Observer Comments
November 2009
Sunny and warm.
Both are relative terms, one more than the other. Both are things that aren't always good in my opinion, again, one more than the other. Both are things that if I wanted all the time, I would move to southern California with my dad.
These terms could also be used to describe the weather on the mountain so far this month. As far as sunshine goes, counting today we have seen four days with 100% of our possible sunshine minutes (minutes when a shadow is being cast) and 11 days with greater than 50% of our possible sunshine. Unfortunately I don't have an average value to compare that to, but trust me, that's a lot of sunshine for this mountain. When it comes to temperatures, as of yesterday our average temperature for the month is a significant 6.6 degrees above average for the month. We have seen 11 days with an average daily temperature above average with 5 of those days more than 10 degrees above average. We have also broken one daily record high and tied another. Today we came within a degree or so of tying another.
This pattern will likely continue into at least early next week with some hope of more seasonable weather on the horizon around the Thanksgiving holiday next week. With that outlook, I'm pretty much ready to call November a 'loss' in terms of being anywhere close to normal. The good news is that it is very early in the winter season. December could see a complete turnaround and that is most certainly what I will be hoping for!
Brian Clark – Observer and Meteorologist
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Dig In!
Well, if anyone was glued to the Webcam early afternoon on Sunday, they would have
seen me walking around and around the Observation Deck 15 times. We were in the
clouds all day so it was not conducive to wandering around the summit. Unable to do
my fairweather walk down the road to the Great Gulf overlook (my terminology), the
laps around the deck had to suffice!
Mid-November and the cog is still coming to the summit twice a day, the road is
still clear and we drove all the way up in a van and will do the same going down. I
have never experienced that in my 7 other weeks up here. Several days and nights
were clearer and calmer than I have ever seen and it was extra fortunate yesterday AM
when we arose at 4 to see some of the Leonid meteors. By contrast, we also had heavy
rain and wind gusting to 86 MPH over the weekend, with temps down to the teens. The
mountain never fails to provide!
But of course, my main mission here is to cook for the crew, which I enjoy
immensely. Somehow, I don't make the mistakes I make at home when I am here. No
wonder I keep coming back! How fun it is to look around at what ingredients are here
and decide what the next meal will be. Our most interesting meal was Toad in the
Hole, which I had always wanted to try, and was spurred on by Observer Steve and his
British roots. The photo shows just how much he wanted to get started on the meal.
Thanks to the wonderful crew for a fabulous week!
Nicole Moore – Summit Volunteer
One of the side effects of constantly looking up at the clouds is a resulting curiosity about what lies beyond the weather. That vast, expansive, final frontier: space. The intrigue of space and the cosmos was ingrained into me as a young child. My father would sit me, my brother and sister down in front of the TV and put in a tape: The Cosmos, by Carl Sagan. Even back then, watching the stars, nebulae, and galaxies zoom across the television screen made me feel small and inconsequential (but only on a universal scale). There were nights when he would take out his reflecting telescope and try to show us Saturn's rings. For all I know, this introduction to space may have been the beginning to my own personal interest in the sky.
Well, this morning that excitement about the night sky was renewed. The Leonid Meteor Shower peaked this morning, between 0330 and 0530 EST. The stars from Mount Washington on a crisp, cool, clear night glitter like diamonds spread across black velvet. Knowing this, I couldn't imagine a better viewing spot for the Leonids than my very own backyard (or tower). For the first time in a long while, the summit was clear for an astronomical event. Alarms buzzed at 0330 EST and by 0405 EST we were on the tower, faces tilted up expectantly.
Our early rise was greatly rewarded! I have intentionally witnessed the Leonids two times before today, and that totaled 10 sightings. Over the course of an hour, I saw close to 20 meteors! If you add in Mary Ellen's, Mike's, and Nicole's sightings, it's probably close to 35 or 40! It was like cosmic rain. After shivering on the windy tower, we gradually trickled back inside for some hot coffee. Waking up at 3:30 am has never been so rewarding.
