Due to the presence of winter snows on the top of this massive volcano, the native Hawaiians called this peak Mauna Kea or "White Mountain" in their native tongue. The seasonal snows that give the mountain its name are incredibly ironic given its fiery birth. Like the other peaks in the Hawaiian Island chain, Mauna Kea was born at the bottom of the ocean on a "hot spot" beneath the Pacific Plate. It rose higher and higher with effusive lava flows piling on top of each other, eventually becoming the tallest mountain on Earth (measured from its base). The forces of erosion will eventually grind Mauna Kea down, and Loihi, a new island-to-be currently ~1000m under water, may, in a few hundred thousand years, eclipse its height.

In our own time, there is even a chance that nearby Mauna Loa, "Long Mountain" may eclipse its currently higher neighbor. The Big Island is currently sinking at a slow, albeit steady rate due to the massive amount of magma that keeps welling up within the bowels of the island. Since Mauna Loa is still active, in that magma continues to cause its summit to swell and grow, there is a very slight probability that it could grow higher than the current highpoint. Mauna Kea, though not extinct, is in a dormant period where continued magmatic growth is extremely unlikely.

While it is a very accessible mountain in summer, winter storms can dump feet and feet of snow on the summit, leaving the road inaccessible. During such times, snowshoes and crampons can be necessary, though, the observatory complex owns and maintains snowplows to clear the roadway; after a big dump, the route should be clear within a few days.

There is a trail up Mauna Kea, beginning at the Onizuka Vistior Center, though few people make the climb given the acclimatization difficulty on this island. It is recommended that people intending to drive to the summit stop at the visitor's center (~9000') for 45 minutes to an hour in order to allow the body some small chance to adjust.

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2005.02.08 - Carol has always said that she would come with me to climb the highest point in Hawai'i; I don't think its so much about the mountain, but the island that the mountain is on. We originally intended to go for an anniversary somewhere down the line, it just turned out that "somewhere down the line" was our 2nd. Based on business trips and other mileage points, we could afford to fly for free, which took a big chunk out of the cost. After talking about it, we decided to go during Carol's winter break, the first week of February.

Since we had the entire week, the plans for visiting Mauna Kea were pretty loose. After working out the Ash Wednesday schedule, the final decision was to go during a clear weather day, preferrably Tuesday, on the way to Hilo. Every morning, we were able to go out onto the balcony facing mauka to see what the conditions looked like. The observatories were even visible from our room just above sea-level!

On Tuesday morning, the forecast was good for the center of the island as well as Hilo, so we decided to go for it. The Chevy Trail Blazer we rented from Avis could definitely handle the Pikes-Peak-like road, and after looking over the rental agreement, the was nothing specifically prohibiting driving on Saddle Rd. or the Mauna Kea Access road. We got a pretty early start so that we could take some time to acclimatize for our 0' to 13,803' change in elevation.

The views from Saddle Rd. were spectacular. Wildflowers were in bloom all around, and even on the lower portions of the mountain, it looked like spring was everywhere. As we drove higher, the vegetation changed from prarie to desert to sub-alpine. It was quite strange looking at evergreen trees on Hawai'i! As the pavement petered out, Carol and I reached the Onizuka Visitors' Center where we got out to stretch our legs, change clothes and look around. Being interested in astronomy, many of the exhibits were really interesting. After reading all about the observatories, the clear skies and some of the discoveries that had taken place here, we decided to start the drive up the higher slopes of the volcano.

The dirt road was made of very loosely consolidated dirt and ash which liked to let the tires swim around the corners; when the dropoffs weren't too severe and no one was coming, I made a few drift turns to Carol's dismay. As we went higher and higher rock turned to snow, and eventually we were left with an enormous field of white with the road providing the only contrast. The views of Mauna Loa were amazing! The slope started to ease and soon the first of the observatories came into view. The now paved road switchbacked ever upward as we started noticing large chunks of ice on the asphalt. Not thinking anything about this, we blindly continued until a barrage of these huge missiles started raining down from above. I swerved and sped up avoiding almost all of them as the careened rapidly down the flanks of Mauna Kea. After the "storm" ceased we looked up to see a snow grinder clearing the ice from the side of the road up above us. Extremely annoyed that the crew didn't bother to check if anyone was coming or even put up a sign, I shot them a dirty look as we drove past. I think they realized what had happened.

After the icefall experience, Carol and I soon parked at the base of Pu'u Wëkiu's north slope. We took along the bare essentials, which included a healthy dose of SPF 50, and made our way up the snow slope to Mauna Kea's summit. I was pleasantly surprised that the altitude didn't present either of us with any real problems. We both were breathing a little harder than normal, but that was entirely expected given that we had been sleeping at sea level for the past few days. I noticed that from our vantage point, the curve of the Earth's surface was visible looking almost 14,000' down to the "flat" ocean surface. Carol took a few pictures of this phenomenon before we took our last few steps up to the top. We had the summit entirely to ourselves for pictures, but before very long a few other groups made their way up. As the crowd started to grow, we elected to head back down for the beaches and zoo on the Hilo side of the island.

As we descended, we stopped for more photo ops and took our time enjoying the Hawaiian snow. The road leading to Hilo was much smoother than the Waikoloa - Mauna Kea leg, and before we knew it, we found ourselves in Hilo where the mercury was back up into the mid 80s. Where else can you go from 28F to 82F in the span of an hour?!?