Final Days Comment

2009-08-18 18:09:21.000 – Alex Jacques,  Summit Intern

One final good sunset.

Well, all things come to end, and for me it’s my internship here on the summit that will be concluding this Wednesday.

In a nutshell, here is a list of things I have done while on the summit: removed cables, cleaned and replaced windows, the morning routine, learned how to take observations, museum training and work, tour shadowing, tours themselves, B16 entries recent and old, chopped concrete, filmed and created ObsCasts, wrote and recorded forecasts, cleaned the bottom of the Observatory Tower, took down and replaced instruments and cameras, wrote weekly weather summaries and comments, moved cabinets and furniture, helped clean the kitchen out so new flooring could be installed, painted a wall, and last but not least, putting together a research project aimed towards verifying thunderstorm forecasts on the mountain.

Apart from the work, fun stuff included: handling snow in June for the second time in my life (only other time was in the Rockies), watching movies, playing board games, playing video games, going on hikes, and making plenty of new friends.

Of course, I can’t forget the weather I have experienced while here on the summit. This includes sleet, snow, rime ice, plenty of fog and rain, a few thunderstorms (no lightning hitting the summit though), and winds up to hurricane force. I also saw numerous sunsets (each great), rainbows, crepuscular rays, and undercasts. I took more pictures in these six weeks than I have in the past year.

The memories of this summer will last for a long time. From working with Sharon and Hedda in the Museum, to dinner conversations with the staff, to working with the observers on observations and other summit projects, all have been great. With “modern technology” these days, keeping in contact with the staff and other interns will be easy.

I thank the staff (both summit and valley) for giving me this excellent opportunity that I wouldn’t have traded for anything else this summer. After experiencing a summers-worth of weather 6,288 feet above sea-level, I hope to venture to the summit during the winter months (when the real extreme weather can happen). Until then (or when I hike up myself), goodbye to everyone at the summit and I hope to see you soon.

Observer footnote: Wednesday, August 19, concludes Mount WashingtonObservatory’s summer series Science in the Mountains: A Passport to Science.It’s the program you won’t want to miss! Join us as we take a trip to theLife Science Education Center in Indiana to find out more aboutepidemiology. The Centers for Disease Control provide health and lifesaving information about epidemics that may concern our nation and citizens,but what are scientists studying and discovering? Find out tonight, 7 PM atthe Mount Washington Observatory Weather Discovery Center in North Conway.Admission is free, and all ages are invited to attend.

Alex Jacques,  Summit Intern