Observer Comments

15:45 Thu Nov 20th

Anyone that is even somewhat familiar with Mount Washington knows that the weather can change drastically in relatively short periods of time. This has certainly been the case over the last few days. Four days ago, temperatures were in the mid 40’s and it was raining. Five days ago, the daily record high for November 15 was broken (the previous record was 45 degrees set back in 1993). However yesterday, upon arriving on the summit for the start of a new shift, my crew was greeted by temperatures just below zero with plenty of rime ice and several inches of new snow covering the summit.

This morning, the drastic change came full circle. When I took my first observation this morning just before 6 a.m., I observed a temperature of 7.3 degrees below zero. This assured that the daily record low for November 20 would, at the very least, be tied. An hour later, intern Mike observed a 6 hour minimum temperature for the synoptic observation of 8.3 degrees below zero, officially breaking the daily record low for November 20, which had previously been set in both 1951 and 1952.

The cold air entrenched not only on the summit but over the entire northeast is not going anywhere in the short term. Over the next couple days, temperatures will struggle to get even a few degrees above zero. Also, looking toward the weekend shows a decent chance of breaking another daily record low.

Brian Clark – Observer

16:55 Tue Nov 18th

Can you say mai tai?

For those of you who don’t know, I will be taking a vacation, my first since beginning my stint as Educational Observer in August of 2007. Now, some would argue that I get a vacation every other week. I beg to differ. I get my weekends every other week. One of the great advantages of working 80+ hours per week is that when you finally take your vacation, you get a whopping three weeks without work. I’ve decided to take that time to visit my mom and sister, who just so happen to live in Hilo, Hawaii. Everyone who works at the Observatory has known about this trip since July.

While reviewing my itinerary online, there was a forecast on the bottom. Thursday will be mostly sunny, with a high of 83°F. Jordan pointed out the 80 degree difference between my current location and my future location. That’s a mighty big minus.

Even though I will be spending those three precious, beautiful, wonderful, work-free weeks with my family, I will definitely miss my summit family. I’ve already promised to send them lots of pictures (mostly because I want them to understand the harsh weather I’ll be enduring…), and I’m sure I’ll make a few phone calls, just to say hello and Happy Thanksgiving.

I would like to apologize in advance, to the entire summit staff. Tomorrow being the last day before I embark on my journey to tropical paradise, I will be off the wall, antsy, fidgety, nonsensical, loco, giggly, and downright annoying. I would also like to thank Casey, Doug, Steve, Mike, Jeff, and Jordan for putting up with my ridiculously giddy state of mind this past week.

Stacey Kawecki – Observer

16:33 Mon Nov 17th

First (and only) sunset

Having worked with the Appalachian Mountain Club at Pinkham Notch for much of the past year, I had grown accustomed to Mount Washington being a part of daily life. I would wake up every morning and would immediately check to see what the weather on the summit was, and would constantly explain to school groups about the extreme weather found “on the rockpile.” Now, as the new Outreach Educator for the Observatory, I have been lucky enough to gain a new perspective on the mountain that had become so familiar—spending a week on the summit to shadow the observers and learn even more about Mount Washington weather.

It seems that I managed to make it up here for quite a special week. When we first arrived on Wednesday morning (after a somewhat unnerving ride up the Mt. Washington Auto Road), there was an undercast surrounding the summit, with just a few of the higher peaks poking through the clouds. There was also a decent amount of snow, which put a quick end to our plan for an afternoon hike to Lakes of the Clouds. My favorite moment came later that evening when we all went outside for the sunset. Aside from the beautiful sunset itself, what will live in my memory was the view of the northern Presidentials. The undercast was still there, but was beginning to dissipate. There was a large amount of clouds creeping up the west sides of the peaks, but it was entirely clear on their northeastern faces, providing a clear view of the Great Gulf wilderness bathed in a pinkish-gray glow. This was the most startlingly beautiful event that I had ever witnessed, and was certainly a great welcome for my week with the summit crew.