Stacey Kawecki – Observer and Meteorologist
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Lenticular Clouds at Sunrise.
The unseasonably mild weather on the summit the past few days had brought some hopes of possibly breaking a few temperature records, specifically on Saturday and Sunday. The record for November 14th was set in 1937 at 45 degrees, for November 15th the record was set just last year at 48 degrees, and the record for the month of November was 52 set in 1982.
On Saturday the summit was in the fog all day and was pounded with rain as winds were blowing strong from the southeast. Temperatures slowly increased throughout the day to a maximum of 47 degrees and indeed breaking the long standing record for November 14th!
Yesterday we were excited and hoping for another record breaking day. The forecast models had yesterday clearing out of the fog by afternoon and temperatures rising close to 50 degrees. Reaching this would have definitely broken the record for November 15th but a few degrees higher and it would have broken the record for the month. Well, yesterday didn't turn out to be as warm as we were all hoping. The summit remained in the fog for most of the day not really allowing the sunshine to reach us. Temperatures didn't reach the high we were hoping for BUT we were able to get just warm enough to tie the 2008 record with a maximum of 48 degrees!
Things have considerably changed now as a cold front passed over the region early this morning. I woke up to howling winds of close to 70mph and temperatures which have dropped into the twenties. This is more like it!
Mary Ellen Dunn – Summit Intern
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Nor'easter of 1996
Although the storm that visited the area yesterday was technically not a Nor'easter for New England, a bit further south, it certainly was.
What constitutes a nor'easter? In anticipation of the upcoming winter season, and for your general knowledge, here is a brief explanation of the distinctive characteristics of these sometimes-monster storms:
Nor'easters are unique to the northeastern United States and the Atlantic coast of southern Canada. Although low pressure systems with similar structures form in other places around the globe, the unique combination and interaction of the ocean, the coastal plain, the inland mountain ranges, and the effects the storm has on all of them leads to an equally distinctive result.
Nor'easters are extratropical, meaning they are not classified as a hurricane or tropical storm. Although a well-developed nor'easter can appear strikingly similar to a hurricane from the perspective of a satellite image (the most potent ones even possess what appears to be an eye), there are distinct differences. Extratropical cyclones are 'cold-core' low pressure systems, gathering their strength more from temperature gradients, or baroclinicity, while tropical storm systems are 'warm-core,' relying on warm ocean waters for fuel. In the case of tropical systems, the strongest winds are at the surface, whereas with extratropical systems, the fastest speeds are observed aloft.
Speaking of winds, they are another signature of a nor'easter, and perhaps the most infamous, as that is how they have ultimately been named. The very-often damaging winds are generally from the northeast along the affected coastlines. Winds can blow in excess of 50 mph at the surface, whipping up the waves, which frequently results in costly coastal damage, as well as inland structural damage. The strong northeast flow also serves another vital purpose--moisture. Without moisture to tap into, all of the dynamics in place will not amount to any significant precipitation. Because northeast winds allow moisture from off the Atlantic to come flooding in to the northeastern US, nor'easters very often produce widespread areas of significant snow or rain fall.
As far as precipitation is concerned, nor'easters can dump feet of snow on one place, and inches of rain on another, all dependent upon the proximity to the coastline. A track closer to the coast generally results in rain (and sometimes a wintry mix) for coastal locations with snow inland. If the low takes a track much further from the coast, very little will result, with perhaps modest snowfall amounts near the coast. However, if a track is followed in between these two (in the 'sweet spot,' if you will), significant snowfall could result for the entire northeast. And as always, the specifics change from situation to situation, such as the characteristics of the air mass that was in place, moisture availability, upper-level dynamics, and many more. So while two nor'easter-type systems may be very similar and take nearly identical tracks, the results will by no means be the same.
When the right moisture and dynamics do come together, the product can be quite extraordinary! And although not technically hurricanes, they can still produce just as much damage and disruption of daily life.
