Home Sweet Summit

By Kathryn Hawkes

Me enjoying the view of Mount Washington while skiing in the valley on my off week.

Hi everyone! My name is Kathryn Hawkes and I’m the joint climate science research intern working on the White Mountains Almanac with Mount Washington Observatory, Appalachian Mountain Club, and Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. I am super excited for this opportunity to spend the next months at the Observatory and evaluate how climate change is affecting the White Mountains!

Unlike many other interns and observers that hail from far and wide, I have had the privilege of calling the Whites my home for my entire life. Growing up just down the road in North Conway, my childhood was shaped by the ridgelines and river valleys of the White Mountains. Living at the base of these mountains meant learning early on that weather was always exciting and the landscape was never still. This sparked my curiosity about the natural world that eventually turned into a passion for environmental science.

That curiosity carried me west to larger mountains: the Rockies. Here, I studied environmental science and statistics at Colorado College. I fell in love with the towering fourteeners, dry high-country air, and alpine basins that I had the privilege of studying and exploring. I graduated in May of 2025 with my shiny new degree in environmental science and appreciation for the wild west, but my fondness for the White Mountains brought me back home.

During this time, I was lucky enough to spend a semester in Chilean Patagonia, at the southern tip of the continental Americas. Here, I conducted field work on carbon ecology and hydrology, while studying climate science and conservation. After seeing the dramatic peaks rising behind glaciers, fierce winds shaping the ecosystems, and rapidly changing weather patterns, I became even more fascinated with wild weather and the impacts of climate on the places I love. Forever grateful for this experience, it reminded me of how special it is to come from a place where weather plays such a defining role in the landscape.

Now here we are: on the top of the rockpile with the World’s Worst Weather! During my first two shifts, I have gotten to experience why this mountain has earned its reputation for extreme weather. From rime ice formations to days of consistent fog to wind gusts over 100 mph, the weather has yet to disappoint. Despite my aversion to early mornings, I have seen too many jaw-dropping sunrises (and sunsets) that make it all worth it. Learning more about meteorology and forecasting, I am excited to see how these conditions change over the next three months, and of course, spend lots of time with Nimbus.

Sunrise (left) and sunset (right) from the top of the rockpile.

Over the course of this internship, I’ll be working on the second edition of The White Mountains Almanac. Examining climate data from the Mount Washington Observatory, Appalachian Mountain Club, and Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study, I will be analyzing long-term trends across a variety of topics. So far, I’ve been looking at how lake ice out dates have shifted over the past 150 years, and trends of the infamous “mud seasons” in April.

This research is intended to highlight the effects of climate change on the White Mountains, while making scientific research and data more accessible for the general public. This edition of the almanac will feature new topics and insights into these landscapes I call home. Published in partnership with the three organizations, be sure to look out for the second edition in fall of 2026!

Well, that’s all I’ve got so far! Thanks for taking a peek at my life on the summit in these first weeks.

Nimbus was skeptical of the newcomer (don’t worry he has warmed up to me).