The wintry weather was not to last long, however. Temperatures quickly rose and soon all the snow was melted away, leaving instead a constant blanket of thick fog. On Saturday, as it has already been mentioned in an earlier comment, we even broke the record high with a balmy 48ºF. Sunday, with the passage of a cold front, gave testament to how quickly weather can change in the mountains. Not only did temperatures drop to the mid-teens, but winds picked up and we broke the 100mph mark several times throughout the afternoon and evening. And so I was given my introduction to de-icing the instrument tower and the difficulty of walking in winds that did their best to knock me down. During one stroll around the Observatory deck with Jeff and Jordan, the summit interns, I had such a hard time walking when facing into the wind and seeing through my iced-over goggles that they had to come back and find me and help me make my way back to the Observatory. Exciting for sure!

Today its much more peaceful...light snow, 12°F, and 39mph winds. For me, its time to get back and help with another practice run of our new Distance Learning program, and to hit the books as Educational Observer Stacey Kawecki tutors me in a crash course of mountain meteorology. I'm sure there will also be plenty more de-icing and shoveling as well, too!

Casey Taylor – Outreach Educator

13:35 Sun Nov 16th

The only blue sky we've seen all week.

Living on the summit of Mount Washington brings many new perspectives to the rest of one's life. In many ways, it is like living on another planet, especially in the wintery months. For more than half the year, traveling to and from the summit is a strenuous activity, and it is nearly impossible at times. The climate is starkly different from the area around us, and one must hike at least a mile to see trees, lakes, ponds, or rivers up close. For days on end, we see no evidence that the world exists past the end of the deck, only a gray abyss of fog.

Many amenities of ordinary life are also unavailable here on the summit. We can't go out to a movie, stop by the store for groceries, or drop by the hardware store for materials. We can't hang out with friends besides our summit co-inhabitants, or go out to a restaurant (though our home-cooked meals are better anyway). There are no traffic lights, no stop signs, no cars, and much of the time no other people.

While this may seem like a foreign environment to some, I have found that I have more trouble adjusting back to life in the valley than to life up here. For example, at home I regularly get the urge to go outside and check on the weather at quarter to the hour. Every time I see a crow bar, I look around for some ice to hit. I assume that every shadow or dark blur in the corner of my eye is Marty and try not to step on it. I see a temperature of 40 degrees and think 'warm!' When I am outside, I automatically look up and code the cloud layers in my head. I dismiss any wind in the valley that doesn't make standing difficult (which is all of them) as a mere breeze. I have no problem going to bed between 8 and 9 pm. I occasionally put on snow pants when I wake up in the morning.

One thing I don't mind in the valley is the lack of fog. This shift we have had one fog-free day, and it looks like that's all we'll get until Wednesday when we return to the valley. It has not been all boring, however, as we broke the record high yesterday with a temperature of 48 degrees. The previous record was 45 degrees, set in 1993. Today, the unseasonably warm weather has finally drawn to a close with the passage of a cold front, which will bring temperatures into the low single digits tonight with a brisk breeze.

Jeff Wehrwein – Summit Intern

15:08 Sat Nov 15th

Blowing Rain

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. Our shift is yet again graced with interesting weather. Since Thursday morning we have been watching the inside of a cloud, breaking out to see beyond the deck only once in that time. Right now we have sustained 50 MPH winds and moderate rainfall.

The forecast is calling for more fog, more rain, more wind. I’m being reminded of my childhood, when all I wanted to do was sneak out and jump in the puddles. Now, even though my research and not mom is the doing the nagging, I still sneak out every once in a while to enjoy the wind and the fog and the rain and the reason why I came to the summit – to relish in some nasty weather.

Just a reminder that tonight (11/15) between 10 PM and midnight the website may be down due to the upgrade of our web server. Thanks for your consideration.

Jordan Scampoli – Summit Intern

05:07 Fri Nov 14th

As you see, we’ve made quite a few changes and upgrades to our website! We hope that you enjoy what you see. More on that in a moment.

Please note that our web server is also being upgraded to support the steady growth of the number of Observatory web visitors. We will be upgrading our site to a new server on Saturday evening, November 15, between 10 PM and Midnight. As the server hardware including hard drives are being replaced, the site will be inaccessible for up to one hour during that timeframe. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Back to the new site… The new website provides easier navigation and more ways for our passionate website visitors to get involved with the Observatory.

