NULL 2006-04-18 09:09:19.000 - The Summit Crew,  Mount Washington Observatory A new look... During the last few days, the summit has adopted a new look, a look that it had been struggling to embrace for the past few months. The summit is fully ensconced in its winter coat, complete with heavy rime accumulation, fresh snow and large drifts. The rime, or more correctly termed 'glime' ice is most impressive. Heavy, dense and blue in color, it has grown to massive proportions since the temperatures fel1 Saturday. Exciting, of course, a good storm always is...however, it's further entrenching the summit crew's

NULL 2006-04-17 05:54:47.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Observer Shoveling the front door... Yesterday's weather made it feel more like Christmas than Easter. When I came up to the summit on Wednesday, the summit was in the 40s. We were enjoying the nice spring weather on Friday by going out and skiing and hiking. There was so much snow melting while I was hiking down to Lionshead that it sounded like I was hiking down next to a bubbling brook. Hiking back across to the Alpine Garden, I was walking on mud more than snow. Saturday rolled in with a wide variety

NULL 2006-04-15 11:51:31.000 - Brian Clark,  Summit Intern The bowl... Yesterday (Friday) turned out to be a gorgeous day on the summit. We ended up with mostly clear skies, temperatures in the mid 30's, and winds down to 15 to 20 miles per hour. So, by the suggestion of our snow tractor operator Wayne Peterson who had just skied down as well, I decided to go take a run down the east snowfields and then cut over to Tuckerman Ravine. After conferencing with Wayne about the hazards he had found, I was off. I couldn't have asked for a better

NULL 2006-04-14 07:28:59.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Cap Cloud at Sunrise... It's not that unusual for the only cloud in New England to reside directly over the summit of Mount Washington. At times when blue skies are seemingly endless from horizon to horizon from places like Concord, Portland or even Fryeburg, we sit grudgingly in the clouds and fog, waiting for our first glimpse of the sun. Once in a while though, the lone New England cloud can create, in my opinion at least, some of the most dramatic effects in the natural world. And I deliriously ascended the stairs

NULL 2006-04-13 08:47:43.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Drifts on five mile... Shift change yesterday could not have been less eventful. The truck made it up to halfway, barely crossing over any snow. Before five miles up the road, we boarded the snowcat, and soon encountered the crews from the Mount Washington Auto Road clearing the way for spring. I think that the picture at right shows the amount of work that they have to do on the road before it opens in a month or so!And speaking of the auto road, a new 'overflow' bike race up the road has

NULL 2006-04-12 10:24:29.000 - The Summit Crew,  Mount Washington Observatory On this day, 72 years ago, weather observers on Mount Washington recorded the highest wind speed on the surface of the earth, a record that stands to this day. The weather station at the summit is a in a way a tribute to the dedicated work of these early crews, but today, the data gathered here is perhaps more valuable than ever. To read the story of how the world record wind was recorded, please follow this link.How long will this record stand...our crew believes its only a matter of

NULL 2006-04-11 07:25:24.000 - Anthony Ciervo,  Summit Volunteer Well what can I say! It all started last June when my good friend John Lind took myself and a couple of other friends for a motorcycle ride from Laconia to the top of Mount Washington. John knows the people that work here so he got us a tour of the facility, He told me that he volunteers here for a week so I mentioned to him I would be interested in coming up for a week. John said that saw the passion in my eye and was going to try and

NULL 2006-04-09 10:06:48.000 - Neil Lareau,  Observer Fresh Rime In the morning: A raven flying in 75 mph sustained winds, wings tucked and at times trembling; Holding itself in balance, but not without effort. Carving through the air and set against the white landscape its body seemed as a void of all color and light; almost a roving subtraction from the landscape.In the evening: Immaculate white highlighted by intense low angle light.Multiple feet of fresh rime, a few inches of fresh snow, and 20” inches of half week old snow have transformed the landscape to one almost devoid of exposed

NULL 2006-04-08 04:19:28.000 - Tim Markle,  Chief Observer Snow Drifts on Five Mile Yesterday was a tricky forecast as a southwest flow and temperatures climbing to around 30 degrees shed some doubt as to what type of precipitation would fall on the summit yesterday. Luckily the precipitaiton fell as all snow (1.9'), albeit a heavy, wet snow. There was no need to worry about falling ice, or deicing globs of glaze ice from freezing rain!The latest wintry weather is now departing the summit as high pressure tries to build in and scour the clouds and lingering snow showers away. Once

NULL 2006-04-06 02:58:56.000 - Tim Markle,  Chief Observer It seems like the comparisons of the recent spring snow to the storms of October keep coming. The similarities were drawn again yesterday morning as the crew rode up during shift change. The snow was about a foot deep all the way down to the base of the Auto Road, and our snow tractor was half way up the road. Luckily, the Auto Road was busy plowing the bottom half of the road so all we needed to get up to the snow tractor was a four-wheel drive truck and a good