NULL 2007-06-06 02:53:26.000 - Jason B. Hill,  Summit Volunteer Summit, tower and undercast Even with near constant fog, thunderstorms and other weather intent on keeping us indoors 24/7, the past week volunteering on the summit has been incredible. Fellow volunteer Gunnar Myrbeck and I have spent a week cooking, cleaning, entering weather data records, painting, and doing all those things that you'd expect would be part of spending a week on Mt. Washington - like braving hurricane force winds. We've loved every minute of it.I was an avid hiker and backpacker when I lived in New England for several years,

NULL 2007-06-04 23:40:39.000 - Dan Harnos,  Summit Intern NULL The last 48 hours have been busy ones despite the near constant fog enveloping the summit (95 minutes of sun since shift change). Sunday turned into a much longer day than anticipated between the daily routine, plenty of time down in the museum, and then the undertaking that was my first Obscast. After all of the filming took place Ken went off to bed while Kyle and I were left to come up with a finished product, despite no video editing experience on either of our parts. Needless to say Kyle

Winter again? 2007-06-04 07:23:32.000 - Ken Rancourt,  Meteorologist NULL Well, the forecasters were right-on with this one. We did see the sun, albeit for only about five hours in total yesterday - and not even many shadows at that. Sunday morning broke to a wonderful partial undercast, but we also had many high clouds filtering the sunshine. The higher clouds thickened quickly, and the top of the undercast flitted higher and lower teasing the summit with intermittent fog.Today there is no choice in the forecast: we will get rain. The remnants of tropical depression Barry are working their way up

NULL 2007-06-03 05:30:01.000 - Ken Rancourt,  Meteorologist Photo courtesy Michael Pelchat, Mgr. Mount Washing The sun! Who would have thought that after six days in the fog we would finally see it? Yes, the sun is back, and very welcomed at that. We know it is just a short break in the continuous flow of cloud over the higher peaks, but we'll enjoy it anyway. Our photo this morning is a brand new shot, courtesy of Mike over at Parks. The alpine flowers are not yet at full bloom, but give them a little more sunshine and a couple of

NULL 2007-06-02 05:06:12.000 - Kyle Paddleford,  Meteorologist My new friend The summit is known for having to use robust equipment to measure and record all different types of weather that occurs up here. More often than not, the latest and greatest technology simply cannot sustain a severe beating from the worst weather in the world. Sometimes the phrase, “they just don’t make them like they used to” comes to mind. I was thinking about this phrase overnight as I stumbled upon a relic in the kitchen. It was a hand cranking coffee bean grinder. Ok, so this may not have

Hurry Up and Wait 2007-05-31 20:11:27.000 - Bill Grenfell,  Retail Manager NULL “Hurry up and wait” is the unofficial motto of most branches of the military. They make you run (and I really mean run) from point A to point B after which, you are required to stand/sit idle waiting for the event that was so important that you had to actually run to it.You could say that this is happening on the summit right now. We have been running for weeks to get everything set up, completed, polished and prepped. This task has been more difficult this year than

NULL 2007-05-29 13:55:32.000 - Mike Lombardi,  Summit Volunteer NULL My week as a Summit volunteer has been a fantastic experience. Everyone has been so friendly and supportive as this was my first volunteer shift. I was fortunate to be paired with fellow volunteer, Bryan Farr. who was an Observatory intern this past Fall.Our duties as volunteers included preparing meals for the staff, cleaning the kitchen and living area and assisting the staff in any way we could.We also helped get the Summit store and museum ready and open for the season.In addition to the work there was still plenty of

Summit Happenings... 2007-05-28 10:06:51.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer The new museum shop!!! Since the last comment was posted, with a picture of the museum in disarray, a tremendous effort by the summit and valley staff alike has resulted in the opening of the summit museum and gift shop in time for the holiday weekend! The museum shop, a vital source of income for the summit station, has expanded and new products are available. The museum also features new exhibits this year, and has received a general freshening. More improvements inside the museum are planned as well. For a preview of

My first few days... 2007-05-26 09:31:10.000 - Lynn Metcalf,  Summit Intern A lot of work ahead... As a Forest Engineering student, I was admittedly nervous about my first week as an intern with a meteorological observatory. However, my fears were soon laid to rest by the friendly staff. I really enjoy gathering around the table for supper (the food has been great, thanks to our wonderful volunteers) where we all get to talk and joke with each other. Although there may not be any forecasting in my future, I was put right to work learning how to use the various

Hazy and perhaps record breaking heat... 2007-05-25 07:52:46.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer The view from Bretton Woods... Typically we get far more phone calls from telemark skiers than telemarketers on the summit. Yesterday though, I did receive an interesting phone call from a business solutions company (?). The phone call began with a simple question: Are you looking to relocate your business or office in the next five years?I was quite taken aback, and had to pause for a minute on this one, before asking the woman if she was prepared to move mountains to help us. Some polite banter