Things that are Short 2009-12-21 17:47:15.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer Alpineglow on Adams It has been a quiet week here on the summit. Just four folks up here - myself working days, Ryan working nights, our volunteer Pete, and a state park employee. You might be wondering what has happened to our other observer and intern. Brian is off on vacation to Wyoming, probably getting totally worked ripping some of his first turns this year in deep powder. I'm sure the face shots make all the burning worthwhile though. With any luck, he will have taken some photos during

100!! 2009-12-20 22:28:09.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Sunset number x of y. I love December! First, it's just a merry month all around. Regardless of your beliefs, people I know just seem to be in a good mood despite what seems to be the news' constant negative spin on everything. I don't know, maybe its the sights of the lights, the smell of pine trees in neighboring tree lots, the smell of gingerbread houses and sugar cookies, the warmth of being in doors while its snowing, visiting with family and friends or just helping our fellow man by throwing

A Beautiful Day 2009-12-19 21:31:16.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer NULL It never ceases to amaze me how quickly things can change in regards to weather. Two days ago, it was -24 degrees outside. Today we hit a high temperature of 22 degrees and winds nearly calm. Instead of layering in a facemask, hat, hood, and goggles, I only needed a pair of sunglasses. I traded in insulated boots for sneakers and snow pants for flannel lined pants. At times I even neglected to wear a jacket. Not that I would dress like this if I were hiking even around

The Swamp and The Mountain 2009-12-18 21:35:03.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Crisp and Clear this afternoon. At the start of one of my college Creative Writing classes we studied a short story that had three characters: a man, a boy, and a swamp. We read three variations of the story but each had roughly the same three elements to it. The reason it sticks out in my mind is how loaded it was with morals depending on which variation we read. And in thinking back to it, I think it is a great story for hikers to keep in

Winter! 2009-12-17 18:53:28.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer Frigid Morning Alpineglow It has taken its' time, but i think winter has finally arrived just about everywhere, even the valley. Last offweek began with an icy drive back to North Conway where I had to pull someone with summer tires and a bit too much speed back onto the road. The following day began with a few laps of snowboarding on a local ski hill I skinned up and ended with my first ice climb of the season up in Craford Notch. We got our Christmas tree on Saturday (which even

Zlogars 2009-12-16 10:05:37.000 - Sue and Mike Zlogar,  Summit Volunteers Today is our final morning on the summit. I could never do justice to the excitement around here. First and most important, Marty is mousing again. Apparently he took a hiatus from this very critical activity up here while he was mending from his skin ailment. We were all somewhat concerned as the mice were getting somewhat brazen, but NO! Marty was just toying with them...he had the last laugh. Saturday night as I was heading to the kitchen for my late night tea I noticed Marty was only half

NULL 2009-12-15 08:39:56.000 - Mary Ellen Dunn,  Summit Intern NULL My final shift as summit intern is almost through and the fact that I won't be back up here next week still hasn't sunk in yet. I can't believe how fast this whole experience went by! Living on the summit of Mount Washington certainly exposed me to all the beauty of the White Mountains from an amazing vantage point. Being able to witness first hand some of the extreme this mountain has to offer was definitely an experience. From the calm, beautiful 130 mile visibility days, to days with thick

NULL 2009-12-13 13:55:45.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist forget sugarplums and give us lenticulars! Something amazing happened today! We saw the Sun! Well, first we were able to see the stars and the moon, since the summit cleared during the early morning hours. Then, over the southeastern horizon, a big, fat, red blob slowly ascended into view. It took a few seconds for us to figure out what it could possibly be. For the first time since early Wednesday morning (before our shift arrived) the fog disappeared, opening our proverbial eyes to a winter wonderland, not only atop the

Oh the Pitot 2009-12-12 05:30:15.000 - Mike Carmon,  Staff Meteorologist Ice Clogs Abound! All jobs have their challenges. Working at the home of the world's worst weather certainly presents some unique obstacles in daily operations.Ice is one of those challenges that has kept me pretty busy all night. And I'm not talking about the hourly de-icing of our instruments atop the tower. On this night, I speak of ice within the guts of our instruments, namely the pitot-static anemometer.Temperatures tonight have hovered around -10 degrees, and winds are regularly gusting near 100 mph. These bitterly cold conditions cause ice to

NULL 2009-12-11 12:42:57.000 - Mary Ellen Dunn,  Summit Intern A Frozen Tower! Brrrrr! As I am writing this, temperatures are 5 degrees below zero and winds are blowing strong around 80 mph creating a wind chill of about -45 degrees. The best part is that it seems it will get even colder and windier here on the summit over the next 24 hours or so. A strong pressure gradient over the region is expected to increase winds this evening, gusting near the century mark, and continue to usher in frigid below zero temperatures. Along with the arrival of these cold