It never occurred to Alex Sverdlov that he might meet his end in the snow in Hawaii.
But drifting in and out of sleep in the early, early morning, all alone but for the snow flurries blowing about him, the New York computer science teacher and ardent solo hiker couldn’t help but accept that possibility.
"I had only the clothes on my back and a bottle of water that had frozen," Sverdlov recalled by phone Saturday. "My thoughts were of, How was I going to make it? I wasn’t willing to give up."
It would be another day and long night before Hawaii Volcanoes National Park rangers found a weary Sverdlov making his way down 13,677-foot Mauna Loa Volcano, capping an ordeal whose story could chill the hearts of recreational hikers in any clime.
Sverdlov, who had successfully hiked Mauna Loa a year earlier, began his solo journey Sunday, Jan. 26.
As he had the previous year, Sverdlov reached the Puu Ulaula (Red Hill) Cabin at 10,035 feet in a day. The next day, he made his way through the otherworldly lava fields of the upper mountain to reach the Mauna Loa Summit Cabin, an ascent of more than 3,200 feet.
On Tuesday, Sverdlov headed to the summit two miles away, stashing his pack in a cave so he could pick it up on the way down.
Sverdlov, the only registered hiker on the mountain that day, was unaware that park management had closed the trail earlier that day due to dangerous weather conditions.
Sverdlov had reached the summit and was on his way back down when the snowstorm hit, blanketing the rugged terrain in a deep, featureless powder.
"It was gray all over," Sverdlov said. "I lost the trail and I couldn’t find my pack."
Park rangers tried to contact Sverdlov, but the hiker’s phone wasn’t working.
Sverdlov had successfully completed hikes ranging from Mount Field in Vermont to the Grand Canyon to the Kalalau Trail, but he had never been forced to hunker down overnight without proper gear, much less in a deepening field of snow.
After shivering through the long night, Sverdlov set out early Wednesday in search of the man-made cairns that mark the proper trail. Along the way he located his pack, which contained an extra jacket, mittens and other life-preserving gear.
Still, the snow was still falling, making an already difficult descent more arduous.
"It wasn’t letting up," Sverdlov said. "I had a hard time distinguishing between cairns and regular lava outcroppings because they were all covered in snow. And without snowshoes it was hard to walk because my feet would just sink."
Sverdlov estimated that he advanced no more than two miles in 12 hours of trudging through the snow. And so he spent another night alone and exposed.
Fortunately, park rangers located Sverdlov’s car in the parking lot and launched a rescue effort early Thursday morning.
Sverdlov knew he would be all right if he could just get below the snow line, about 12,500 feet, so at first light he started back down the trail. Within hours, rangers aboard a rescue helicopter spotted Sverdlov and airlifted him to safety.
Despite the ordeal, Sverdlov said his affection for Hawaii and for the volcano are unblemished.
"I’ll definitely be back," he said. "But I’ll pay better attention to the weather reports."
