NULL 2010-05-02 12:03:23.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist Definitely different from three days ago! The weather affects everyone. It influences the day's activities and wardrobe, and even the overall mental state of a person. For those of us on the summit, weather is directly proportional to mental health, though results vary by individual personality. Take yesterday for example. It was a beautiful day, albeit a bit breezy. However, my own mood needed boosting. I attempted to snowboard the east snow fields and failed...miserably. Instead of a mood boost, I got sunburn.However, upon waking this morning and heading out for

NULL 2010-05-01 14:31:18.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist That's a good-looking radar! Happy May Day Observatory website visitors! The summit is celebrating in a rather quiet fashion. Temperature is a balmy 38 degrees, winds are a merely 35-40 mph and the violently blowing snow...well there's not much left. The intense winter-storm is over, and we can see rocks and sedge again. In fact (even though I'm not the gambling type), I'll wager that by the time we leave the mountain (in a week), most of the snow will be gone. According to the models, we'll dip below freezing on

NULL 2010-04-30 10:00:10.000 - Drew Hill,  Summit Intern Blowing Snow The ''good weather'' moniker was funny for the first 5 months, but honestly, it's starting to get old. Don't get me wrong, the sunny skies, record highs, and apple ... fritters have been wonderful. I've carved many a turn in the fine spring cornsnow, and my skin's still reeling from that day I callowly renounced sunscreen for the extra 12 ounces of weight it would add to my pack back in early April. I digress. A week from Saturday will mark the end of my internship on the summit (I

winter back again 2010-04-29 04:51:50.000 - Mike Carmon,  Staff Meteorologist Drifting on the Sherman Adams Building This past Monday, in my current residence located in Burlington, VT, I sat on a bench overlooking Lake Champlain, under the sun, with temperatures pushing 70 degrees, thinking, 'Winter's officially over. Summer's here.' Little did I know I'd be eating those words less than 24 hours later. I awoke Tuesday morning to a temperature hovering just below 30 degrees and heavy wet snow descending from cloudy skies. Although I knew snow had been forecasted for Mt. Washington and the valleys of the White Mountains

NULL 2010-04-28 15:36:31.000 - Winnie Jones,  Summit Volunteer NULL This is my first time volunteering up here on Mount Washington and I have to admit I was prepared to experience "the worst". We have had 5 out of 7 days with sunshine, little wind and plenty of warmth. Each day Robin (the seasoned volunteer) and I walked or hiked, starting off slowly and doing the Lake of the Clouds hike yesterday. What fun it was to slide down part of the way, using our feet to slow us. The visibility has been between 50-100 miles, not counting our second day

A mother's Neverland 2010-04-27 22:55:02.000 - Robin Kay,  Summit Volunteer NULL I'm Mike F.'s mom, Robin, one of the volunteers this week. I have to say how grateful I am to have this week, not only with my son, but also on top of this mountain. This is my third volunteer trip and I'm finding each one as enjoyable as the last. This is my first time with another volunteer - Winnie, who happens to be my neighbor from home, inIrasburg, VT. It's been great having her company/help in the kitchen and cleaning times as well. She makes awesome chocolate

NULL 2010-04-26 17:49:12.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer NULL Looking out the window a bit ago, I saw something that I have never seen before on the summit. I called my Mom and Winnie, our two volunteers for the week, up to see something I describe as quite unusual. They looked out the window and said, 'Yeah...so...it's snowing...' What was odd was the fact it was snowing straight down. Most often when it is snowing, it is snowing sideways with most of the snow being blown over or off the summit. Now, although unusual, it is not the first time

More tent testing 2010-04-25 17:45:46.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist Marty, solidifying his ownership of the summit Yesterday Mike F. and I set up yet another tent that we are testing for Backpacker Magazine. This tent is the 6th and final tent tested for them, and like 4 of the other tents that we have tested over the last month or so, it did not make it through the night completely intact. Winds were sustained at 'only' 40 mph, but yet managed to snap the pole that supports the front vestibule.I happened to be the one who attempted to

Signs of summer 2010-04-24 23:42:13.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Todays spring sunset. Summer is on its way. The signs are all around us, and I'm not just talking about the weather. If I were talking about the weather of recent though, you would never guess that summer was approaching. When we headed down on Wednesday, April 14th for our off week, the summit had about eight inches on the ground with a lot of exposed rocks. Since that time, 17 inches of new snow has fallen on the summit. Not all of that has stuck around as the winds

Seeking Ideas 2010-04-23 17:44:57.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer NULL Most of the time, working on a mountaintop for a week proves not to be terribly inconvenient. Life is planned around the fact that once I'm up here, I'm not leaving until the following Wednesday. Every once in a while though life throws you a curveball and pays not a bit of attention to the planning - I am teetering on that point right now. Driving over to Vermont last weekend I felt that my car, a 4-cylinder 1996 Toyota Camry, was a feeling a bit less powerful than normal.