Road to Maunakea Summit Opens Before Christmas

Snow-capped Maunakea from Saddle Road Dec. 23, 2016

Every day this Sacramento Realtor checked the website for Maunakea Summit to determine whether the road to the Summit was open, and it has been closed. Since I arrived on Big Island for my wor-cation on December 1, the weather has been mostly rainy for 3 solid weeks, which is very unusual for the Kona side. All that rain, though, caused it to snow like crazy on Maunakea.

Imagine my excitement when I saw on Friday, December 23rd, 2016, the road was open to the public as long as you drove a four-wheel drive vehicle. I’ve got a Jeep. I woke up my husband, time to GO!

Elizabeth Weintraub at Maunakea Summit

From the bottom of the sea to the top of the Summit, the height of Maunakea measures more than 33,000 feet, making it the tallest mountain the world. It is also more than a million years old. It is now a dormant volcano. That means it could erupt again but it has not erupted for 4,000 to 6,000 years. At the top of the Summit where the telescopes are located, the elevation above sea is 13,803.

One of many telescopes at Maunakea Summit

The Summit Road to Maunakea was built in 1964. At present, there are 13 telescopes at Maunakea Summit. Scientists have determined this is one of the best places in the world to study astronomy. Why? Dark skies, low humidity and above the clouds.

Snow covered mountain side at Maunakea Summit

As with most things in Hawaii that the U. S. government has helped itself to and seized, there is opposition to the telescopes from native Hawaiians. Hawaiians consider Maunakea a sacred site. We spotted a poster on the wall at the Visitor’s Center containing a statement by a Maunakea Summit Ranger and native Hawaiian. His words were simple: Science is not everything. Although science is everything proven.

Some people hiked on a snowboard up the mountain and skied down.

Trekking over sacred land so one can ski down the mountain doesn’t seem  to me like people are honoring the sacred land of Maunakea. I don’t know if it’s allowed. But people also drive to the top to fill up the their truck beds with snow and haul the snow back to town to make snowmen.

Adam Weintraub built a tiny snowman at Maunakea Summit.

We stopped at the Visitor’s Center to acclimate to the high altitude before continuing up the Summit. The Visitor’s Center is located at 9,200 feet. I felt slightly dizzy when I got out of the Jeep. And suddenly starving. We grabbed gifts for my sister, niece and friend in Texas; and for lunch: a couple of Milky Way bars, chips and peanuts. All the turkey sandwiches were gone by 1 PM.

Windchill made it even colder at Maunakea Summit

I was so hungry I wanted to eat my Milky Way bar standing in line, but then I decided that ripping open an unpaid-for-candy bar would not set a good example for the number of children who were at the Visitor’s Center. Seems I am always a bad influence on children, and my attitude probably rubs off on everybody I know as well.

It is a half hour in 4-wheel from Visitor’s Center to Maunakea Summit

The drive itself was a bit hairy. It is pretty much straight up, and you can’t go much faster than 25 MPH. You really do need 4-wheel drive. Fortunately for me, I watched the YouTube video on how to put my vehicle into 4WD. I once owned a 1974 Jeep CJ5, and this was in 1974. To put that old vehicle into 4WD involved getting out of the Jeep and turning the wheels by hand. This was easy in a 2016 Jeep Patriot. Lift a lever behind the brake.

Mauna Loa is also snow-capped and visible on the way to Maunakea Summit.

We dressed as warmly as possible, given the allotment of clothing at our house in Hawaii. We do not have any winter clothes, not even a coat. The best I could muster was to layer a couple of shirts and top it with my unlined linen Hawaiian jacket. I borrowed a pair of my husband’s socks to wear with my Tevas.

Clouds visible from the back of Maunakea Visitor’s Center

You’ll find at least 3 different climate zones on Maunakea. The Reserve on Maunakea is managed by The University of Hawai’i and leased to the State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DNLR). Up to 11 countries fund the telescopes. There are native Hawaiians on the Board, but residents of Hawaii want more say in the control of the mountain, and there is a lot of resistance to the new TMT.

The upper part of the road to the Maunakea Summit is paved but most is gravel.

The TMT, the Thirty Meter Telescope, has been in the works for a while but disputes over various issues in court have caused delays. I have seen signs around Kailua-Kona that say YES on TMT in shop windows, but people write a lot of letters to the editor in West Hawaii Today opposing it.

I am hopeful people will find a way to blend science with spiritual beliefs. You don’t have to believe in somebody else’s beliefs to respect those positions and create compromise. If anything, non-residents seem respectful here. A Sacramentan can move to Hawaii, but you will never be a Hawaiian or a resident. You are simply a guest who has been granted permission to stay in this beautiful home.