Snow on Mauna Kea

[Obie]

I saw the summit today from Kapoho. I need a better camera and a tripod to get a picture.

[ironyak]

The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation...

We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow.
The hammer of the gods...

Just queing up some tracks before we make some. Perhaps I'll write and send pictures - it's snow day!

[SBH]

It's a beautiful morning up there, blue skies and lots of fresh snow.

http://www5.uhh.hawaii.edu/~webcam/mauna_kea/

Looks like they are evacuating the summit

http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2015/0...ory-crews/

which makes me wonder why they don't have a Pisten Bully

http://www.pistenbully.com/usa/en.html

for just this situation and because of possible medical emergencies during blizzards.. It would take that blower hours to get to the top going one mile per hour. A Pisten Bully snow cat can get through just about any conditions and can cut a road quickly.

[ironyak]

How it is that I can drive two hours up a snow-covered volcano and get better internet than most places in Puna? 4G at 12k - snow joke!

It is stunning up here - the contrast between black and white, the views of Hualalai, Maui, and an awe inspiring Mauna Kea. Very blessed we all are!

(sorry - not a pro, just some pics from my phone & point & shoot)
http://imgur.com/iHlk2RC
http://imgur.com/7Sc8lSN
http://imgur.com/qwHGQZW

ETA: Couple more shots

[TomK]

Summit road conditions have not been updated this evening. My apologies for that but it's not something I control.

http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu/current/road-conditions/

However, the summit is only accessible with snow chains. Don't be fooled by summit web cams, it seems the problems are a little lower down. The road is still closed but if someone were to ask about the chances of it being opened sometime on Saturday, I would say they were probably good, but would also be a little hesitant when saying that.

SBH - that article was a little misleading. There was no one at the summit to be evacuated. The road crew got as far as they could but there was no way anyone could have got to the summit in the first place.

[TomK]

Maybe the MK rangers read PW!

Road conditions just got updated:

"Aloha Everyone,

The road to the summit of Maunakea is currently CLOSED due to heavy accumulations of snow and ice on all summit roads.

Our snow removal crew is working every day to clear large amounts of snow from summit roads; this work will continue until the roads are clear and safe to travel.

We will regularly update this message until the road is opened.

Mahalo and have a great, safe day

Maunakea Visitor Information Station"

[TomK]

Just curious, ironyak. Was that second picture, the panorama, done in-camera or stitched together after the fact? What camera were you using?

If you stitched the photos together, what software did you use? I ask because I might have some suggestions. If it was in-camera, well, I don't.

Thanks.

[ironyak]

In-camera, Nikon S6500. Good for kid pics or messing around while they are in the car unthawing. Plenty of pros up taking pictures - apparently the view from Waimea side was socked in.

Look forward to pics from your asessment today. Should be grand if you can get up there. Any snow shoes at the VIS gift shop?

[TomK]

Thanks, ironyak, definitely can't give any advice on that camera or the in-camera panorama.

No pictures from me I'm afraid as I didn't go up today. We determined that, after getting a picture of the west side of UKIRT's dome with the help of Keck, there was no way we would be able to operate this weekend, so there was no point me heading up. I do have pictures of our dome taken today by a summit crew, but they aren't mine and don't have permission to share them. They're not really for public consumption either, just pictures and close-ups of ice on the dome structure.

The summit road is still closed I'm afraid. The actual summit is not in too bad shape, but as I mentioned earlier, the real problems are a little lower down.

[Carey]

From our garden today:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2akjz8jhww54w1...w.JPG?dl=0