Mike Carmon – Staff Meteorologist
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Another Sunrise
Something was badly wrong this morning. As I stepped outside just before 6am to take an observation I was greeted with thick wet fog and cool blustery conditions. Quite a shock and certainly not normal for this past week.
Joking aside the past few days have been very unusual for the summit especially considering it's now mid November which, is typically the cloudiest month in New Hampshire. Since shift change last Wednesday we've had a run of very mild, calm, sunny weather with three spectacular sunsets and two equally nice sunrises. It's been more like summer up here than early winter.
Now that the weekend is upon us the weather is switching over to rain, fog and wind. Still no snow in the immediate future as temperatures tomorrow will approach record highs of around 50 degrees. Crazy weather!
Steve Welsh – IT Observer
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sitting ducks...I think not!
Amazing, incredible, phenomenal, mind-blowing. All these words came to mind this morning as the sun's light lit up the landscape below. I have never experienced visibility like today's visibility.
On days like today, 130 miles doesn't seem accurate. The Adirondacks looked as clear and crisp as the Greens. The Atlantic glittered and seemed close enough to reach out and touch. This morning Chris from State Park came over to show us a couple of tankers sitting off the shore of Portland.
The easterly winds and fair weather will continue, at least through Friday. The strong high pressure will gradually move northeast, making room for the remnants of Hurricane Ida. The resulting southeasterly flow will slowly put an end to the exceptionally clear and dry stretch of weather. Moisture from Ida's remnants will filter overhead increasing clouds and water vapor, slowly diminishing the visibility. However, I think we'll all enjoy it while we can!
Stacey Kawecki – Observer and Meteorologist
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Jupiter storms or our sunset?
Today's shift change did not feel like a mid-November shift change. It felt more like a mid-summer shift change, with a heck of a lot less traffic. Due to the warm temperatures and total lack of precipitation of late, the drive up the Mount Washington Auto Road was quick and smooth. Normally at this time of year, we're taking a truck with chains and plow up to about half way and then transferring to the snow tractor. If we're not using a snow tractor, we're at least chaining up the van and truck below half way. So, taking the van with no chains all the way up with no snow and no traffic is just plain weird.
Mother Nature's sense of humor would seem to be a bit ironic and wry. She provides a cool, wet summer, followed by a fairly dry start to the winter season. Now, many of us summit dwellers like the cold. For some, the southern sweltering summers is a punishment. However, cold really isn't too much fun without snow! Mary Ellen only has three weeks left, and we promised her a ride in our sweet snow tractor! The leaves have all fallen from the trees, but the mountain tops have yet to be frosted white. But New England's weather is a fickle monster. Last Halloween was white, but Christmas was gray and rainy. Even though the first few days of our shift will be a continuation of today's gorgeous weather, calm winds, sunny skies, and unseasonably warm temperatures, by the end of the week we could be taking the snow tractor down the mountain. Crazier things have happened.
Stacey Kawecki – Observer and Meteorologist
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A (nearly) snowless morning view out the window
Mike mentioned yesterday that we have been without a volunteer during this past shift. I feel like I should point out that this volunterlessness (I don't think that's really word) was mostly by choice. We had at least one previous volunteer come forward and offer to come up, at very short notice, to cover this past shift. While we certainly appreciate this very much, and appreciate the work of ALL our volunteers, we made the conscious decision to go it alone this week and cook for ourselves.
First of all, we figured it would be a nice change from the norm. This is only the second time since I have worked for the Observatory that I have spent a full week here without a volunteer. All of us on this shift enjoy cooking and it turns out we are actually pretty good at it! Secondly, this is a quiet time of year. There are no overnight guests, so making dinner only involves cooking for a handful of people. For most of this shift, that handful amounted to only the three observers (Mike, Ryan, and myself). This has made a quiet time of year even quieter, which has been very nice.
