 inches of rain, at our house we received 0.1 inch. The difference was our position with respect to Mauna Loa. When our friends asked what we were doing to prepare, I said nothing because we were not going to be adversely affected.

I was able to say that because I had access to a computer model generated by the weather center on Haleakala. Let me explain my reliance on the computer model. When the last storm passed to our south, we needed to go to Hilo. The National Weather Service was predicting a rainy day in Hilo. However, I looked at the rainfall model found at: http://weather.mhpcc.hawaii.edu/wrf/hawaii2/rainfall.html which was predicting no rain.  It turned out to be a beautiful day in Hilo.

So when Iselle was bearing down on the island, I naturally turned to the computer model. In regards to both the rainfall predictions and wind speeds the model predicted that the rest of the island would be severely impacted, but, that the Kona area would not feel the effects of the storm. Naturally, we should never rely completely on a computer model, but, the predictions gave me reason to believe that Kona would be spared.

As it turned out the computer model was right. While the rest of the island received heavy rain and high winds, Kona was spared. The predictions from the National Weather Service necessarily must give a worst case scenario for the island, while the computer model could present a localized picture of what was expected. It definitely pays to explore all possible information sources that are available to the public. It might take a little searching, but it is well worth the effort.