NULL 2008-12-31 15:10:39.000 - Peter Crane,  Director of Programs NULL If you are a regular reader of the Observer comments, you already have a grasp of some of the challenges and satisfactions of being atop Mount Washington in winter - a place where both the winds and the views can be in the 100 mile range (sometimes), where rime ice is a near constant companion, and where a three-quarters-of-a-century heritage of scientific work is carried on. At times, it's like a piece of the Arctic (or the Himalayas) that's been transported to New England.For about 15 years, the Observatory has

last comment 2008-12-30 07:42:46.000 - Jeff Wehrwein,  Summit Intern My last sunset When I first started at the Observatory in May, I didn't really have any idea what I was getting into. The idea of living on top of a mountain sounded great, and my interest in weather and computers fit with the criteria for interns. The details of what I would actually do or where I would sleep and eat weren't really my main concern. As I reflect on the experience, I have trouble thinking of many moments that I didn't enjoy. This is thanks in large part to

Volunter 2008-12-29 21:00:15.000 - John and Susan Van Slooten,  Summit Volunteers Sunset - December 29th 2008 When asked 'Why would you drive 900 miles to volunteer on the top of a mountain over Christmas?' We answer, 'It's about the people. It's about the organizations. It's about the weather.' This is our third Christmas on the summit of Mount Washington with the MWO. Did it in 2004, 2006, now 2008. Each time unique. This year, as last time, we first volunteered with the North Conway Believe in Book's 'Polar Express' as elves before coming up to the summit on Dec 23rd.

Century Club 2008-12-28 19:44:44.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer NULL What is going on with the weather? Last Tuesday when we came up to the summit we had a couple of feet of snow and everything was white. Over the week we have seen several periods of rain and temperatures well over 32 degrees. In fact we set a new daily record high temperature of 42 degrees on Saturday and equaled the daily high temperature on Sunday, again 42 degrees. Needless to say the snow pack has suffered terribly and we are down to rocks with patches of icy snow.

Christmas haul 2008-12-27 13:32:36.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer Christmas dinner The entire summit staff would like to thank all of the dedicated people who so generously thought of us this year. Jeff talked about the Christmas weather in his last comment, but I'd like to talk about the actual Christmas celebration that we held on the summit. Our volunteers, Susan and John, made the atmosphere festive by putting up lights in the living room and in the kitchen. A lot of people sent up homemade Christmas cookies (yum!), and I brought up a little tree and a Santa hat. Susan

windy day 2008-12-26 15:13:57.000 - Jeff Wehrwein,  Summit Intern Red and green Hays chart for Christmas Over the summer, the observers poked fun at me for getting excited when the wind gusted into the 70s. Experiencing 70 mph winds for the first time is a thrilling event, but the seasoned observers don't get excited until it's near 100 mph. Yesterday, however, I joined the ever-growing list of observatory staff who have experienced real Mount Washington winds. I can hardly say I saw the day's peak gust of 128.5 mph because it happened at 12:08 AM when I was asleep. But

windy christmas eve 2008-12-24 17:01:51.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer NULL Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say, 'Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?'Even with Rudolph's glowing beacon of a nose I wouldn't recommend a trip to the summit tonight. Conditions will be dangerous at best. Winds are forecast to be sustained near 100 mph, with higher gusts. It looks like the summits will see some mixed precipitation and even rain. Temperatures will warm to the lower thirties, coating the summit in glaze ice like frosting on a cake. Then, when temperature creeps

12 days of christmas 2008-12-23 10:33:44.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Last year, I did a parody on the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” putting an obs spin on how the story goes. This year, I am putting a twist on the song “The 12 Days of Christmas”. If you don’t want to take the time to read it in order like the song goes, just scroll to the bottom for “day 12” to get a summary. I hope y’all like it. And since we are heading down today, a day earlier than normal due to the Christmas holidays,

Windy and Flying Solo 2008-12-22 15:34:03.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer NULL It has been an unusual week on the summit in terms of staffing. For one, as Ryan mentioned in a previous comment, we are lacking a volunteer. Ryan has been filling this gap most notably, and did a tremendous job cooking for 11 folks that spent the night on a guided climbing trip. On top of that, our intern, Mike Carmen, is working nights with Ryan so that he can soon swap to the other shift and become their meteorological observer. Brian who would normally work days, injured

A mile in anothers shoes. 2008-12-21 00:18:13.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist NULL When I was in grade school, our class taped out thumbs to our hand to experience what Jonny Tremain (from the book of the same name) had to go through on a daily basis. It impacted everything we did from turning a door knob to writing our names. It was something simple and artificial but it brought us a relation to the character. It showed how much we take for granted in our lives and brought a respect for others that have to learn to adapt to