WIND SLEDDING!!! 2006-12-25 17:10:50.000 - Neil Lareau,  Observer Wind Sledding! Wind Sledding:Sometimes conditions are just right for a bit of fun on the observation deck. Christmas Eve presented such a moment with winds that were strong, but not too strong, and temperatures that weren't too severe. Coupled with a nice coat of rime ice on the deck this makes for the perfect deck sledding weather. After a wonderful dinner, served up by our volunteers Susan and John Van Slooten, Jon and I headed out with sleds in hand to do some non gravitational sledding. The results were brilliant and have

A message from the Director 2006-12-23 13:09:54.000 - Scot Henley,  Executive Director Sunrise yesterday One of the greatest things about the holiday season is that we all have achance to pause and reflect on the year. Personally and professionally, ithas been an exciting, fulfilling, incredible year-I have a lot to bethankful for. Personally, I have a dad who beat cancer this year. My wife and I have twobeautiful little boys who seem to grow and get into more and more mischiefevery day (especially my 9-month old!). I am so fortunate to be living andworking in one of the most beautiful

Moose! Repost 2006-12-22 19:42:13.000 - Neil Lareau,  Observer Moose! A repost to get the web cam image embedded as well as link the video Mike Pelchat shot while commuting down the road. Thanks Mike!!"WNFS 305 this is 7-3 to 2-0, there’s a Moose at the front door!"That is the actual radio call I received around 11:00AM from State Park Manager Mike Pelchat who was driving up the final pitch to the summit. A few minutes later, and by remarkable happen stance, the moose scurried to the west side of the building just in time for the West View cam to

NULL 2006-12-22 12:36:50.000 - Neil Lareau,  Observer NULL “WNFS 305 this is 7-3 to 2-0, there’s a Moose at the front door!”That is the actual radio call I received around 11:00AM from state Park Manager Mike Pelchat who was driving up the final pitch to the summit. A few minutes later, and by remarkable happen stance, the moose scurried to the west side of the building just in time for the West View cam to snap a perfectly framed picture of the massive ungulate. I suspect a few very lucky web viewers caught a glimpse of this once in a

Starting the Christmas Week 2006-12-20 23:07:29.000 - Jon Cotton,  Observer Presents Already Why Christmas at 6288' is Joyful and How I Won't Talk to Neil Until SaturdayThe occupants of Mt Washington total three this week. Neil came up to replace Jim on the day shift. No interns. There's one person up from NH State Parks and we won't have a volunteer until this weekend. Coming up is a couple very excited to spend Christmas on the peak. We'll be excited to see them and feast for the holidays. But until then, it's Neil and I driving on 12 hour shifts.We

Normal... 2006-12-19 07:56:47.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Holiday dreams... There is something that I love about watching a large shield of green and yellow radar echoes slowly work towards your location in winter. In my youth, it meant days off from school, sledding and snowball fights. Today it means going about my work with excitement and rush that your forecast takes on a heightened importance, and of course it means powder days and photographic winter scenes. I still get excited about winter storms. There hasn’t been much to be excited about recently though up here is gray, and in some

Fast changing weather... 2006-12-17 20:54:57.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Summit Fox At Sunset... The weather patterns over the peak have seemingly been moving quickly in the past week, but overall, the changes have been slight. A zonal flow across the entire country has kept storms weak, and cold air has been non-existent. In fact, the low temperature during the past week on the summit was 15 degrees, while the average daily temp should be ten. The fast moving systems have kept winds strong, but little snowfall has been produced by the on and off clouds flying past the windows. It’s

It 2006-12-15 07:55:04.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Northern lights over the summit... High clouds gradually overspread the skies yesterday and though summits remained free of fog, hopes were low that we would be able to see any of the aurora that was predicted to be active. However, during the first ob after dinner last night, Jon and I were out on the deck looking at a largely clear sky and a faint glow on the horizon. Not knowing how long the clearing would last we suited up and grabbed the cameras to see what we could image. It was 6:30

Shift change... 2006-12-14 06:38:18.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Deicing the tower... Another Wednesday, another shift change, another ride to the summit in the TRUCK. This time there was at least a little snow on the road from top to bottom, but our snowcat remains stranded at halfway. Unfortunately, the snow was nothing that the plow and chains couldn't handle. Shortly after we arrived at the summit, a period of light snowfall did move in, so hopes are high that perhaps by next Wednesday the upper half of the road will be covered enough for a cat ride, but then again,

NULL 2006-12-12 14:25:06.000 - Bryan Farr,  Summit Intern NULL I guess the Mount Washington spirit decided that for my last full day on the mountain as a fall intern, it would produce an amazing day. Pristine white mountains , snow covered slopes, frozen ponds, sunshine on the ocean, and limitless views are just a few of the sights I saw when I was out for my last hike. The wind was nearly calm; it was as if something were missing. A very good thing. The low December sun actually warmed me a little too much through my down LL Bean