The Shift Change Update 2007-04-22 07:55:40.000 - Jon Cotton,  Observer A lot of Really Heavy Snow Alright, this is last week's shift change update. A normal change takes place on Wednesday with the upcoming crew leaving the base at 8:30am (valley time). Our fleet of vehicles consists of the summertime van, a truck and of course the snowcat. In the between seasons we either take the truck with tire chains up the entire way or switch from truck to snowcat part way up the road depending on snow cover. Top speed in the cat means an hour to travel the

The Internet Update 2007-04-20 23:49:45.000 - Jon Cotton,  Observer NULL Last night I really didn't have time to write an in-depth account of recent activities on the summit. Our Internet was still down and work was needed to restore it. There was a balance of writing a comment/something/anything and hoping to post it in a small window of uptime, diagnosing the problem, finishing the day's record check and trying to gather all the materials for the morning forecast. As far as our Internet connectivity goes, the aftermath shows that the issue was water in the valley connection and probable misalignment

Improving Weather and Cleanup 2007-04-20 22:05:35.000 - Kyle Paddleford,  Meteorologist NULL What a beautiful day it has been on the summit with temperatures climbing beyond the freezing mark, light winds and only a few clouds to speak of. You would think that this would be a great day to get out for a hike, take a few ski runs in the snowfields, or to just simply catch some rays out on the observation deck. However, it was just the opposite. The gorgeous weather allowed the crew to continue tackling many problems since the storm early in the week that wreaked

Trying to Get Back Online 2007-04-20 09:38:12.000 - Jon Cotton,  Observer Sunrise Tower There is a lot of updating due from summit to you. The summit has incurred involuntary radio silence this week and a few things have happened since Monday morning. We barely sorta have our communications fixed, the shift change took a solid nine hours of work to pull off, ice has resculpted our work environment and the weather turned from wind/ice/helmets-required-beyond-this-door to beautiful sunsets and 130 mile visibility. But right now I'm waiting for 11:01 EST. I'm writing this comment to fill the next 12 minutes and

Some Progress 2007-04-19 22:18:56.000 - Scot Henley,  Executive Director NULL I'm writing this from the valley, where today we actually saw lots of sun and a spectacular view of the snow covered Presidentials. Likewise, the crew on the summit enjoyed much better conditions than the previous shift, and they were able to start the clean-up and assessment of what needs to be done to get everything back up to full speed.Shift change took place on Wednesday, but it was complicated. Wayne skinned his way up to the Bombardier, which was parked at half-way on the Auto Road, fired it up

NULL 2007-04-18 10:24:00.000 - Scot Henley,  Executive Director NULL The challenges continue for the exhausted Observatory crew atop Mount Washington. Wind continues to blast the summit facility from the east, currently above 80 mph with higher gusts. Because of this east wind, extreme accumulation of ice and snow is happening in places that are normallysheltered from the summit's typical northwest winds.The "thermo shack", the small structure that holds thermometers just outside the observation deck level tower door, is completely encased in a tremendous amount of ice, and observer Jim Salge reports that it is in danger ofcollapsing. The east wind

NULL 2007-04-17 14:45:00.000 - Scot Henley,  Executive Director NULL As you might imagine, Mount Washington's extreme conditions can do a numberon equipment, and this incredible Nor'easter has temporarily knocked thesummit offline. The crew continues to battle the conditions and take weatherdata, but the Internet connection is down for the time being.So here's the latest... It's still snowing on the mountain, and they'vepicked up a total of 15" of snow from this never-ending storm. Down at thebase of the Auto Road, there is as much as two feet of snow. Strangely, onceyou get down below Dana Place on Route 16, there

BIG STORM!!! 2007-04-16 05:53:07.000 - Jim Salge,  Meteorologist Drifts inside the tower... Update: Wind directions continue to keep work conditions challenging. Here is a video of our protective front door airlock buckling in the east winds. The decision has been made not to open it ...Update #2: Winds have now peaked out at 156mph today, which the crew believes, at a quick glance of the records, is only the 3rd Category 5 strength wind since 1996!********************If there was ever a question as to why the Mount Washington Observatory remains a manual station to this day, the current situation on the

Former intern visits... 2007-04-15 07:44:04.000 - Zach Allen,  Summit Visitor Snowshoe hare tracks in Gem Pool... In January 2006, I was an intern from Plymouth State University and have wanted to return to the mountain for an overnight visit ever since. The past few weeks I have been trying to visit the observatory. Unfortunately bullet proof snow, very high winds, and car problems have kept me from getting to the summit. Yesterday I finally made it, but it was no stroll in the woods. This was my tenth summit of the rockpile but this would be by far my hardest

Snow on the way... 2007-04-14 11:34:12.000 - Brent Antkowiak,  Summit Intern In a sea of white... Today looks to be the best day this weekend to get outside and enjoy the summit, as winds have lightened and the clouds appear to be thinning. Heading outside, the first thing I noticed, as I walked out onto the observation deck, was the immediate snow blindness. The past 24 hrs deposited several inches of rime ice on everything, which has combined with the current freezing fog and dimly visible sun through the clouds to create a pure, bright white landscape across the summit.