Century club

2008-03-10 23:29:21.000 – Stacey Kawecki,  Observer

Windswept: This is the name of the Mount Washington Observatory’s quarterly publication. It also describes conditions on the summit yesterday. I have to admit, my forecast was a little off. I called for winds to be 65-85 mph, with gusts approaching the century mark. However, winds were sustained over 100 mph for quite a bit of time. These high winds provided the perfect opportunity for those who were awake to attempt membership into that exclusive club: The Century Club. How does one attain membership? Well, the first step is that winds must be sustained at over 100 mph (hence Century). The second part of it is that one must circumnaviagate the entire observation deck walking first down the South edge, then East, North, West. There are, however, stipulations. One must not be wearing crampons or any other traction device on their feet. One must not hold on to anything (the railing), and one must not fall over during the attempt. Once this has been successfully completed, that person can officially claim to be a member of the Century Club. Sounds simple, right? I am NOT a member of the club, however, since I was asleep, I did not get a chance to try. Kyle and Ryan Buckley failed in their attempts (though the attempts were full-hearted tries). Mike was the only person to gain the admittance to the prestigious club. So Congratulations to Mike Finnegan, IT Observer! The skies have cleared for my shift tonight, so I will drink in the stars and see what tomorrow brings!

Stacey Kawecki,  Observer