Ice…Lots of Ice

2009-10-10 13:14:58.000 – Will Tourtellot,  Summit Intern

Upper Ammonoosuc Falls

** Quick Update*** – We reacquired our link to the valley so the website is up to date with the current summit conditions, forecast etc. Sorry for the hiccup!

*I intended to post this comment yesterday, but because of the loss of the link to the valley, I couldn’t post it until today.

Summer seems to have finally lost it’s grip on the the summit and as winter approaches the summit has been pelted with rime ice, snow, sleet, freezing rain, ice pellets and all manner of frigid precipitation. Today was different. This morning we awoke to find everything covered in several inches of glaze ice and temperatures hovering a few degrees below freezing. Today was expected to be a day of major accomplishments as we had planned to knock several items off of our winter preparation list. But, as is often the case, the weather and the mountain felt otherwise. As the morning drifted on, we patiently waited as the temperature cycled momentarily above freezing and then back down below freezing. Meanwhile the top mile of the Auto Road was being plowed and the first Cog Railway Train was creeping up the mountain’s northwestern flanks. Finally at about 10:30 it was decided that Brian and I would set out down the auto road to pick up some folks from the University of New Hampshire who needed to retrieve some items from and old research project. After Mike and Brian installed chains on the Observatory’s truck, we began our descent to our rendezvous point four and a half miles from the summit. Much to our delight the ride was uneventful and successfully shuttled the gentlemen from UNH up and then back down the mountain. Although we didn’t accomplish everything we would have liked, I still consider today a success. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of our escapades because the intense fog/rain/freezing rain would not have played well with my camera. However, I will leave you with a photo that I took last Monday of Upper Ammonoosuc Falls. Until next time…

Will Tourtellot,  Summit Intern