Calls from the summit facility are not exactly what I want to see on my phone display on Christmas Eve. Heather was very apologetic about calling, but she had no choice, the Keck 2 dome would not rotate.
It was just before sunrise that we drove up the mountain from Waikoloa, the sun rising over the shoulder of Mauna Kea, casting long crepuscular rays into the sky. It is a beautiful Christmas morning, a clear sky, the snow capped summits of two volcanoes looming overhead. Heading to work on this morning is a bit surreal, while at the same time seeming a bit more festive for the snow.
It has become a very popular tradition, one that sees dozens upon dozens of trucks loaded with white each day. Fathers, brothers, and uncles must have departed for the summit in the early dawn to shovel snow by headlights in order to bring a white Christmas down the mountain. Somewhere there are photos of snowmen, snow ball fights, and celebrating keiki on tropical green Hilo lawns.
And snow there is atop the mauna. The 11ft snowdrift in the Keck parking area has been cut down a bit by the MKSS crews, a mere six feet high now after being pushed back from the building. At least we now have room to park. It is cold, a bit of a shock after waking up to a warm island morning. It will be cold in the dome where we will be working.
The dome we fixed before lunch, after some troubleshooting and a couple false leads we identify an intermittent connection. A fault readback circuit from one of the motor controllers is open, causing the PLC to see a fault that is not real, shutting off the drive power. Problem fixed I spend the rest of the day doing some other small tasks.
A Christmas day spent on the summit of Mauna Kea is not how I envisioned spending my holiday, it is however quite a memorable way to spend the day.