Observers

Mike Carmon, Meteorological Observer

Mike spent most of his life in the urban jungle of Central New Jersey, but lived outside Chicago, Illinois for two years, where severe weather and tornadoes are prevalent. It was during this time that he grew a fascination with weather, constantly venturing outdoors when most individuals would be running for cover. The more he was called crazy, the more he enjoyed going out into blizzards, thunderstorms, and even land-falling tropical storms.

Mike's passion for the weather led him to the halls of Rutgers University. As his knowledge of the weather grew, he would constantly make forecasts for no one in particular, all the while gloating that he was more reliable than The Weather Channel. He recently graduated in May 2008 with a B.S. in Meteorology. Very soon after graduating, he caught word of an internship opportunity at the Mount Washington Observatory. In learning about the summit operations and the extreme weather that occurs there, he decided the Observatory would be a perfect stepping stone into a career in meteorology.

Although the weather does provide a lot of enjoyment for Mike, his other hobbies include music, tennis, jogging, cooking, beach trips, traveling, hockey (a die-hard New Jersey Devils fan), making random mixed cds and playlists, and listening to them. His favorite destination is the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where he vacations annually during the warm summer months and hopes to one day settle down. Mike hopes to learn all he can about weather observations, as well as witness some exciting weather firsthand during his time as an intern atop Mount Washington.

Brian Clark, Educational Observer & Shift Leader

Brian returns to the Observatory as an Outreach Observer after receiving his B.S. in Meteorology with an option in Communications and Forecasting from Pennsylvania State University. Brian was an intern on the summit from January until May in 2006. Needless to say, he is very excited to be back working on Mount Washington!

Brian grew up in the small town of Milesburg, Pennsylvania, just north of State College and Penn State. Brian blames his passion for weather on his father, who is an expert senior forecaster and forensic meteorologist for AccuWeather, Inc. While growing up, Brian was constantly exposed to the weather through his father, and when it was time to decide to what to major in at Penn State the decision was easy.

Brian has several other activities that he is extremely passionate about. He has been an avid skier since age 4 and has been a PSIA certified ski instructor since 2000. He also spent several years as a volunteer high school varsity soccer coach and plays the sport himself as often as possible.

Learn more about Mount Washington's weather and the work of the Observatory on Brian's Mount Washington Blog at AccuWeather.com

Rick Giard, Educational Observer

Rick was raised in north-central Massachusetts within sight of Mount Monadnock. Frequently found exploring the pastures, woodlands and trails around the family home in Gardner, he acquired a deep affinity for the natural world. The penchant for open-air adventure led to avid involvement with Boy Scouting, hiking and camping. Hikes atop Wachusett and Monadnock led him to seek greater heights. The culmination of this early period was leading training exercises through the Presidential Range for Camp Collier staff, scaling several 4000-footers and on the fourth day Mount Washington itself.

After earning the B.S. degree in Computer Science at Fitchburg State College in 1987, Rick worked for fifteen years as Programmer Analyst and Network Administrator in the banking and insurance industries. In 2002 he returned to his Earth science roots by relocating to Plymouth, New Hampshire and entering the Meteorology program at Plymouth State University, receiving the B.S. in Meteorology in 2006. Following the Space Grant Internship at McAuliffe Planetarium in 2005 he was honored to intern at Mount Washington Observatory in 2006, setting the stage for eventual return to the Rock Pile. In 2011 he completed the M.S. in Applied Meteorology at the Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute of Plymouth State.

Rick was thrilled to rejoin the summit staff in 2011 as Weather Observer and Education Specialist! Here in Nature's Classroom he thrives on teaching the limitless lessons of Mount Washington, the Home of the World's Worst Weather, to the World's Greatest Natural Resource - our children. When off summit he resides in Plymouth, New Hampshire and devotes all available time to his own growing young family.

Ryan Knapp, Meteorological Observer

Ryan moved from winter season intern to full time Observer. Living an alpine lifestyle in the mountains and snow are nothing new for Ryan, as he is originally from the Lake Tahoe region in California. What differs here however are the high winds and much colder temperatures.

Ryan first became interested in weather at an early age when he was part of his local schools ski club and would watch the morning weather reports to tell others about the day's weather. Throughout high school, he would give weather reports to fellow students and ski clubbers. After taking a high school career test, meteorology was listed as being a possible career. From this suggestion, he attended and graduated in summer of 2004 with a BS in Meteorology from San Jose State University located in San Jose, California. For the past three years, he was a weather observer for San Jose International Airport (KSJC).

Ryan enjoys backpacking, skiboarding, aggressive inline skating, traveling, video games, and movies. He comes to the summit for the unique weather and to explore and study in the worst weather in the world.

Roger Pushor, IT Observer

Born and raised in the Portland, Maine area, Roger built his own passive solar home in the mid 80's. He worked in the financial sector for more than thirty years, working first as a software developer, then moving on to spend twenty years as a systems engineer, field engineer, business systems analyst, and most recently, a project manager.

With a strong desire for a new and challenging adventure, Roger joined Mount Washington Observatory in the summer of 2011. He looks forward to further developing his I.T. skills as an on-mountain information technology specialist.

Steven Welsh, IT Observer & Shift Leader

Steve was born and raised in Sunderland, a large industrial town, in Northeast England. After receiving a degree in Applied Physics from Durham University, he took up a post with the British Antarctic Survey and spent two and a half years at Faraday Base. His duties there involved looking after the IT infrastructure, performing ozone measurements and taking meteorological observations. Upon returning to the UK he gained a Master's in Electronics Manufacturing before entering the printed circuit board industry as a system engineer.

In 1997 Steve relocated to Mountain View, California, then in 2001 drove across the country via Yosemite, the Tetons, Yellowstone and so on, to take up a new employment opportunity in New Hampshire. Steve has traveled widely in Europe, South America and the United States. He is a keen birdwatcher and enjoys hiking, camping and spending time with his family.

Marty

Marty is most recent in a long line of resident felines on the summit and the only permanent occupant atop Mount Washington. In his early years, Marty lost his home to a fire and was then taken in by the Conway Humane Society. In January of 2008, Marty was the top cat in the first ever Observatory Mascot Primary and was donated to the Observatory by the Humane Society. He was quickly regarded as a good fit for the mountain because of his adventurous attitude and black coat, which makes him harder to lose in the snow. As a curious cat, Marty enjoys exploring his massive new home of the Sherman Adams Building and romping around with the observers. While not on the clock, he enjoys stalking the water cooler, chasing bouncy balls, napping in odd positions, and being brushed by summit staff.