Rain, Mauna Kea, Skiing, and Altitude Sickness

[GoingFeral]

Made a trip up MK to try out the legs and lungs on Sunday. Snow cover on the North face from the true summit was sketchy so I skinned up the path to the top of Pu'u Poliahu and skied down the bowl. One lap was enough. Much less like the sun-softened corn snow I wanted and more like unbreakable cardboard. Very consolidated and stable. I was dizzy at the car but took a slow and measured warmup. I was chugging good in 15 min and felt much better once I had my heart rate up. The wind was blowing a steady 30 MPH at the top. Skied down to Led Zep Heartbreaker. Great trip and want to go again.

I'll follow Voyagers cardinal rule and climb from the car and ski back to it until I get some more experience at the altitude. I don't think I gave it the seriousness it deserves.

[TomK]

It's snowing again tonight on MK's summit. I don't think there will be a lot of snow but it's enough to evacuate staff from the summit due to the dangerous road conditions. The summit access road is currently closed to the public at the VIS. Given the forecast, I think it might remain closed for a few days.