Too much mountain, too little time 2009-04-25 18:42:59.000 - Ali Boris,  Summit Intern A sunrise well worth the early morning wakeup It's always exciting to be up on the summit because there's a never-ending list of things to do. From hiking to hanging out with the observers, there is never a dull moment nor enough time to sleep. This week has begun as no exception. On Wednesday, Ryan, Mike and I passed a soccer ball around out on the Obs deck while light, clumpy snowflakes fell on us. The winds were minimal, but continued to increase into Thursday afternoon when

Springtime Hazards 2009-04-24 16:30:03.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist Lots of snow + lots of wind = big drifts This time of year can be a particularly dangerous one on Mount Washington. Not necessarily just because of the harshness of the weather on the summit, but even more because of the drastic difference between the weather in the valley and the weather on the summit, as well as how quickly things can go from tranquil and spring-like to ferocious mid-winter conditions and back again. The weather over the last few days, as well as the next couple days ahead,

Goodbye, Senior Staff Intern 2009-04-23 14:13:34.000 - Jordan Scampoli,  Summit Intern Jordan the Sheepish Intern As Mike pointed yesterday this was my last shift as an intern up here on the summit.I cannot begin to describe to you the emotions that come with leaving the Obs. Nor will I try. I have had an incredible run up here for the last seven or so months. At times this job was exactly what I thought it was going to be like; at other times, there was no resemblance to my preconceived notions. I am leaving the Observatory to return to Burlington,

Mike's Comment 2009-04-22 07:24:06.000 - Mike Fanning,  Summit Volunteer Winter's not over yet. This is my second time volunteering up on Mount Washington and I have enjoyed 5 of our 7 days of clear skies and great visibility. This is a pretty rare treat up here. I have seen 1 sunrise and 3 sunsets, rime ice forming and a near-blizzard outside this morning. The other morning, there was a peak wind gust of 104 mph! I have enjoyed cooking for the weather crew of Stacey, Mike, and Jordan this week. I plan on volunteering each year for it is relaxing

Change 2009-04-21 05:27:58.000 - Mike Carmon,  Observer NULL Change is an enormous part of life up here on the summit. Just this evening, a visibility of 80 miles quickly turned to about 1/2 mile as fog rolled in. Then, just an hour later, the fog was gone, revealing a striking partial undercast to the north and east, through which the lights of Berlin, NH could be seen, while the lights of Bretton Woods and St. Johnsbury, VT to the west remained completely un-obscured. In fact, fog itself is a good example of change. It represents a phase change of water

Baseball 2009-04-19 15:23:27.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist Extreme baseball! "There's no crying in baseball!"The famous line uttered by Tom Hanks in the feel-good movie A League of Their Own. Well, as a girl who absolutely loves baseball, this is one of my all time favorite movies. I confess, I am not a Boston fan. Even though I'm from New Jersey, I'm neither a Mets nor a Yankees fan. Instead, I'm a Cleveland Indians fan, and am thrilled to announce that last night the Indians absolutely demolished the Yankees: 22-4. Go Cleveland! Anyway, baseball season has begun, not only

Research 2009-04-18 11:34:35.000 - Jordan Scampoli,  Summit Intern Lenticulars over Gorham Whether the White's were so named for the reflection of the granite to early explorers or simply snow and ice, the latter is how most people think of the White Mountains. In the fall and spring the White's are white while the valleys are green and brown. This white color is from both snow but more often in the spring from ice. As we see icing quite often we are a prime location for testing of equipment to make sure it stands up to some pretty harsh weather. We

UFOs and such 2009-04-17 16:38:00.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist The mother-ship Lenticular clouds are named so because they are shaped like lenses. They also suspiciously resemble over-sized Frisbees. Taking this one step further, one could say that lenticular clouds are shaped like flying saucers, also known as UFO's. In this particular case, they are neither flying nor unidentifiable. But they sure do make a spectacle. I'm convinced that some of the reported UFO's are likely lenticular clouds. They cast huge, imposing shadows and can look quite other-worldly as the sun plays its tricks. In some instances, they might

icy daggers 2009-04-16 12:01:44.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist painful beauty The objects of today's comment are some particularly sinister looking icicles. The myth that icicles are the perfect murder weapon has already been tackled and subsequently busted, by the Mythbusters (if you don't know what this is, it's an entertaining, semi-scientific show where people offer myths and these guys try to either prove or disprove them). However, whilst slinging during an observation, I couldn't help but be a little scared and awed by the sight of the icy daggers. You hear of unsuspecting people being impaled and brought

Summit Adventures 2009-04-14 23:23:21.000 - Bill & Sarah Young,  Summit Volunteers Lighting the 231 Cake Numbers were flying all over the summit. The 75th anniversary of the 231 mile per hour wind on 4/12 was an occasion for Observers Brian Clark, Mike Finnegan, and Intern Ali Boris to light up a cake. Volunteers Sarah and Bill Young were cheering for a new record this Easter 4/12/2009, but settled for zero degrees, zero visibility, and a peak 99 mph wind for the day. The egg and candy hunts were moved indoors. An amazing shift to no wind, blue sky, and 120