Pu`u Hau Kea -- Massive Volcanic Cinder Cone On the flanks of Mauna Kea Hawaii {Vignette #5 – Snowboarders Delight
 My final vignette of the wonders of Mauna Kea in the snow.
In this one we witness Roy & Pete climb the cinder cone above...in fact if you look very closely, or view a larger version, you will spot them easily half way up the mountain. In the first comment space below are some photos and a few quotes from Pete & Roy about snowboarding in Hawaiian snow. Phot on used on the 2007 calendar for "the www.snow-forecast.com "and on their website. Prints available here Comments
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A Big Fave
Finding location...
SparkyLeigh
says:
Roy Ruiz, 26, of Kalapana moved to Hawaii three years ago from Toronto Canada, where he’d been snowboarding for a couple of years before coming here.
This is his first time on Mauna Kea.
At dusk, as the smooth mantle of snow turns icy and golden, Roy and another snowboarder, Pete, who’d just met that day, hike up the steep edge of a cinder cone to make one final run.
(They are the two little figures half way up the slope between the sun & shadow)
They’re climbing the same crater the Japanese tour guide, said was the home of Hi’iaka - Pu`u Hau Kea in my Vignette # 4
* You can more easily see Roy & Pete in this image ^
A group of trucks is parked alongside the road, reggae music blaring from open windows as young people drink beer and watch the two tiny figures doggedly ascend the crater.
The following photo shows Pu`u Pohaku cinder cone that is the background here.
Here is a quick splice of the two cinder cones. I did not intend to blend these but as an afterthought it seemed kinda cool to see them together:
A larger image here
Roy and Pete, carrying their snowboards, arrive at the top surprisingly quickly considering the elevation and grade, lingering at the top, savoring the last run of the day.
They hit the slope, first Roy, then Pete, gliding through the bluish shadows, taking a last graceful jump at the bottom.
Visibly tired, but elated, they tuck their snowboards under their arms and move slowly and heavily now through the deep snow towards their rides back home. The sun is just an orangey pink streak in the sky.
Pete, Roy’s boarding partner for the day. When asked if they’d been at this all day, “Just since this afternoon,” says Pete, “We couldn’t afford the full day ticket.”
{Hah hah. There are, of course, no chair-lifts or any sort of aid to the skiers on the volcano.
On some of the ‘runs’, the snowboarders are able to drive the loop of road from bottom to top and back that circumnavigates the 13 observatories. Pooling together into one car or truck, a designated driver gives them a short ride back to the top edge of the crater rims.
But on Pu`u Hau Kea cinder cone there is no roads at all}
Roy Ruiz takes one last look at Pu`u Hau Kea, at 13,441 feet tall, is the massive cinder cone he has both scaled and snowboarded.
This morning he surfed in five-foot waves at Pohiki, a favorite surf spot in Puna.
“My life is over. I’ve done everything now. I surfed and snowboarded today. This is a dream come true,” says Roy.
Posted 46 months ago. ( permalink )