The Big Island’s First Winter Snow of 2010 on Mauna Kea

There’s snow on Mauna Kea!

Where, but on the Big Island of Hawaii, can one look up at majestic Mauna Kea (in Hawaiian the mountain means white mountain) and see the first winter snow? This happened overnight after a day of heavy rain yesterday, and the beautiful 13,796 ft. mountain was covered by about 2,000 feet of snow when the clouds cleared this morning.

Neighboring Mauna Loa, (which in Hawaiian means long mountain) at 13,685 ft. high was also covered with its first snow. What a majestic sight to look at these two immense mountains that together comprise the largest mountain mass on earth, rising nearly 33,000 feet from the Pacific Ocean floor.

If you have never been to the Big Island, then one should consider coming for a winter visit as this occurrence usually happens several times. Sitting on the beach about 30 miles distant, one can swim and snorkel in 70 degree water, or go whale watching, while looking up at this magnificent snow covered backdrop. In Hawaii, only on the Big Island of Hawaii does one have this visual opportunity…

Several years ago, my wife and I had friends visit from another beautiful island, Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. Mauritius is a sugar island and slightly larger than the island of Maui. I drove them to the top of Mauna Kea and it started to snow. It was the first snow they had ever been in. You can imagine the excitement.

We then drove from the summit down to Kohala Waterfront where we jumped into the ocean for a swim. All within one hour! There are not many places in the world where one can do this.

Aloha from the best island, the Big Island of Hawaii!