We've widened the site, adding a new navigation menu on the left side. We have also rearranged the top navigation menu, creating new tabs (Support MWO, Multimedia) and reorganizing others.

We've redesigned and reorganized our homepage, offering easier access to what you want most: current summit conditions, webcams, observer comments and photos. We now also feature special MWO news, events and promotions in a much more prominent way. Finally, in an effort to draw more attention to the great companies who believe so strongly in what we do, we have logos and links to our sponsors at the base of the homepage and on all of our pages.

Probably the most important change to the website is the ability to generate support from our loyal visitors. You’ll find a number of new ways to give when you browse through the site, including memorial gifts, tribute gifts and recurring gifts (monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.). You'll be able to have memberships and gifts that renew automatically, which will reduce our mailing costs and make supporting the Observatory even easier.

We now have the ability to send e-newsletters, with special offers, extreme weather alerts, event info and news from the mountain. Also, once you register and create a MWO Web Account, you will have access to your user profile so that you can update your contact info, adjust your email preferences and more.

And finally, we're now offering MWO eCards that you can send to friends and family. Choose from twelve unique designs and send them to the recipient of your choice for any occasion.

If you’re a member, you’ll need to re-register with the site so that your Premium Content access is not interrupted. You can do that by clicking “My Web Account” in the left nav menu. If you don’t have a MWO Web Account, join our email list and we’ll set one up for you. To learn more about all the changes, click the large “New MWO Website” graphic at the bottom of the homepage.

Staff – Mount Washington Observatory

14:04 Wed Nov 12th

Over many years and countless trips here, whether walking, driving or riding, I've made a point of paying my respects to Lizzie Bourne. She was a 23yr. old girl from Maine who died here, within view of the summit, in 1855. It would seem such a waste of life at that age and had she listened to her elders, she most likely would never experienced the awesome power of Mt. Washington. Our arrival last Wednesday found the mountain quite calm and warm temperatures nearly breaking records. The few views we had were just as inspiring this trip as they've been in the past. Now winter's fury has returned with 70 mile winds and driving snow pointing out how fast things happen here. Through all our trips, in every season, we've grown to love this place and, unlike Lizzie, have lived to return. She paid a dear price for an incredible trip.

Now our week draws to a close and as I'm writing this I realize it's November 11th, Veteran's Day. I would never try to rationalize war but the fact remains our country has paid a dear price for something we call freedom. I can't possibly explain how that relates but to say we are truly blessed to be Americans. To stand upon the 'Rock Pile' and be glad you're alive.

Thanks,
The Kinneys

Summit Volunteers –

23:05 Tue Nov 11th

Not your average rime.

According to the summit dictionary, one of the definitions for “average” is: lacking special distinction, rank, or status; commonly encountered. Some synonyms listed with “average” are: common, customary, ordinary, standard, or usual. I almost want to write to them and add one more: October. It is not that I hold anything against the month of October personally but after finishing up our monthly summary this week for the month of October, I found it to be on the whole, average.

October is certainly not our coldest, warmest, windiest or snowiest month up here but it has had its extremes, some of which were set as recent as 2005. In 2005, October saw a new monthly record high temperature of 62F, a new maximum monthly precipitation total of 28.70 inches, a new monthly maximum snowfall in 24 hours at 25.7 inches, and a new monthly maximum snowfall total of 78.9 inches. October has also seen a daily record low of -5F in 1939, a minimum monthly precipitation total of 0.75 (our lowest precipitation total ever recorded for a month) in 1947, and a peak wind of 161 mph back in 1943. October also holds a record in my heart as the month with the highest wind I have been out working in at 158 mph back in 2006. But this year, nothing stands out and by the end of next month; it will be yesterday’s news in my mind.

So what made it so “average” in my mind? Let’s start with temperature. The average temperature was 29.8F, only 0.4F below normal. The high was 51F on the 15th and a low of 6F on the 29th without a single daily record being met or broken. What about precipitation? The total was 8.23 inches, a lot for a valley location but for here, it was only 0.57 inches above normal and our 24 hour maximum was only 2.61 inches. At least we were above normal but not by much. Snowfall did not fair as well with only 10.5 inches falling putting the month 3.3 inches below normal which puts the seasonal total of 4.1 inches 5.5 inches below normal. Below normal but still not bad this early in the season, so I will be optimistic that we will make that up. And winds were almost completely average at 34.0 mph for the month, only 0.1 mph below normal.

