First Days On The Summit As A Winter Intern 2013-01-19 16:20:01.000 - Michael Kyle,  Summit Intern NULL Being a new Intern at the Mount Washington Observatory and new to the state of New Hampshire, the past few days have been one new experience after another. Hailing from southern New Jersey where the highest points are casinos and lighthouses, Mount Washington's summit is a whole new world. The views from the top of the mountain are like none that I have seen before. To the west there are mountains for as far as I can see. To the east are mountains

A Note From Our Executive Director 2013-01-18 21:12:46.000 - Scot Henley,  Executive Director NULL We have received a large number of calls and inquiries about Thursday's events here on Mount Washington. Thank you to our members and fans for the concern. As you may have already heard, all involved are safe and sound. There was an avalanche in Huntington Ravine on Thursday afternoon that affected a party of twelve climbers who had made prior arrangements to stay overnight here at the Observatory. The group included the 'Ascents of Honor' team (including Former Reconnaissance Marine Keith Zeier), videographer Thom Pollard and

13 Can Sometimes Be Lucky 2013-01-16 17:48:06.000 - The Kinneys,  Summit Volunteers NULL It's January 2013 and we are finishing our week on the 'Rock Pile'. It might sound pessimistic, but the number 13 has, historically, been unlucky. My grandmother had all her family for Christmas dinner every year but never sat at the dinner table as she would have been number 13. Many buildings are missing a 13th floor. The first woman to die on Mount Washington, Lizzie Bourne, died February 13th at 23 yrs. old. Fearing there was some credence to the myths, I decided to look deeper.

January Thaw Maxes Out 2013-01-14 15:16:01.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL This year's January thaw has given Mt. Washington a new high mark.That mark is 48F--the highest temperature ever recorded in the month of January in the Mt. Washington Observatory's 80 year history. During the waning hours of my shift on Sunday morning (January 13th), all of our temperature devices were hovering right around 39F, as they had been throughout most of that night. The models were forecasting a serious jump in temperatures on that day, which looked likely to come when winds, which were blowing around 30-40 mph,

Programs Galore! 2013-01-13 16:56:05.000 - Brian Fitzgerald,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Brian outside during a program! It's been a busy week up on the Rockpile, and for a moment we get a bit of a breather between trips and visitors to the summit; playoff football anyone? It's been a particularly busy week for Distance Learning Programs, which as the Education Specialist, and the staffer charged with delivering programs, it's been fun and very rewarding getting to reach out to as many schools and students as possible. For those of you who don't know exactly what Distance Learning programs are all about,

Don't Sweat It 2013-01-12 17:47:31.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist One of many puddles of water Weather is extremely variable by nature. Despite the calendar saying January, and our climate data telling us that our high temperature today and tomorrow should be somewhere in the vicinity of 5F, nature has a different plan.Today's daily record high is 40F, and we've managed to hit 38F so far today, with more moderation expected through the evening and early tonight. This record may very well bite the dust at any time.The unseasonable warmth has turned our snowy summit into a mish-mosh of water

Windy on the Summit 2013-01-10 18:29:17.000 - Mike Dorfman,  Summit Intern The Observatory's Snow Cat Parked on the Summit Last night when I sat down on my bed to begin a good night's sleep, I noticed a loud humming noise-almost like someone had an extremely loud sound system turned up playing a song that consisted of one constant bass note. It was the type of sound that you feel more than you hear. For a split second, I went back to my college years and assumed my neighbors had turned up their music too loud, but then I remembered that

Volunteer's Thoughts 2013-01-09 22:00:12.000 - Adam Scott,  Summit Volunteer (Rhode Island) Summit Sunset Anytime that you have the opportunity to come to the summit of Mt. Washington, you never quite know what type of weather you will be greeted with. Being that this is my first winter week on the mountain as a summit volunteer, I had been wondering what type of weather I would encounter. I never could have imagined that the weather would be so varied and ever changing with each passing day.Our summit ride up in the Snow Cat on Thursday gave us weather that we never

Volunteer Comment 2013-01-08 18:34:40.000 - Neil Lovett,  Summit Volunteer Neil standing on the summit. The late, great Kurt Vonnegut Jr. once wrote: 'I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center.'I came to Mt. Washington in the winter to live by the edge. Make no mistake, here, you are not communing with nature, you are merely baring witness to a power to which you, as an individual, or we as a society have absolutely no control over.

Encased in Ice 2013-01-07 18:38:58.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist Observation Tower Encased in Ice Early this morning, the summit cleared after being in snow and fog for the past few days. This allowed our volunteers to get out and do some hiking. As we first cleared, we still had a layer of clouds below the summit. However, as a cold front passed with drier air behind it, those clouds eventually disappeared over the next few hours, leaving a sky that was almost completely clear.As you can see from the picture to the right, the tower is almost completely