Another shift draws to a close for me tomorrow. Hopefully when I return next Wednesday, things will look a bit more like winter!
Brian Clark – Observer and Meteorologist
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Sunrise this Morning
This has been a different week than most on the mountain as we are without a volunteer this week. As members of the Observatory, one can apply to be a volunteer on the summit for a week. In turn for stay on the summit, the volunteer(s) cook the crew and other guest's dinner as well as keep the living quarters tidy. This is really a huge help, especially during Edu-Trip season when there can be nearly 20 people staying over night sometimes. We are all really appreciative and thankful for this help, especially after working 10 or 12 hours. The summit didn't always have volunteers though, and this week it feels a bit more like the old days. Each person in the crew has taken a day or two to cook dinner for everyone else except for tonight when Brian and I teamed up to tackle pizza making. As we all enjoy to cook and there are no trips this time of year, it has been a fun change.
Tonight after dinner, we watched a documentary titled "Food, Inc." It is a very interesting movie, explaining to the extent they are allowed to, how much of our food comes to us. In Vermont where I live, there are several farmers' markets throughout the state. A couple years ago when I lived at home permanently (before working a week on and a week off), my roommates and I joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) run by a farm a few miles from home. A family close to mine growing up owned a dairy farm (no longer in operation) and my best friend from college works on a farm in southern Vermont. For any small farm dependent upon local support there are difficulties, very often financially.
This is not so different than most non-profit organizations, such as the Observatory. Without the support of our members, we would not be able to continue our work atop Mount Washington. We are a small organization who work hard to keep our climate record as accurate and continuous as possible, and who are passionate about using our unique location to further instrument development and education. Thinking back to dinner though, I know all of the vegetables that were bought were generic ones. Many of the dry ingredients were bulk ingredients through a large distributor. In fact, I can't think of a single ingredient besides the water which came from our well that was produced locally or maybe even in the northeast.
As has been said countless times, we eat very well here on the summit. We are more than lucky to eat so well, better than most kings have in the past. As a non-profit, we have had times of financial difficulty, but would it be possible to help a farmer (and likely a friend) in the valley, while not strapping ourselves for money? Could we eat less ourselves and buy more locally grown food from people we may actually know? For Edu-Trips, we (or I should say, the volunteers) provide incredible dinners, at least on par with ones cooked at a restaurant. I know some of the best meals I have eaten in restaurants have been ones where local meats were used or cheeses from farms throughout Vermont. The portions might be a bit smaller, but the quality of the food is noticeably better and I still feel satiated, as well as knowing I am supporting my local economy. I'm curious to hear people's reflections on this, especially past Edu-Trippers as their quality of experience and expectations would play a major role in any change that might occur. Please let us know what you think by heading over to our forums and starting a thread there about this topic. Thanks for reading.
Mike Finnegan – IT Observer
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Tonights sunset ends the day but starts my shift
There are many things I like about being a night observer this time of year but some aspects I don't. Let me start with the positives though. I like how it is a roller coaster of weather (like Brian called it yesterday). One night it might be single digits while the next night it is in the 20s or 30s. And while that doesn't sound very warm, it requires less layers and I can usually go out without a facemask on. The winds will be dead calm one night then category I the next night, which is normal for winter months to do. I like blowing snow limiting my visibility as it piles into dunes taller than me as I get the precipitation can. I like how clear the nights are providing the 120 miles vistas that are more common in winter than summer. I like the way the stars glimmer and the city lights glow on the horizon. I like watching the cars below as they head to or from their destinations and wonder what they might be doing and if they are looking up here and wondering what I am doing. I like how rime coats everything in a wintry white with spears and spirals like fingers or feathers reaching out towards the winds that formed them. I like watching my breath turn to fog. I like the noise snow makes under my feet. I like looking at the steps of where people once walked and wonder who made them then the next day, like a giant shaken etch-a-sketch, the prints are gone and filled with blown in snow creating a clean slate. I like the crisp sunsets and moonrises. And this list, I am sure, could go on but it's not all roses being the night observer this time of year.