Lastly, our peak wind was 97 mph from the west which is strong, but October is usually when our first 100+mph gusts occurs but this year, nothing. In fact, we haven’t seen a gust of over 100 mph since April; a long stretch for a location known for winds, although not alarming. I looked at our data back into the 80s and we have had similar stretches but if we go through November without 100 mph, then I will really have to start digging into our archives to see if we have achieved a new in-house record. But the month is young, so there is still time to get our gust. But, with the two shifts vying to be the first shift to experience the first 100 mph gust before the other for claiming rights, the race is on.

So October did not bring a “special distinction, rank, or status” to the summits. It wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t too cold. It didn’t blow us away, so to speak. It wasn’t a white out or a wash. October just was what it was. And since I am not going anywhere fast, I still have plenty more months to experience new means and extremes. So I will wait here patiently to discover the month where “unique” will have to be redefined.

Side note: The picture to the comment has nothing to do with the comment directly. What struck me in the picture is the rime ice that formed on it. Rime ice is formed into where the wind is blowing as super-cooled droplets slam into surfaces. There are other comments that define what rime is so if you want to know more search for them. But what is unique here is the two directions that rime formed on this pole, one northwest and one northeast. This pipe is at the top of the observation tower, where objects usually have rime growing into the prevailing wind direction. What is odd is there was not a single minute of north or northeast winds today. So our best guess as to how we got the northeasterly rime feathers was from an eddy effect being formed by the deflection by the deck below. I could do an entirely other comment on how this formed actually. So, lets just say, it is rare to see this on the tower without a wind shift and so I thought I would share it.

Ryan Knapp – Staff Meteorologist

22:31 Mon Nov 10th

We have all heard it before: Which came first the chicken or the egg? A conundrum that has an infinite amount of answers depending on a person’s education, beliefs, philosophies, etc. So instead, I pose this question: Which came first, the idea for an Obscast or the music we use in an Obscast? For the uninformed, an Obscast is short for “Observatory Webcast.” These are short videos (usually about three minutes) that are produced by the observatory staff and posted to our website every Monday morning. If you are a member, all you do is sign in (or sign up) here and after you are logged in, you will have access to the nearly 100 videos we have produced on the summit over the past two years.

Topics of these videos run the gamut of topics: the “Nin cam” (April 9, 2007), day hike planning (October 22, 2007), Groundhog Day w/ Marty (February 4, 2008), or an explanation of “The Century Club” (March 31, 2008) just to name a few. Usually we come up with an idea, shoot the video, edit it down, and then fit appropriate music to it. But in the case of this weeks Obscast, I heard a song on my internet radio that had a weather word in it then thought of how to make an Obscast with it. The other time we did this was when we were trying to decide which song we were going to dance to last fall (see October 1, 2007 to hear the “thrilling” song we settled on).

So the song I heard that inspired me was “Under Pressure,” a cover The Used and My Chemical Romance did of the original sung by Queen and David Bowie. I thought it was such a fitting song since pressure is one of the key driving forces behind all things weather. So I looked around the room and settled on talking about some of our weather instruments. I then outlined my shots, my script and my music placement and set forth on making the video. So, in yesterdays production of this weeks Obscast, the answer to: “Which came first…?” the answer would be the music came first then the idea of an Obscast came to me. Working backwards doesn’t always work, but in this case, it seemed to work itself out so we weren't "under pressure" to come up with a new idea for the week.

Ryan Knapp – Staff Meteorologist

15:33 Sun Nov 9th

Winter returns

As Mike touched on in his comment yesterday, since Tuesday the summit has been experiencing a heat wave of sorts, at least relatively speaking. Average daily temperatures for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were 38, 41, 41, 44, and 41. Although that may not sound like a heat wave in November to most people, you have to consider how that compares to average. Those average daily temperatures are 14, 17, 17, 20, and 18 degrees above normal respectively. That’s significant. In fact, for the month of November so far, our average temperature is running a whopping 12.3 degrees above the average. Of course, a lot can and undoubtedly will change during the rest of the month.

