north shore news

—

Adventure seekers find Hawai

Bill Van Luven
‘Contributing Writer
‘WHY go to the top of
Mauna Kea? At 4,200.

metres (14,000 fect) the
weather conditions.

‘can. be treacherous: high

winds can whip up

(down) a wind chill of

-46 Ce 7

“In fact, the wind speed can
get high enough to rip the -
paint off an observatory.
“dome.
~ Then there’s all those high
altitude problems: rapid pulse~ |

from oxygen starvation, dehy-
dration from pulmonary water
loss, second degree burns
from only 15 minutes of UV
exposure. Ever hear of “bowel
distention”? You know how
ressure builds up inside those
ittle blister packets cf salad
dressing on the airlines? Well,
the same thing happens deep -
“inside you when you go to a
summit of a high mountain.
- + But that all adds to the
adventure. We called it
“pheno bagging” ’cause we
were out to bag a phenome-
non; something to add to
_ one’s life list. me
We were not disappointed.

An extinct volcano on the
big island of Hawaii, Mauna

Kea rises to the highest point -

in the entire Pacific basin. At
9,750 metres (32,500 feet), it
is also the world’s tallest
mountain when measured
from the ocean floor.
Working on top of Mauna
Kea has its challenges. Despite
the fact that all scientists and
technicians rust spend time
at a chalet-like acclimatization
station at the 2,900-metre
(9,600-foot) Ievel before
going to the top, there is still
the risk of a plethora of alti-
tude-related incidents that
regularly hamper even the

most experienced summit
workers.-

Like the time when they
lifted a giant, heavy mirror
with cables ... only to find
that when it was installed 15
years ago someone had for-
gotten to bolt the mirror to
its holder.

That's often the way it is
on top: you’re working away
and then suddenly you can’t
remember what it is chat
you’re supposed to be doing.
Or just as common, you're
convinced you’ve completed a
task when in fact you never
even started it. .

This is why teamwork is so

important on Mauna Kea: a
big part of your job is backing
up what the other person has
done, Human urseliability at
altitude is also why all the
observatories are moving
towards distant operation.
Soon, most functions will be
handled remotely from a town
at the base of Mauna Kea.:

A spccial feature of our
trip was a visit to two of the
13 observatories that sprout
defiantly from the lifeless
red /brown lava rock of the
summit. Here’s where ~
Canadians can be proud, as
one of the finest performing.

telescopes on site is the 3.6-...

“the ’scope can

metre Canada France Hawaii .
Telescope, or CFH.

The CFH, like almost all
the telescopes on the summit,”
has very few down days dur-
ing the year. This is one of the .
most sought-after observato-
ries for professional astro-
physicists. The countless pro-
posals that come to the CFH.
must be carefully scrutinized» -
before access is awarded, and | .
then the wait to get time at-
he's n ¢ years. So:
showing a gaggl< of pfienc-
bagging astrogeek hee ”

around all this cutiing edge’

5 "See Billions page &8 .

Cap hosts Star and Fire tour
~ FOR. the ‘discerning ‘and. intrepid Phenomenon bagge .
Capilano College: invites-you: to expericnce some of the

most drainatic and stimulating scenery on — or off — the

planet... :;
"Led by

tour leader, Bill Van Luven, your base will be

the Kona Coast on the dry, leeward side of the Big Island

From there, yo

a
Sky ‘Touching on Maura

many adventures,
: Imagine standing .

wuge ‘volcanic: cinder. cone, 4,200 : metres: (over
3-000 feet)

x
13,000
‘the Pacifi

above the ocean;.this is the highest point in

‘observatories:on the summit of Mauna

Kea, including Canada’
the: Keck twin telescopes

‘that have made STIHL:
ber o ridwid:

November 30, 1999, or.
while supplies [as

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