Access to summit still limited

More than three weeks after the first bout of winter weather hit Hawaii Island, the Mauna Kea Summit Access Road is still closed to the public.

The road, which begins at an elevation of 9,200 feet at the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station, has been opened only a handful of days since first closing Dec. 1. That closure came on the heels of the first snowstorms of the season on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

On Thursday, time-lapse animations from webcams at the Mauna Kea Weather Center show drifts of snow across the summit, with an occasional snowplow driving into view. Temperatures were in the high 30s and low 40s, according to data from the observatories at the summit.

Road closures are determined by rangers for the Office of Mauna Kea Management. OMKM is part of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, which holds a state Department of Land and Natural Resources master lease for the Mauna Kea Science Reserve.

“The only time the road is closed is for safety reasons,” said UH spokesman Dan Meisenzahl. “Whether snow is up there or not, it’s a pretty dangerous place to be. It’s very difficult to get people off the mountain.”

“It becomes a challenge with two-way traffic … where you’re not really sure where the edge of the snow is,” he said. “UH is responsible for the health, safety and welfare of the public.”

The Mauna Kea Weather Center lists four criteria for closing the road:

• Any ice or snow on the road.

• Winds greater than 55 mph for more than 1 hour and/or gusts greater than 65 mph.

• Visibility less than 50 feet.

• Any emergent condition that makes the road unsafe for travel.

The closure criteria was developed in part through research with the National Park Service and the National Weather Service, Meisenzahl said. It was updated about three years ago to reduce the wind speed criteria, he said, to “about the point where it can be very dangerous opening a car door.”

Though the volcano summits typically get dustings of snow during the winter months — and occasionally summer months — it is less common for snow and ice to linger as it has this month.

The weather pattern responsible for the storms on the summits and the rain at lower elevations is a La Nina pattern.

“This is a … pronounced swing, and we’re getting pretty cool air in,” said Steven Businger, chairman of the atmospheric science department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

“Cold air’s coming down and causing the storminess.”

“That doesn’t always happen,” he said. “It happens every several years where you have a rainy winter.”

Businger said he could remember five similar winters in the past 20 years.

“I can’t remember when we’ve had such a solid snow,” said Rob Pacheco, owner and president of Hawaii Forest and Trail, one of the licensed tour companies that brings visitors to the summit. “This is a rare occurrence.”

Pacheco said decisions to make a scheduled trip to Mauna Kea are typically made on a daily basis, but because of the snow and the closures, “We’re calling people a day and a half to two days out to let them know what the situation is. … All businesses have risks, and in the nature business weather is one of them.

“It’s probably hardest on our Mauna Kea guides because for some of them, that’s the only tour they do.”

Doug Arnott of Arnott’s Lodge said in an email to the Tribune-Herald that years ago people were permitted to go to the snow line near the Very Long Baseline Array radio telescope.

The summit road closure also has led to disappointment and frustration for residents and cultural practitioners hoping to go to the summit.

“I think it’s common for people to want to go up the mountain when they see the snow,” Meisenzahl said. “Whether you’re one of the few tour operators that have licenses, or whether you’re a cultural practitioner or a member of the community who grew up driving up and collecting snow and building a snowman.

“If there is any reason to fear for the safety of the public, we’re always going to err on the side of (caution). That is our main concern.”

However, the public road closures do not necessarily apply to employees of the observatories on Mauna Kea’s summit. The observatories sublease from the university, Meisenzahl said, and “the observatory staff accept their responsibility of being on the mountain.”

Before the upgrade and renovation of Saddle Road was completed, there was less interest in visiting Mauna Kea because navigating the highway was itself a dangerous proposition.

“Mauna Kea is much more accessible than it ever was before,” Meisenzahl said.

On Thursday afternoon, webcams showed that Mauna Loa still had a coating of snow on its summit as well.

Portions of Mauna Loa are managed by Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, including a road on the eastern side of the mountain that goes to Red Hill Cabin.

Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said Red Hill Cabin and the summit are open to overnight backpackers and hikers. Anyone interested in making that trek must have a backcountry permit.

“They have to be prepared for freezing rain and snow,” Ferracane said.

Because conditions can change quickly on the mountain, she said, the best way for people to find out about closures is to check with the park.

Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.