Actually, a lot has changed just in the last 24 hours. Late last night, a cold front associated with a low passing off to our north swung through New England. The passage of this front started a free fall of temperatures that will continue into Tuesday when we will likely see readings in the upper single digits.

Of course, that fall in temperature has brought rime ice back to the summit and also changed any remaining precipitation left from that low over to snow. All of this is certainly welcome by the entire crew on the mountain. It is always good to see the summit coated in white again and after all, it is winter now and it should be cold and snowy!

Brian Clark – Observer

17:12 Sat Nov 8th

Mt. Washington is known as a place of extremes—and it never ceases to amaze. You’ve probably read many of our comments about the “good weather” vs. “bad weather” shift. It’s definitely seemed to work like clockwork around here. But—as I had been begging for in a comment I wrote last shift—I finally got a taste of winter on Mt. Washington. The last Wednesday morning of my previous shift (October 29th), I had the privilege of doing my first bit of de-icing since arriving at the Observatory back in late August during the first observation I did that morning.

Temperatures around 7 a.m. were around 10 degrees, with winds sustained at about 75 mph. Who needs coffee when you have exclusive access to hurricane force winds to get you going in the morning? I had been waiting to experience these conditions for months, so I quickly made my way up the tower. I opened the door to the tower and grabbed the crow bar. Rime ice was everywhere, visibility was minimal and snow was blowing. I made my way up to the parapet, and began the de-icing process. I quickly realized that it would be better to do most of it from a position close to the ground. I did what I had to on the parapet, but did as much as I could from the tower below. I completed the observation and then casually glanced to see what the peak gust was for the past few minutes, as we were hoping to break 100 mph. I noticed a gust to 97 mph fairly recently. I checked the time—6:52 a.m. I had been in the tower at that time! We never did get to that 100 mph mark, but the 97 mph is a record for me and the new benchmark for Jeff and Jordan—the interns on the other shift—to match.

Back to reality now. Temperatures since our shift arrived this past Wednesday (November 5th) have yet to drop below freezing at all (day or night). This is amidst the fact that the average high temperature for the month of November is about 28 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average low of about 14. How have the numbers looked for us since Wednesday? Well, why not look solely at yesterday. Our high temperature was 47 (only 3 degrees shy of the record for the day of 50), and the low temperature was 40. But things look to be balancing out once more—with temperatures getting ready to drop below freezing tonight. The summit is certainly a place of extremes.

Mike Carmon – Summit Intern

17:11 Fri Nov 7th

As far as the weather is concerned, shift change this past Wednesday was extremely uneventful for this time of year. With temperatures in the low 40’s and the summit in the clear, we set off from the base of the Auto Road with both the truck and the van and no plans of putting chains on for the entire trip up. It turned out that there were only a couple spots on the road that had any significant amount of snow left, and those were easily taken care of by the plow on the truck.

However, there was one thing (mostly) unrelated to the weather that we saw on our trip up the Auto Road that was of note. Just above the 6 mile mark on the Auto Road, Ken (who was in the lead driving the truck) suddenly came to a stop. It took those of us in the van a minute to figure out why he had done this; Ryan spotted a white bird flying around just off the Great Gulf side of the road. After a few more minutes of trying to figure out what it was, Ken hopped out of the truck and came to inform us that it was a Snowy Owl. This was certainly the first time that I had seen one, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a rare event since I have only been working on this mountain for a relatively short amount of time. BUT, when you hear Ken Rancourt, who has worked on this mountain in one way or another for almost 30 years, say that he has never seen one that high on the mountain, that’s when you know it’s a rare occurrence.

Unfortunately, none of us were able to capture pictures of the owl. We tried, but every time we got in a position to get some sort of photo, it would fly off. Eventually it took off in the direction of Huntington Ravine and we were not able to spot it again.

Brian Clark – Observer

14:54 Thu Nov 6th

I, or should I say, we voted!