When it is single digits, it can take two minutes to get dressed to go outside, sometimes more time than the actual observation itself takes to do. While I like the severe weather, there is inherent danger attached to having high winds, blowing snow, rime, etc. Once everyone is asleep, I have to depend on our two-way radio waking someone and getting help if it arises. If I get injured, help is even further away since the road requires either the Bombardier snow tractor or a truck with chains making rescues take on the Golden Day rule rather than the Golden Hour rule. The disappearing footsteps in heavy fog and blowing snow can make something like getting the precipitation can, a task that usually takes 5 minutes, into an adventure than can take 15 to 30 minutes. My shift starts in the dark and ends in the dark. That means I have to stay up for sunrise and get up for sunsets. I don't usually see hikers and the ones I do see don't usually stick around due to the cold. Rescues in the winter tend to be fewer (which is good) but when they do occur, they tend to be more serious and more dangerous for us pending on the weather conditions. And while some of these are pretty scary things, luckily there occurrences up here are far and few between. And while every job has its good days (nights) and its bad, I would say that out of the 365 days in a year, out of the ones I work, maybe only a total of five or less make me think "Why am I working nights again?" But then the next night rolls along and replaces that feeling with "This, right here, is why I work here and why I work nights."
Ryan Knapp – Staff Meteorologist
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Sunrise this morning
Generally speaking, I am a pretty patient person. However there are things that I am quite inpatient about. One of these things is happening right now on and off the mountain: the onset of winter.
Although we consider October and November 'winter' months on the mountain, they have the tendency to be very back and forth. By this, I mean that it could be in the teens and snowing one day, and just a few days later it could be in the 30's or 40's with rain. That cycle has happened a couple times over the last few weeks. Early to mid October saw a bunch of snow, but it all disappeared with record high temperatures at the end of the month. Now in the beginning of November, things are white again after several days of temperatures in the teens and a few inches of snow. Now temperatures are set to rise above freezing yet again for tomorrow and into the beginning of next week.
This back and forth drives me crazy mostly because it is such a tease. Not only do I enjoy the cold and snow, but this time of year I am more than a little anxious to click into my skis and make some turns. The summit is white, but there's isn't quite enough to ski yet. Snow is also starting to appear in the valley as well, both natural and man-made. Sunday River ski area actually opened on October 14, and has been open every weekend since, but I haven't been able to make it up there yet.
So I will continue to work on being patient, knowing that winter (and skiing) should be here to stay in just a matter of weeks now.
Brian Clark – Observer and Meteorologist
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Snow on The Upper Slopes of Wildcat.
Wednesday I returned for my sixth week as the summit intern and I'm very excited about the month of November. Winter on Mount Washington generally begins in October and ends in May but November is usually when things begin to get very interesting. The average snowfall for the month of November is ~40 inches, while October's average snowfall is a meager ~12 inches. However, like many folks out there, I'm more interested in high winds and the average wind speeds for October and November also differ significantly. October has an average wind speed of 33.8 mph but November's average is 39.7 mph! That's a 5.9 mph difference which is quite significant when we remember that these are averages. I think I speak for everyone here at the summit when I say that I hope this November brings some ridiculous winds! If you'd like to read more about some of this data I encourage you to check out the Normals, Means, & Extremes page. There is also a lot more fascinating weather data to be found under the Weather tab on the Observatory home page.
