Cinder cones in the snow

First thing first. The rest of these photos are taken from the summit of Mauna Kea. Here is the trail going up the summit. I know it is not a very long trail, but remember it is almost 14,000 ft! Generally speaking (knock on wood), I tend to not have much trouble with elevation. I just do nice deep breaths and take my time. I over did it once in Bolivia at around 17,000 ft and hurt. Learned that lesson the hard way!

So, while this trail looks nice and easy in this photo, remember the elevation and that it was WINDY! Let's play guess which way was the wind was blowing!? The left hand side is the Hilo side of the mountain and the right hand side is the Kona side of the mountain.

Now, on to those cute cinder cones covered in snow!

This little cutie is covered in snow! However, note the other little cutie behind it not covered in snow! I love the contrast between the red rocks and the white snow! 

This time there was a snowman on the summit. This is the snowman's view: a cute cinder cone and Mauna Loa off in the distance!

I am not sure why I do this. I love survey markers and pictures of my feet at places, so I guess I just can't help it! I took some other poor souls up with me this time. Here are our feet. LOOK! Those are some cute shoes!

One last beauty! Look at those colors! Mauna Kea is a wonderfully beautiful place. I love the cinder cones any time of year, but it was truly magical to see them with a dusting of snow!