If you are an avid reader of our comments, you are probably aware that we do our shift changes on Wednesdays. One group of observers, interns and volunteers comes up for a week on while the other group heads down. In the summer, it is fairly easy to go up and down the mountain as the need arises. But since we are in what are considered winter months (although the last couple of days you wouldn’t think it as it is in the 40s with barely any snow) the crew that comes up on a Wednesday stays up until the following Wednesday barring any major emergencies. So, with the presidential election occurring on a Tuesday, a question has been raised by a few people (via email) on how the summit staff voted.

The staff that was down and off for the week (which was our shift of three), we either walked to the closest community center (me), drove to the closest high school (Brian) or voted absentee for being out of state (Mike). But for the shift that was up and working for the week, they did not have the luxury of voting at their closest polling station. Instead, they all had to plan ahead and vote using an envelope and a 42 cent stamp. From what I gathered in passing, the five on the other shift voted absentee prior to coming up on October 29, 2008.

So of the five current observers, and three interns employed here on the summit, all eight of us made our voices heard on November fourth. Since I do not discuss politics, I have no idea (apart from myself) who any of us voted for, what party/issue any of us favored, if we are happy/sad for who/what won/lost. So please respect our opinions/privacy and do not flood our inbox with inquires on who/what we voted for or our feelings towards the outcome. No matter who is in office locally or nationally, our focus remains the same: to observe the weather and forecast atop the northeast’s highest point.

Ryan Knapp – Staff Meteorologist

09:01 Wed Nov 5th

A great big “Howdy” to all of you Mt. Washington Observatory supporters and followers. I am closing in on the end of my volunteer week here on the summit and it has been a gas. Stacey, Steve, Mike, Jordan, Jeff and Marty have made me feel right at home and I know I have made some new fair and foul weather friends. I've gotta tell ya, these folks are true professionals. They absolutely love what they do. They truly enjoy taking time to work with the volunteers and embrace their roles as teachers. I have heard not one complaint, grumble or snarl from any of these folks despite being cooped up a whole lot of the time and having to share their quarters with we outsiders. Their shifts are long and demanding but they approach their work with zest and dedication. Thanks to you all.

What a special treat for me to be here while two wonderful young ladies from Russia were visiting the observatory. I have had a great time interacting with Tatiana and Anna, sharing stories and helping them with their English (or more appropriately, them with mine). Anna speaks our difficult language quite well and I am amazed at Tatiana’s progress. The weather has been exciting for me with high winds, sub zero wind chills, sunshine, snow, rime ice and a couple of awesome sunsets. It was so bizarre coming in from outside on Thursday afternoon, after helping change the precip can, looking like a flocked K- Mart Christmas tree, our clothing and goggles iced over from the blowing, freezing fog.

Our hike on Sunday to Lakes of the Clouds was just superb. You could not ask for a better day on the mountain in November. We enjoyed a gorgeous, clear, sunny, windless afternoon topped off with a stunning sunset. We could smell the goulash cooking as we approached the station. We have all eaten like kings this week due to my neighbor Ernie’s culinary prowess. His international themes for dinners have been the talk of the station. I am going to miss the decadence but not the calories. (Nobody knows the truffles I've seen.) I gave Ernie the night off and conjured up a big ol' pot of chili for the gang the other evening.

I hope you will all take some time to appreciate, if not support, the hard work and effort of the staff, interns and volunteers here on the summit. They are a fun yet dedicated bunch. I look forward to my next visit and I hope that Ernie and I have been able to make their lives here a bit more comfortable. I'll miss you guys and thanks again for helping me check off another adventure on my “bucket list”.

All The Best,

Steve

Summit Volunteer – Summit Volunteer

06:40 Tue Nov 4th

Snowy sunrise Friday

This week has been the coldest I have seen yet. We arrived on the summit last Wednesday with temperatures around 10 degrees, and they did not climb above freezing until yesterday afternoon. Also, from our arrival through Sunday, the wind was typically in the 60s and did not drop below 40 mph for more than a few minutes. On Sunday morning the temperature dropped to 2 degrees above zero, something I would consider unusual for November were I not on top of Mount Washington. Ironically, Sunday was also the warmest day we had - the temperature climbed to 20 degrees and the winds finally calmed as the day progressed, making for great hiking conditions as Jordan mentioned yesterday.

