Snow crew plows path up Mauna Kea
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
MAUNA KEA, Hawai'i — Ronald Nahakuelua knows what it's like to spend 14 straight days clearing 7-foot snowdrifts. He has seen tall construction cranes toppled and loaded Matson containers pushed around like paper in 120 mph-plus winds.
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As foreman in a five-man crew responsible for keeping Mauna Kea open to scientists at the 13 observatories near the summit of the 13,796-foot mountain, Nahakuelua has endured 25 years of working in Hawai'i's most extreme weather conditions.
Ronald Nahakuelua, head of the maintenance crew, has spent 25 years driving a snow plow in Hawai'i.
The Mauna Kea Support Services crew functions under the University of Hawai'i Research Corp., the agency that manages the 11,288-acre science reserve.
Crew members are versatile in plumbing, electrical work, carpentry and diesel mechanics. They have been called on to clear plugged sewer lines, to weld new metal skid pads for the heavy equipment they operate, and to replace wooden siding blistered by the harsh climate at the four dormitories that house a total of up to 72 people. During the winter, they run snow plows and snow blowers.
The crew's most important job is keeping the eight-mile stretch of road from Hale Pohaku at the 9,200-foot level up to the summit open year-round. A 4 1/2-mile section of the road is unpaved and must be graded at least three times a week to smooth out the rubble and push cinders to the side.
Four of the five Mauna Kea Support Services crew members have military backgrounds, and three are products of now-closed sugar plantations along the Hamakua Coast.
Nahakuelua was the first hired for the crew when it was created in the 1970s. Balancing a gruff exterior with a sense of humor, he enjoys poking fun at his job, the crew he has assembled and the astronomers he works with from around the world.
His time in the military, where he learned diesel mechanics, gave him a penchant for safety.
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"I crack the whip when it comes to safety. I don't want to be the one to make the call (about an injured worker)," Nahakuelua said of the risks of working on Hawai'i's tallest mountain.
The Submillimeter Array telescopes near the top of Mauna Kea are still under construction. In the back is Japan's Subaru telescope.
He recalls battling deep snowdrifts in 1991, and when it was over, calling his wife Miriam at their home in upper Kaumana above Hilo to meet him at the Saddle Road junction. They went straight to Kona for a long, thawing-out party.
Manuel Santos, 42, has worked atop Mauna Kea for 17 years and is considered the joker of the bunch. He said he loves the solitude of his job and can take the snow, but regards the wind as his biggest challenge.
Santos said his wife has learned to give him 45 minutes of quiet recovery time from the effects of the high altitude after he comes down from the mountain.
Tracy Miyashiro, 38, began work as a heavy equipment operator with the U.S. Army in what was then West Germany. That's also been his main task on Mauna Kea for the past 15 years.
Carpenter Tom Krieger, 43, has been on the job for 13 years. His late father, also named Tom Krieger, was the former Navy man who established the crew 25 years ago.
Diesel mechanic John McBride, 46, is the newest member of the support team. He has been on the mountain eight years.
They are a close-knit group. Each workday, the men rise before dawn to carpool up to their base yard at Hale Pohaku. As they arrive, many of the astronomers and visitors are heading down the mountain after a night of stargazing.
Nahakuelua has mixed feelings about "these bright scientists" who use the mountain. While he respects their intellect, he is constantly amazed "at how stupid their driving can be" in treacherous conditions that include steep grades, ice and windblown shards of lava.
Burning brakes are a common problem for the inexperienced, and drivers stricken with altitude sickness have been found slumped over the steering wheel. More than once, Nahakuelua has had to order the driver of a smoldering van to park away from the maintenance station at Hale Pohaku, where gasoline and diesel fuel are stored.
After so many years, the support crew has become accustomed to the high altitude. The men know to stay home if they are sick and to avoid alcohol the night before duty.
The oxygen-deprived atmosphere only magnifies the effects of colds, the flu and — especially — hangovers, said Santos.
Reach Hugh Clark at hclark@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.
