A volunteer comment 2011-07-25 17:38:42.000 - Robin Kay,  Summit Volunteer Hey, this is Mike's mom. For those of you who follow the comments, you probably know who I mean, but if you don't, Mike is Mike Finnegan who was an obsever here until this past June. I am his mom, but seem to be better known here as Mike's mom, which as you can imagine, fills me with pride. Although Mike has chosen to move on from the Observatory, I intend to continue my yearly week as a volunteer at this "magical place" as Ken Rancourt's wife, Jane, referred to

2nd comment 2011-07-24 18:52:46.000 - Roger Pushor,  Observer / IT Specialist MWO Staff all dressed up Yesterday was Seek the Peak with nearly 500 hikers making the trek to the Summit and taking the opportunity to tour the Observatory. I have to say one of my favorite parts of the job up here is getting the chance to interact with visitors that come to the Summit and explaining to them a little about what we do up here. There are a surprising number of visitors who don't realize the Mount Washington Observatory is a private non-profit organization that's member supported

comment 2011-07-23 12:56:23.000 - Jaclyn Ritzman,  Summit Intern A lenticular cloud to our east. So far this week has been quite busy up here on the summit. Wednesday, visibility was extremely limited due to dense haze. These conditions have continued throughout the end of the week. While the northeast and most of the Midwest have been experiencing a dangerous heat wave, daytime highs have been in the mid-60s up here on the summit. Many visitors to the summit made the trip up to escape the heat in the valley. Watching many locations in the valley and down along the coast

7-22-11 Stephen Rosenman 2011-07-22 17:04:57.000 - Stephen Rosenman,  Summit Intern 2010 STP Participants Touring the Weather Room The wait is almost over! For weeks now, anticipation has been growing up here on the summit for the Observatory's biggest hike-a-thon fundraiser, Seek the Peak. Pictures from registration down at the Weather Discovery Center have been popping up on Facebook today and our wonderful volunteers have not only been cooking some fabulous dinners for us, but have also baked over 700 cookies for all of the hungry hikers that will be arriving to the summit tomorrow. I really am thrilled that Seek

Getting a Break from the Heat 2011-07-21 16:35:36.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer / Educational Specialist NULL There are pros and cons with getting a break from the summer heat by living on the top of Mount Washington for 8 days at a time. The pros are obvious: not having to deal with excessive heat like most of the country has seen recently. Of course, my idea of excessive heat is anything over 80 degrees. The cons: how hot even 80 degrees in the valley feels after getting used to the 40's and 50's during a typical summer time shift on

More STP information 2011-07-20 22:23:45.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Observer / Meteorologist As Mike Carmon mentioned in yesterday's Observer Comment, our annual Seek the Peak hike-a-thon is quickly approaching this coming weekend, Saturday, July 23rd. And while we are preparing for the event both here on the summit and in the valleys below, participants need to prepare as well. So I will provide some input on some common problems and questions I have heard over the years that come up frequently with this event.First up, the question/concern people have about the weather forecast. Typically, Mike Carmon and I only forecast out

Preliminary STP outlook 2011-07-19 17:31:37.000 - Mike Carmon,  Observer / Meteorologist It's that time of year! With our annual hike-a-thon Seek the Peak fast approaching, one can't help but peer ahead a little further into the future than we should to glance at what the weather might hold in store. With almost no exceptions, I'm never a fan of putting out any sort of weather outlook for more than 2-3 days in advance. However, I'll take this opportunity to do just that, and give all of you participating hikers my thoughts on what conditions could be like on Saturday. By

Relections 2011-07-18 21:57:23.000 - Erin Diveny,  Summit Museum Supervisor My first observatory tour back in 2005 As I enter my 5th shift week working here at the summit I started thinking about how I got here. So many people each day in the museum say "wow you have such an amazing job" or "how did you get this job?" That reminded me of my history with the Observatory. My Mom and Dad used to tell me stories about them climbing Mt. Washington before I was born and I always remember my Dad wearing his "this body climb Mt. Washington" shirt

NULL 2011-07-17 14:20:04.000 - Tom Padham,  Summit Intern Carriage nearing the summit Today felt like a blast from the past, with only horses and horse drawn carriages being allowed up the Auto Road in celebration of its 150th anniversary year. This was the only way to make it up the Auto Road when it was originally opened in 1861. The sight of horses on the top of the summit is something that hasn't been seen for quite some time, so a big thank you to all who participated and made it a memorable experience. Speaking of having a blast, a

NULL 2011-07-16 14:06:18.000 - Peter Strand,  Summit Intern Guests at the summit Car, train, motorcycle, bicycle, hiking, running, and walking. There are endless ways to get to the summit of Mt. Washington on any given day. Tomorrow we can add yet another method of transportation to the list, horse-drawn carriage! That's right, tomorrow the Auto Road will be closed to motor vehicles and open only to horses as part of their 150th anniversary celebration. As for today, it's safe to say that all other methods of ascension are being used, and in great numbers. The fantastic weekend weather has drawn