A Volunteer Week

2017-02-01 06:23:56.000 – Jeff Swanson, Summit Volunteer

I have returned to the summit for my fourth trip as a volunteer with the Mount Washington Observatory. As usual, this place is never twice the same when drawing comparisons between each of my trips. I have experienced the month of July with sunny days, and opportunities to see many travelers on the summit and the Observatory. January (3 times) with its snow, ice formations, cold temperatures, and of course the extreme winds, which is my favorite season.

This’s week started with a Snowcat ride Wednesday that was fortunate to fit into a small window of opportunity between weather events that allowed us to make the summit. Overnight conditions worsened, causing our additional guests to stay an additional two days on the summit and be present during some pretty exciting weather events. Some of the previous posts by Caleb Meute identify what it was like during the additional 48 hours for our visitors. Excitement builds during these events when we see the data support the forecasts as the storms build, and in the case of the twin 127 mph event surpass what was expected. The film team in turn was able to capture a great deal more footage of what MWOBS is all about on the summit.

In addition to the weather excitement on the summit, my co-volunteer Jan Berriochoa and I have the responsibility of creating meals for the team, and our guests to the summit. We also complete a basic tasking schedule. Adaptation is key when putting together meal plans for the week. I can say that for every trip I have taken to the summit, there is always a variety of beef, chicken, and vegetables to create complete meals. There is never a shortage of food options to prepare, and we always have a lot of fun creating them.

Thank you Mike Carmon, Adam Gill, Caleb Meute, Aryeh Cooperman, Jan Berriochoa, and Sharon Schilling for another great week on the summit!

Always looking forward to the next winter volunteer trip to the summit!

Jeff Swanson, Summit Volunteer

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