NULL 2006-03-31 07:30:11.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Sunrise through the haze... As the first warm high pressure area of the year crests over the peak today, the signs of its impacts are quite evident. Temperatures last night only fell to 27 degrees last night, and should rise into the 40s today on the summits. This will put temperatures about 15 to 20 degrees above average for the day! Already, the snowpack is snowing signs of dwindling, as we are down to 11 inches on the summit, a lot of it glare ice. And the South Face of Mount Madison is

NULL 2006-03-30 08:15:55.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer The snowcat at halfway... Shift changes in spring are always interesting, as this is the time of year can lead to not only extreme temperature gradients from the bottom to the top of the mountain, but also incredibly variable road conditions. And while the weather was certainly most cooperative yesterday, the road conditions warranted a shift change in stages, while shuttling between a few vehicles. The day started off a bit frosty at the base, while the summit was reporting a similar temperature of 27 degrees. The sun was shinning bright as we

NULL 2006-03-29 08:07:53.000 - Tim Markle,  Chief Observer The celestial hunting season is drawing to a close. Orion, who has been closely stalking Taurus across the night sky all winter, is now at the western horizon just after dusk. Taurus has all but disappeared, and the only signs of winter remaining are Orion's faithful canine hunting companions, Canis Major and Canis Minor.With the winter season drawing to a close, we focus our attention on the likes of Leo, the lion, dominating the night sky. Even by early morning this constellation is setting below the western horizon, bowing to the rising

NULL 2006-03-27 06:02:25.000 - Neil Lareau,  Observer Indoor Sunrise Green twilight is growing on the horizon and back lighting four evenly spaced and very thin altocumulus standing lenticulars clouds. They are the only clouds in the sky. Bursts of heavy blowing snow are ripping southeastward across the summit and blurring the outlines of the buildings. Nelson crag is sporting its typical spindrift, which in the predawn light looks a lot like an eraser smudge. In the greater illumination of the halogen lamp on the deck, the plumes of blowing snow reveal a more complex nature of tumbling eddies.With the sun

NULL 2006-03-25 13:35:39.000 - Tim Markle,  Chief Observer Bowing Rime A promising post-sunrise break in the fog turned out to be a major letdown. Around 8am this morning the fog, which has hung tough over the summit for the past two days, vanished, revealing a gray on gray world with clouds below and above the summit. An hour later the layer of altostratus clouds, around 5,000 feet above the summit, drifted west, leaving blue sky and a few wisps of high cirrus clouds in its wake. The sun was out, although filtered by the high clouds, warming the summit to

NULL 2006-03-24 06:42:03.000 - Neil Lareau,  Observer With the equinox past, the sun is now conspicuous in its daytime elevation. At least it was in the valley over the past week. On the summit I'm told it has been a rare sight. Beneath the intensifying sun, giver of life, the slow parade of spring is underway. One signifier that stood out during my week off was the return of Turkey Vultures to northern New England. Seemingly omnipresent during the summer months, it was refreshing to see these carrion kings again wobbling in their pronounced dihedral overhead. Dependent upon thermals to

NULL 2006-03-22 07:21:02.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Tower and rime at sunset... After spending nearly the entire week in the fog, Mother Nature decided to finally give our crew a break yesterday afternoon. Clouds dipped below the summit by about 1000 feet, winds dropped off to around 20 mph, and temperatures warmed up into the mid 10s. It's amazing how warm 15 degrees can feel after spending a week below zero. I suddenly found myself ditching the facemask and down jacket, and comfortably returning to the deck each hour in a fleece. The week without getting outside had certainly left

NULL 2006-03-21 10:46:24.000 - Brian Clark,  Summit Intern Talk about consistency... My tenure as a ski instructor in the valley at Attitash Bear Peak ended last Tuesday since I came up on Wednesday for a two week shift that will end on March 29th (my first two week shift by the way). By the time I get back into the valley Attitash will be getting ready to close. So the question has popped into my head, am I ready for spring and warmer temperatures? Normally, after my home ski area of Tussey Mountain in Pennsylvania closes in early to mid

NULL 2006-03-20 08:58:26.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Predicting six more weeks of winter... Ah the first day of Spring. Could have fooled me, as the weather refuses to acknowledge this fact! This stagnant pattern again keeps the summits in the fog, and temperatures have dropped below -12F overnight. Windchills this morning sit around -50F, and intermittent snow showers continue to fall. It's been 5 days since we've seen temperatures rise above 3F...making this arguably one of the most wintry stretches that we've seen this year.Which got me thinking and into crunching some numbers...I really think that the seasons have swapped

NULL 2006-03-19 06:32:55.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Observer Corona around the moon... For the past two nights, the fog at the summit has been either thin or nonexistent. As the newest observer at the summit, I find that the fog at the summit the most difficult element to predict. During the previous weeks shift, I predicted the summit was going to be clear under partly cloudy skies. When I went to sleep at 0530 EST, the summit was just that, in the clear under mostly clear skies. When I woke up at 1400 EST, the summit was in the fog. The