I don't recall mentioning this in a past comment but about 4 weeks ago, I had an accident with my new Canon DSLR camera. At about 1:45 AM on Sunday October 11th, as I was shooting some long exposures on the observation deck, the wind decided that it would no longer play nice with my tripod and camera. I was standing about five feet from the tripod preparing to end an exposure with my remote when a wind gust in excess of 75 mph blew my camera and tripod to the deck. Actually "blew" is not a strong enough verb, this gust actually THREW the camera and tripod down at the deck! For the photographers out there, I think it's worth noting that I had about 15 lbs of ballast on my tripod's center column hook. This, of course, ended the nearly 3 minute exposure for me. After I gathered the pieces of my broken spirit and my broken camera I strolled inside to find out if I had any salvageable shots and to my chagrin, the coup de grace was awesome! So today, after sending my camera back to Canon for repair, I received an email from Canon to expect my repaired camera to be returned to me within seven business days. Hopefully, by the beginning of my next shift I will have received my camera and have more shots to post with my comments. This is quite possibly the most exciting news I've received about anything in quite a while, so I thought I'd tell you ya'll about it. Even when it seems that everything has gone wrong and a solution seems impossible, "everything" can change very quickly!
Will Tourtellot – Summit Intern
This shift week has truly been a roller coaster ride! We arrived to relatively light winds and temperatures around freezing. The winds struggled to break 20 mph on Wednesday (in fact, our peak gust for the day was a meager 22 mph). A few days later, on October 30th, we tied a record high of 48 degrees. But the warmth did not stop there. The next day, very early on Halloween morning, we set a record high of 52 degrees, leaving the old record of 49 degrees in the dust! This was the result of a strong southwest flow in the warm sector of a very strong low pressure system to our west.
That night, Halloween night, winds of change came as that low pressure system rapidly intensified over Canada. The southwest winds gusted to 96 mph and brought about the most dramatic drop in temperature I have ever witnessed (along with rain falling in buckets). You may have read about the temperature drop in Stacey's comment from the other day. But to refresh your memory, temps plummeted 11 degrees in just about 30 minutes. Temperatures on the first day of November settled around 20 degrees.
On Sunday and Monday nights, it was a real pleasure to be the night observer. Winds were calm, skies were clear, and the moon was nearly full. There are many nights when I'll do an observation as quickly as possible to limit my exposure to the harsh weather conditions that are in control outside. But on these nights, I spent a little extra time on every observation to take in the rare serene nighttime conditions. Being inside proved to be difficult on those evenings. Our peak gust on Monday was a mere 25 mph.
And now, as I write this comment, winds have picked up due to a cold frontal passage, which was expected and forecasted. However, speeds have reached levels we didn't quite think they would achieve-so far tonight, we've peaked at 87 mph. And winds are still gusting into the mid 80s, which will make my trip to the precip can in about 5 minutes very interesting. And to make the situation even more dynamic, the cold front has allowed temperatures to take yet another nose dive into the teens, and has dumped about 2" of snow, which is being blown around into drifts by the hurricane force winds. It's quite a contrast from Saturday morning's temperatures in the lower 50's!
This will definitely make for an interesting shift change later today.
Mike Carmon – Staff Meteorologist
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The weather has finally cleared up from the weekend show of high winds and foggy skies. It still amazes me how quickly the weather can change up here and this weekend was another great example. One second the wind's gusting to a peak of 96mph with heavy down pouring rain and the next temperature drops 10 degrees in an hour, as a cold front passes covering the summit in ice. Yesterday we were socked in the fog all day with teases of blue sky right above, then all of a sudden, clearing to a beautiful night sky with winds dying significantly. High pressure was in control today making it a beautiful day. You never know what the weather conditions will be on the summit of Mount Washington and with winter approaching I know the show will only get that much better.
Mary Ellen Dunn – Summit Intern
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Halloween on the summit.
Daylight Savings Time strikes again! As Steve struggles with yet more database issues, Mary Ellen and I occasionally here the frustrated sighs coming from the IT corner. We also hear the sporadic rants about daylight savings time and how it's utterly useless. Steve is attempting to fix these time issues for good, and has been at it for the entire day. I'd say a rant or two is definitely admissible, if not completely warranted. On the bright side, the summit and valley facilities are now on the same time, erasing the omnipresent confusion of what time it really is.