The average temperature for November is 21 degrees and the average wind speed for the month is 40 mph, so this weather is not unusual. As of yesterday afternoon, we have swung back to the other side of the average with the temperature rising above freezing. In combination with the dense fog that engulfed the summit around the same time, much of the snow has melted and evaporated away. What is left is very slushy and slippery, and when the fog lifts (hopefully later today), we may see a much rockier landscape than before. The long-term forecast foretells the arrival of the good weather shift tomorrow - above-freezing temperatures accompanied by light winds are predicted for the remainder of this week.

Jeff Wehrwein – Summit Intern

11:53 Mon Nov 3rd

Crew upon return

Yesterday we were finally able to show Anna and Tanya the rarely seen sunny and friendly side of Mount Washington. Jeff, Mike, Steve the volunteer, Anna, Tanya and I went for a hike down to the Lakes of the Clouds hut. The true purpose of our hike was to shut off some of our remote sensing equipment for the winter season that we have at the hut. Since it is closed and locked up for the season, I had to stand guard at the door while Jeff, Mike and Steve took care of the work inside.

We took a longer route back up, showing Anna and Tanya Tuck’s and views of the Southern Presidentials. By the time we returned to the summit the temperature had increased from 13 F when we left to a balmy 20 F, and the winds had died completely.

We made it back up just in time for sunset, which as usual, never gets old. Nothing is better after a nice hike than a five course home cooked meal. Ernie, our Swiss chef extraordinaire had cooked up some Goulash, Blueberry pie and Raspberry Truffles. Man is life tough!

(Photos courtesy of Anna and Tanya)

Jordan Scampoli – Summit Intern

18:51 Sun Nov 2nd

Sunset on Friday

When I started my shift at 5am this morning the weather was foggy, cold (3 degrees) and windy (60 mph) - it was definitely a little chilly venturing outside to take observations. But as they say, if you don't like the weather in New England just wait an hour or two. Sure enough just after sunrise the fog lifted leaving us with fine views over the surrounding snow capped peaks. As high pressure continued to built in, the winds dropped dramatically and, thanks to the ample sunshine, the temperatures rose into the 20s. Visibility was also really good today and we could make out peaks some 120 to 130 miles away.

The bright mild conditions were certainly a welcome treat and gave us a great opportunity to finish off insulating and sealing off the last of the windows and doors in anticipation of this coming winter. After a great sunset, and a visit from the fox, we sat down to another great meal provided by our volunteers, Ernie and Steve. Now it's time for a movie – got to go!

Steve Welsh – IT Observer

14:34 Sat Nov 1st

rime and snow blanket the summit

High winds and cold temperatures kept the trick-or-treaters away from the summit last night, but that didn’t put a damper on our Halloween festivities. Our Halloween was extra special because we were able to share it with our friends from Russia, who don’t normally celebrate this holiday. Costumes were adorned and the celebration included Russian mushroom and barley soup (made by Anna and Tatiana), two desserts (pumpkin pie and marmalade turnovers), popcorn, and appropriately scary movies. Even Marty dressed up!

Today is Tatiana’s 23rd birthday, and we have already begun to celebrate. Streamers and balloons are filling up the living quarters, and Ernie, one of this week’s volunteers, made a Black Forest cake. Anna taught us how to sing “Happy Birthday” in Russian, which we sang (somewhat off-key) while presenting Tatiana with her birthday card.

On the weather front, it looks like we’ll finally get a respite from the strong winds that have been gracing the summit. By strong winds, I mean winds in the 50-80 mph range. While this range isn’t particularly strong for the home of the world’s worst weather, when combined with cold temperatures, it does make outside work difficult. Tomorrow, though it will still be chilly, winds will dampen as high pressure crests the region. This will allow some the crew, Anna, Tatiana, and even our volunteers to go down to the Lakes in the Clouds Hut to perform some necessary tasks.

Even thought it has been said before, many times, it is really starting to feel like winter on the summit again, with temperatures near twelve degrees and rime and snow blanketing everything.

PS- the pictures were taken by Anna and Tatiana

Stacey Kawecki – Observer