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2011-07-09 16:18:02.000 – Jaclyn Ritzman,  Summit Intern

Sunset

Things up on the summit have been busy so far this week, which is great! Luckily when we arrived on Wednesday the summit was in the clear. This seems to be a reoccurring welcome to our shift; the summit is clear when we arrive and leave but the in-between time is usually spent in the fog. This week we have received a pleasant break from the fog at times. Wednesday’s weather brought thunderstorms to the summit, which personally I enjoyed. Unfortunately visitors on the summit had to remain indoors due to the threat for lightning. The summit took a few strikes which startled those in the Sherman Adams Summit Building as they got to experience what it was like for the summit to get struck by lightning. Thursday I caught a glimpse of some Kelvin Helmholtz Wave (KH Waves) that had developed over Mount Adams. KH Waves are good indicators of turbulence and atmospheric stability. Thursday night we had a gorgeous sunset but the clouds quickly moved in leaving the stars unable to be seen. When the stars are visible at night, they are spectacular. I got my first taste of what the night time sky looks like outside of the city back in May. Hopefully before I leave in August I will get to see the stars one more time.

Newton’s Revenge, one of the Auto Road’s bike races to the summit, took place this morning. A lot of people came up to see their friends and family members race to the summit early this morning. I even saw a few dogs that were not enjoying the cold, foggy, and windy conditions. Hats and mittens were definitely a hot seller in the gift shop this morning. Even though ideal weather conditions for a bike race were not present, the cyclists pushed through the race. A few cyclists even ran their bikes through the finish line, which shows just how determined the competitors were to reach the summit. After the cyclists crossed the finish line they immediately were wrapped up in blankets as temperatures were in the mid-40s. It is a shame the weather could not fully cooperate with the bike race seeing how the summit is now in the clear. This just goes to show how the weather can change up here on the summit. Hopefully the skies stay clear for another beautiful sunset tonight, fingers crossed! So far we have seen two sunsets this week and Marty seems to enjoy accompanying us during the sunsets as well!

Jaclyn Ritzman,  Summit Intern