In other news, most of us are slightly bummed. After all the hype (even on our off-week, Mike and I were tracking the winds on this storm) winds peaked at only 96 mph yesterday. Though it is an exiting number, we were all hoping to hit the century mark. However, we did get an impressive frontal passage. Temperature plunged from 48 degrees F to 37 degrees in about half an hour! By the time the rest of us woke up in the morning, it felt like November, with winds about 60 mph and temperatures in the lower twenties. Refreshing.
Maybe it was due to the weather or because Mount Washington is kind of a pain to get to in costume, but we didn't receive any trick-or-treaters yesterday. That's three years in a row with no special Halloween guests, and all the more candy for us! We did kick back and enjoy the holiday; Friday night Mary Ellen, Mike, Deb, and I all worked together to carve a pumpkin and roast the seeds. And yesterday we all dressed up and ate way too much candy.
Staying up too late and going to bed with a stomach ach, watching scary movies and wearing costumes is what Halloween was all about when I was growing up. I'm glad that we were able to continue the tradition on the summit.
Stacey Kawecki – Observer and Meteorologist
OUR PARTNERS
16:10 Fri Nov 20th
The Difference a Day Makes
A common topic for comments seems to be the uncommon weather we've been having for November. I will continue this trend today by relaying a story of yesterday.
The morning began with a fine sunrise with visibility around 120 miles. There weren't many clouds to color up, but there was enough particulate in the atmosphere to form a mountain shadow. Alpineglow also painted the peaks to our north as the sun rose above the horizon. As the sun rose higher, the patchy valley fog and lakes turned golden against the still shadowed mountains. At some point, the sun was at just the right angle to reflect off the Atlantic and Sebego Lake.
It was a bit before noon when Steve Moore, a longtime observatory volunteer, walked in the weather room to greet us. He had wisely taken the day off from work and had hiked up the Jewel Trail, over to Jefferson, and was passing through on the way to Monroe. We talked for a bit and I told him how difficult it was to be working inside on a computer on a day such as it was to which he said, "Well, can't you do it later?" I thought for a moment, and then looked at the clock. "I guess I could head out for a while so long as I'm back in time to forecast." I said, and we headed out.
We walked down towards Lakes with temperatures in the 40's and winds around 20 mph. It was difficult to believe it was November as I hiked in just a base layer. Along the way we talked to a few other folks who were skipping work to enjoy the beautiful day. Most of them had come up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail and said it was quite icy, giving fair warning to Steve who was planning to head down that way. We soon reached Lakes and stopped there for some water before continuing on to Monroe. Looking back at Washington from the summit, Steve remarked how odd it was to see the lakes frozen over with clear ice on them as opposed to covered with snow. We hung out for a while, and then hiked back down to the hut, ate a couple gingersnap cookies, and parted ways.
I decided to take the Tuckerman's Crossover trail so I could go up a different side of the mountain than I descended and maybe see a few new sites. This trail is far less traveled than the Crawford Path evident by the greater abundance of sedge in the trail itself. It was very peaceful with the only noise present being the whisper of the wind through the sedge. It is a sound that will soon disappear until spring. Walking further, I found an interesting patch of ice amongst rocks. Throughout it there were some very interesting formations. While there, I looked back towards Monroe and at the few high cirrus in the sky. The ice crystals in one refracted the sun's rays just right as to form a sundog. Wandering a bit further, I found one of the few patches of snow left on the mountain anywhere. I stopped for a minute to enjoy the scenery and found I was not the only one; two raven friends were also cruising about. A few steps further brought me within sight of Tuckerman Ravine and I was pleasantly surprised to see the Left of Left Gully ice starting for form up! I finally hiked up the summit cone and arrived back to work, ready to forecast. Finishing up the forecast, I watched the sunset and soon thereafter, the moonset close behind it. All-in-all, it was a great day and I am glad I got out to enjoy it before the foggy, wet weather of today arrived.
Mike Finnegan – IT Observer