Hawaii Rangers Rescue Hiker Stranded In Heavy Snow

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HI)

On the morning of Thursday, January 30th, rangers rescued a lone hiker who became stranded on Mauna Loa after a winter storm brought heavy snow and high winds to both the summit and lower elevations.

Alex Sverdlov, 36, visiting from New York, began a grueling 18-mile trek from the top of Mauna Loa Road at 6,662 feet towards the summit of Mauna Loa on Sunday, January 28th. He reached the 13,677-foot summit on Tuesday after dropping off his heavy gear at a lower elevation. The snowstorm struck on his late-afternoon descent, creating blinding whiteout conditions, and night soon fell.

Sverdlov made a few futile attempts to locate his pack and then decided to hunker down in the snow until daylight. His only protection consisted of the clothes he had on; supplies were limited to a bottle of frozen water.

Earlier on Tuesday, park management closed the mountain to visitors because of the dangerous weather. Sverdlov was the only registered hiker. Rangers tried unsuccessfully to call his cell phone; they then drove up Mauna Loa Road and confirmed his car was there. Ranger John Broward decided to launch a helicopter search for him when the car was found to still be there on Wednesday afternoon. Sverdlov was located by 9 a.m.

“I’ve done many crazy hikes, but this one pretty much tops the bill,” said Sverdlov, an experienced hiker who successfully summited Mauna Loa last winter. After locating his pack Wednesday morning, the deep snow made it impossible to gain much ground, and he spent a second frozen night on the mountain. Sverdlov worried that he’d die on Mauna Loa, and was astonished when he heard the helicopter.

“Even the most experienced and prepared hikers can get into trouble in the park,” said Broward, who serves as the park’s search and rescue coordinator. “What saved Alex is that he had a backcountry permit so we knew he was up there, he is extremely fit, and he stayed calm. We’re all fortunate this had a happy ending.”

On Thursday afternoon, his face sunburned and wind-whipped, Sverdlov applied for another backcountry permit, for the park’s remote coastal area. “This time I’m going to the sunny part of the park,” he said.