crap 2011-03-01 16:22:58.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer NULL What a day. It started with shoveling - lots and lots of shoveling - as Mike alluded to in his comment yesterday the front entrance had drifted in with piles of lovely snow. I really wish it would drift somewhere else for once. Later this morning the sun decided to put in an appearance, it's always a welcome sight, especially after days of fog and snow. The 100 foot views of gray just don't compare with the 100 plus mile views of distant peaks and valleys. It looks like there'll also

NULL 2011-02-28 21:00:59.000 - Mike Carmon,  Staff Meteorologist A Bit of Drifting...eh? I have the pleasure of writing the final comment for the month of February. The month has certainly not gone out with a whimper.While we began the week with 130 mile visibilities and clear skies, the clouds have since gathered, producing snow every day this week. We are now experiencing (along with the valleys below) our third winter storm of the shift!Winds have not disappointed either, as we've peaked at 103 mph, a mark that was reached on both Friday and Saturday.As I compose this comment right now,

Saturday EduTrip 2011-02-27 18:53:05.000 - David Quigley,  Summit Intern NULL Yesterday I had the privilege of joining the EduTrip for some hiking around the summit. Conditions were snowy, winds sustained in the 60s, gusting into the 80s. This made for a fun and educational hike. The afternoon started with a discussion of gear recommended to be taken on winter hikes. Then came some crampon education as this was the first time using crampons for a number of the EduTrippers. After everyone had their crampons on, we learned various stepping techniques that are useful on different types of winter terrain. We

NULL 2011-02-26 14:21:34.000 - Marty,  Summit Cat Don't hate me because I'm beautiful Meow. Marty here, with Stacey translating for me. I'd much rather have my good friend Mike translate for me, but he's doing that sleep thing. Really, I don't understand why humans don't catch on to the cat nap idea. It is brilliant. I thought I'd start by saying that, if it is possible, I have become more majestic and handsome over the past couple of months. My fur is thick and luxurious and not one of my subjects has been able to resist petting me. Speaking of

NULL 2011-02-25 13:10:50.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist Al enjoying sunrise yesterday One quick look at the calendar had me gasping for breath! February is almost over! Where did all the time go? (According to the Tralfamadorians, all time has always existed and will always exist, so they're probably not the right ones to ask). However, it does seem like only yesterday we were having our big New Year's Eve event. Now March looms upon the horizon. That means April is just around the corner, and May is entirely too close for comfort. Even though, through my somewhat circuitous

Vol comment 2011-02-24 10:55:39.000 - Dave MacKenzie,  Summit Volunteer Another week passes on the top of Mt Washington. Yet the week was somewhat uneventful in weather, if you consider 110 mph + gusts as normal. It is such a great experience to be on top of this mountain during the winter months. The weather can be nice one moment, and harsh the next. The week started out as a normal, nice day. Sun shining, winds relatively calm, and a quick ride up the Auto Road in the Snow Cat.. A little bumpy, and almost like riding a bucking bronco at

Pizza Delivery 2011-02-22 22:18:04.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Summit Intern Brad Sterl, CEO of Rustic Crust delivering pizza Pizza delivery on the summit is not something that happens often... only once before... until today. Our newest sponsor, Rustic Crust, ventured to the summit this morning to deliver American Flatbreadand Rustic Crusts and show us how to make a delicious pizza. Not only did they tell us about their product but they made a few sample pizzas to show us the technique. Then Executive Director Scott Henley tried his hand as a cheese, onion, pepper, and bacon pizza while Mike and I

Spring may be bad. 2011-02-21 23:08:51.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist The sun sets on another day. During most of my off days in the valley, I make looking at the weather models part of my morning routine. I don't have to do it for work but I do this for various personal reasons. First, I'm a weather geek (read that I said geek and not nerd, there is a difference). Weather has always interested me and it's why I went to college for a degree in meteorology and why I work as a meteorologist currently. The second reason I

Better late than never. 2011-02-20 23:19:41.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Todays sunset, exactly as we expected. During my off week, the other shift gave us a heads up on Monday the 14th that the models were consistently calling for 100+ mph sustained winds on Friday into Saturday. With an overnight trip planned for that Friday night into Saturday, there was some discussion on what we should do. Should the trip be attempted, delayed or cancelled? Since it was still about a week away, we decided to take a wait and see approach and decide as the event drew closer.

A Busy Week 2011-02-19 22:26:35.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer NULL It has been an extremely busy week here on the summit and it is only Saturday. For one, we have been down an observer all week as Ryan was on vacation for the first half of the week and was lucky enough to attend Stacey's birthday party. On top of that, Brian has been sick, but has been rocking nights all the same, working from 7PM to 7AM, and myself working the other twelve hours. He has now left the summit to do some work in the valley and