Steve Switches Shifts 2008-06-21 20:18:17.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer Bridge over the West Branch of the Peabody River, As some of you may know this is my last day, on this shift, at the Mount Washington Observatory. By the time you read this, I will have hiked down to the valley, via the Great Gulf Trail. Hopefully I will have gotten to see some of the mountain flora and fine views on the way and won't have gotten too wet from any passing showers. I won’t be away for long though as, come Wednesday, I’ll be heading back up

NULL 2008-06-20 17:10:35.000 - Ted Letcher,  Summit Intern Valley Fog to the Northeast After three shift weeks of my internship I am finally beginning to realize that I am already almost half way through my internship. So before I have a “mid-internship crisis,” and start ripping my hair out over worries that I have accomplished nothing in the past few shifts, I would like do a short recap of my summer thus far. My shift weeks have been getting progressively smoother. Tasks that once scared or intimidated me have become more or less perfunctory. Sights and weather that once seemed

Mount Washington and Florida 2008-06-19 23:43:48.000 - Matthew Morin,  Space Grant Intern Cumulonimbus It was only a few days ago that I was walking along the shore of the Space Coast in Cape Canaveral, FL. It was on that day when I realized that I achieved a seemly unreachable goal, a 1,300 mile road trip back to Florida on a college student’s budget and little planning. I fell in love with the Sunshine State during my Space Grant Internship last summer where I worked with researchers at a NASA facility at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. My research focused

NULL 2008-06-18 12:43:45.000 - Lisa Hodges,  Summit Intern crepuscular rays at sunset Mount Washington frequently finds itself in the clouds. But occasionally, we find ourselves above the clouds, a phenomenon called an undercast. I witnessed my first undercast from the summit on Monday, and it was definitely breathtaking. Working and living at the summit, we witness a great number of extreme weather phenomena. When I signed on as an intern, one of my hopes for my time at the summit was to see an undercast. From the valley, and undercast is just a bunch of fog. But for those brave

NULL 2008-06-17 09:53:38.000 - Kristy Medeiros a.k.a. Bretton,  Summit Volunteer Tip Top house at sunrise If you're in love with the White Mountains as much as I am, then you need to get your butt up here and volunteer. What a week my husband Barry and I are having! We arrived on the summit with some fog, but most of the week has been clear enough to do some hiking and enjoy the breathtaking views. We got to enjoy The Alpine Garden, the smell of the fir trees on Lion's Head, Mike and Lisa skiing the snow fields, sunsets, ravens

living on the summit 2008-06-16 10:20:42.000 - Jeff Wehrwein,  Summit Intern Sunrise Thursday One of my favorite aspects of working on the summit of Mount Washington is the opportunity to be here at all times of the day. The auto road and cog railway are generally only open during the bright daylight hours, and hiking on the summits at night requires great caution and preparation, as shown by Mike's comment yesterday. Thus the opportunity to see sunrise and sunset is mostly limited to the few of us who are lucky enough to stay on the summit at night.Last Thursday was

“Everything was going great until…” 2008-06-15 07:05:57.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer A Stunning Sunrise The summit of Mount Washington spends over 60% of its time in the fog. Thus it is not surprising that we have been in it since just around yesterday’s sunset. There has also been a fairly steady rain since about 10 PM. There was a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast, but these dissipated more-or-less in eastern Vermont. For the accuracy of wind measurements, this proved favorable because we are unable to use our sonic anemometer in thunderstorms. The sonic anemometer is more accurate in

Departure 2008-06-13 10:56:25.000 - Kyle Paddleford,  Observer As Stacey alluded to in her comment yesterday, change is in the air at the Observatory. More tourists are frequenting the summit, alpine flowers are blooming at certain elevations, and the sedge is transitioning from brown to green. Those are all changes that are expected as the calendar pages quickly turn. When I told Mike Finnegan the news a few weeks ago he was definitely surprised judging by the look on his face. This may in fact be the most surprised look I have ever seen in my life. The news for all

Changes 2008-06-12 15:27:51.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Meteorologist crepuscular rays The sedge is turning green, the first round of alpine garden bloom has come and gone, and only a few patches of snow remain on the eastern sides of Clay and Jefferson. Another season is here, and before we know it, it will be gone. Time flies on the summit. I’ve been here for almost a year, and it feels like I have begun just yesterday. We’ve said hello and goodbye to observers and interns and volunteers, on a semi-annual, seasonal, and weekly basis. Well, there is something constantly in the

Volunteer notes 2008-06-10 16:34:23.000 - Diane Chamberlain & Laura Cran,  Summit Volunteers Us. We arrived on Wednesday in the fog. In the flurry of activity getting the supplies down to our living quarters we really did not see much. After getting settled Brian gave us the safety tour. When we finally had time to go outside we were in a thick cloud and some of the time could not even see the Cog in front of the building. The food prep was a little tricky at first. We had some things to learn about high altitude cooking and baking, but