Five Years Ago 2010-11-24 22:59:57.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist My favorite picture from five years ago Time to get a little sentimental. Five years ago on this very day, I made my first ascent to the summit of Mount Washington, by snow tractor. The occasion? I was coming up with the Observatory crew for shift change so that I could be interviewed as an intern candidate for the winter 2006 internship. I had hiked up (most of) Mount Washington only one other time that previous May for a three-day, two-night stay at Hermit Lake to ski Tuckerman Ravine

NULL 2010-11-23 14:36:35.000 - Kristin Raisanen,  Summit Intern The tower once again mostly snow and ice free On the ride up last week, we were all discussing our thanksgiving plans. This Thanksgiving is especially exciting for the observers on this shift, Steve, Stacey and Mike. For the last two Thanksgivings and Christmases (or three for Steve), our observers were on top of the Northeast keeping an eye on the weather and keeping the summit running while everyone else ate turkey with their families and opened presents on Christmas morning. This past April, the two shifts preformed a shift swap, which

NULL 2010-11-22 15:54:41.000 - Marty,  Summit Cat Meowww hello my adoring fans! It is I, Marty, your favorite summit cat, back to tell you about my fabulous life here on my mountain. Now that winter is finally upon us, there have been far less people around the summit. This has been the purr-fect opportunity for me to roam about the building and do as I please without having to worry about the paparazzi following me around. There is one creature that remains, however, and that is the terrible blue and white monster that lives downstairs in the living room. I

Brocken spectre and glory 2010-11-21 16:17:13.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer Morning Glory After days of seeing nothing outside but freezing fog we were finally greeted to a wonderful sunrise soon followed by a great Brocken spectre and glory - one of the best I've seen up here. By the time I got outside with the camera it was wearing off but in the accompanying photo you can still make out the glory around the mountain's shadow. So a Brocken spectre is really just a shadow, in this case of the mountain peak, being cast on the clouds below. The

Raven 2010-11-20 22:39:36.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist NULL As one of the educational observers, I feel I haven't provided enough education lately. Since the fog has allowed little in the way of optical phenomena, and Mike and Ryan have spoken about the weather (big surprise), I decided to turn my attention one of the species we encounter often on the summit of Mount Washington. During on of my distance learning presentations, a student asked me what a raven was.I was somewhat flabbergasted. I had seen ravens on many occasions; I know how the soar, glide, and swoop, but

Calmer Days 2010-11-19 23:23:00.000 - Mike Carmon,  Staff Meteorologist NULL Well, hello. It's been a while since I've talked to y'all! Let's say...24 hours?My comments today won't be as lengthy or thrilling as yesterday's, because the weather has calmed down and cooled off quite a bit. At this moment, visibility is about 115 miles, with the distant lights of Portland, Portsmouth, St. Johnsbury, North Conway, and Berlin all clearly visible underneath a nearly-full moonlit sky.The moonlight shimmering off the newly-whitened surfaces on the summit adds a nice effect! The snowcaps of nearby mountain peaks such as Lafayette, Moosilauke, Wildcat, and

NULL 2010-11-18 23:31:21.000 - Mike Carmon,  Staff Meteorologist Wind! As a fleeting resident of this planet, one always wishes to experience as much as is humanly possible before time expires.As a meteorologist, there are certain experiences that would be particularly memorable, but if you aren't lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, they might just be forgone.When I joined the staff on the summit, I was expecting a surfeit of new experiences. There are the obvious trials and tribulations of entering the working world and holding down a job while supporting oneself. There is the

First, biggest, most. 2010-11-17 15:56:07.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist NULL "I wish I could stay longer but..." We have all muttered these words at some point in our lives replacing "..." with some sort of reason as to why we couldn't stick around. As a kid, it might be "I wish I could stay longer but...my mom says it's dinner time." As a teen, it might be "I wish I could stay longer but...it's past my curfew." As a college student, you may have muttered "I wish I could stay longer but...I have a term paper worth 25 percent

Mammatus clouds 2010-11-16 20:32:24.000 - Erica Sandschulte,  Summit Intern Mammatus clouds MAMMATUS clouds. The last time I witnessed mammatus clouds was the September of my senior year of college in Arizona; it was towards the end of Monsoon season. I remember it clearly, I was outside warming up for soccer practice, in the distance dark cumulonimbus clouds rolled in from the east over the northern part of Mogollon Rim. Several large opaque like lobes covered the sky, the clouds had a green tint, and were moving in quickly. Seeing these uncommon clouds I knew it would be the onset of

A Mountain of Beauty 2010-11-15 16:39:59.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer A Spectacular Sunrise It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is the case, then this comment is going to be just over 16,000 words long. The funny thing about that is that it will still be shorter than one of Knapper's comments (I fully expect to hear a dramatic sigh when he reads this). Between last night's sunset and this morning's sunrise, there is little to say besides stating the fact I feel very fortunate to be able to experience things such