In a comment to a previous article, Mark suggests that we need artificial snow here. Skiing is as close as the Big Island this time of year, as a matter of fact they were at it just this week:
Photo credit: KITV News 4 via the Honolulu Star Bulletin
Winter storms leave snow on the volcanos of Mauna Loa (“Long Peak” at 13,415′ or 4089m) and Mauna Kea (“White Peak” at 13796′ or 4205m), though it rarely builds up. People ski at Mauna Kea since the road goes all the way up to the telescopes at the summit. Get a friend with a 4-wheel drive and some chains, but don’t take your expensive boards because I bet more than a few rocks poke through. I’ve always wanted to fly over there with my randonnée skis but I’d have to be lucky to time it right. And then I don’t know if I could handle the uphill skiing after driving up there from sea level.
So the Big Islanders are lucky to see some snowy peaks, but it got me thinking: has it ever snowed on Kauai? The highest point here is 5243′ or 1598m near Mt Wailaleale, but sometimes we get a cold winter storm that might freeze up there overnight. I have never heard someone mention snowflakes falling in Kokee, the highest road on Kauai at 4000′ (1240m), but then again, I’ve never asked. A quick Google for “snow on Kauai” yeilds no evidence, although I did learn that a Kauai chief once wooed a snow-goddess of Mauna Kea and the large Poliahu heiau (stone-walled temple) in Wailua, 3 miles from my house, is named after her.
I’ll start asking around, some of the old timers here might be able to tell me, though I’d really like to find someone who has seen the snow falling themselves.
