Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25040
�. � " ( ders only discovered this site in the 80s. For some of the 250.000 wave surfers in Hawaii. snow boarding is a natural extension. Unlike snow-guaranteed mainland winters, snowboarding Mauna Kea is more of a novelty. Winter '97 saw a couple days in the early season when the snow melted. But 3 years ago. there was enough cover to host the Mauna Kea Snowboard Championships. attracting island-bound riders. On our way to the runs, Doug and I passed a few people shoveling snow into the run wasn't long but looked great. We drove on to the top and parked next to Japan's Subaru Observatory where we could see some of the island chain as well as nearby back of pick-up trucks so their kids could build snowmen in their yards. ArC?und anqther hair pin and we reached the base of Poi Bowl. Completely blanKeted In white, the volcanoes Mauna Loa, and. on Maui. Haleakala. Right below us, Poi Bowl's quarter-mile fall line looked steep enough-I rate it about a blue. Surfing down. carving turns. I felt like I was miles from Hawaii. ley at the top. perfect in the middle. and slushy at the bottom. It was heaven. '---:::�--- After a half-dozen beautiful runs. I was lying in the snow under the tropical Hawaiian sun. catching my breath. I asked the Mauna Kea Ski Company guide what he thought of the conditions ... It doesn't get much bet ter than this:' he said. It's definitely not Utah powder, but the fact that there is snow in Hawaii is amazing. While the drops may seem less intense. don't count Mauna Kea out for injury. The high altitude affects your ability and the weather changes quickly. Unlike other mountains, when the snow ends on Mauna Kea you'll find lava, not grass. Whether it's turbo skiers, sledders or snowboarders. people lose control every year and skid across cooled and cutting lava. What makes snowboarding Mauna Kea so much fun is the nov elty. When you're finished cutting through the day's "pineapple powder:' you can still cruise down to the beach where it's 80 degrees. You could say boarding Mauna Kea is a once in a lifetime thing. But I've done it twice now. 59