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Okay, it snowed in Georgia. But Hawai'i?!
Actually, this is not as uncommon as you might think, on the upper slopes of Mauna Kea on Hawai'i island (Big Island). Cell phones are buzzing all over the islands, telling snowboarding enthusiasts to get their boards down there pronto. (The rest of the time, they go to Colorado.) What is newsworthy is that this system brought four and a half inches of rain to O'ahu yesterday. Yikes!
8 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
looks happy about it! 
http://blog.sfgate.com/hawaii/2014/01/30/stranded-hiker-rescued-in-snowstorm-in-hawaii/
It’s not often that you hear this: National park rangers have rescued a stranded hiker caught in a snowstorm — in Hawai‘i.
Of course, it makes more sense when you know that the hiker — New York resident Alex Sverdlov, 36, was close to the top of Mauna Loa, the second highest mountain in the world when measured from the ocean floor, and a nothing-to-sneeze-at 13,677 feet high by traditional measurements. According to a statement from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, rangers located him by helicopter this morning after he spent two chilly nights on the mountain, the first with nothing but the clothes he had on and a bottle of frozen water.
He had begun the 18-mile trek to the summit from the top of Mauna Loa Road, at 6,662 feet elevation, on Tuesday, after dropping off his heavy gear at a lower elevation. After making the summit, he began to descend in the later afternoon, only to encounter blinding whiteout in heavy snow and high winds, the park statement said. Unable to locate his pack, he hunkered down for the night.
Park authorities, meanwhile, had attempted to hail Sverdlov by cell phone following their decision earlier on Tuesday to close the mountain to visitors due to dangerous weather. Sverdlov, described as “an experienced hiker who successfully summited Mauna Loa last winter,” was the only hiker registered that day. When rangers saw his car was still at Mauna Loa Road Wednesday afternoon, Ranger John Broward decided to start a helicopter search this morning and found the hiker by 9 a.m.
Of course, it makes more sense when you know that the hiker — New York resident Alex Sverdlov, 36, was close to the top of Mauna Loa, the second highest mountain in the world when measured from the ocean floor, and a nothing-to-sneeze-at 13,677 feet high by traditional measurements. According to a statement from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, rangers located him by helicopter this morning after he spent two chilly nights on the mountain, the first with nothing but the clothes he had on and a bottle of frozen water.
He had begun the 18-mile trek to the summit from the top of Mauna Loa Road, at 6,662 feet elevation, on Tuesday, after dropping off his heavy gear at a lower elevation. After making the summit, he began to descend in the later afternoon, only to encounter blinding whiteout in heavy snow and high winds, the park statement said. Unable to locate his pack, he hunkered down for the night.
Park authorities, meanwhile, had attempted to hail Sverdlov by cell phone following their decision earlier on Tuesday to close the mountain to visitors due to dangerous weather. Sverdlov, described as “an experienced hiker who successfully summited Mauna Loa last winter,” was the only hiker registered that day. When rangers saw his car was still at Mauna Loa Road Wednesday afternoon, Ranger John Broward decided to start a helicopter search this morning and found the hiker by 9 a.m.
