I've also been to the top of Haleakala, but not quite for sunrise. We did a bike tour down the mountain, and the bikes were hauled up for us and then we just pretty much coasted down. There were a few times we had to pedal, but mostly not. This is one of my favorite types of bike riding.

We went to Maui in early August, thinking it would be off season, but there were a lot of people there from Texas, who were escaping the heat, which we did not have in coastal Los Angeles where we live. The top of the mountain was cold even in August.

That's just AMAZING! I've seen the mountains in the far distance. Never up close. I saw the bike tours advertised when we visited. I still think retiring in Hawaii would be cool! We chartered a small plane to fly over some of the active volcano areas.

The blizzard warning in the link is for the Big Island, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. Both are several thousand feet higher than Haleakala and less accessible to the public. It's been a while since I was on the Big Island but I've seen snow on the summits of both mountains, and I don't think it's an usual sight. I've never seen snow at Haleakala, other than a small amount at the south inside edge of the crater wall. .

I've been to the summit of Haleakala for the sunrise - I seem to recall a 3:30 am alarm or something like that because it was a drive of several hours plus some to get there. Definitely not worth doing.

We also visited Haleakala one late May to see the sunrise and bike down. It was one of the most fun times on Maui, but very windy and cold on top. Our 12-year-old granddaughter (at the time) led us down and she still talks about it. I also recall getting up at 3:30 am to meet the departure time, but it was one of our first mornings there so we were prepared to be up early. I definitely thought it was worth it. Yes the other mountains are higher, but not as accessible.

I had been there with a co-worker on business to visit the observatory many years before. Drove up myself in the rental car and it was spectacular.

My "not worth it" comment had to do with getting there before sunrise, not at other times. The view is nice but I don't think repeated visits are necessarily as enjoyable.

My wife and I had been there several times before a subsequent trip that included our kids. They were old enough to appreciate the sights but on that trip the younger ones a bit too young for the bike trip down. We had a mid-morning hotel departure using our rental car and the drive was a bit more than they were interested in (the views along the way notwithstanding). When we parked and got out of the car, we walked to where the demi-crater could be seen and then, almost in unison, they said "can we go to the beach now?" We had several more family trips to Maui after that one and none of them were ever interested in going back to Haleakala. We offered it but to be honest, I really wasn't interested in going back either and I was glad we could do other things instead.