Farewell For Now 2015-08-18 23:14:03.000 - Ian Bailey, Summit Intern   “It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery.   That is how I felt at the beginning of this summer. After finding out that I got an internship position with the Mount Washington Observatory, I could barely contain my excitement! I knew that I would go into every day, waking up with the drive to explore, adventure, do my best, and conquer the experience.   And man, what an experience it

Under Pressure 2015-08-17 16:44:25.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   After what has been a fairly mild summer (at least here in northern New Hampshire), this week the thermostat has been cranked. A large dome of high pressure has built over the Eastern Seaboard where it will sit in the coming days setting up as a Bermuda High. The anticyclonic (ie, clockwise) flow around the high will mean warm, moist air from the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico will continue to stream northeast keeping things warm and muggy in the coming days. Short-term, this set up of summer-like

Ride to the Top 2015-08-15 18:45:08.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Co-Director of Summit Operations   Today was the annual Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb! Congratulations to all of those who endured the 7.6 mile uphill trek. Luckily, it was a beautiful morning and the showers and convective activity held off until the late afternoon.       Towering cumulus clouds surrounded the summit throughout the day, making for variable visibility. One minute we were in the clouds and the next, we had a spectacular view of the giant tufts of moisture growing higher and higher right before our eyes.  

Summer Memories 2015-08-13 17:20:27.000 - Nathan Flinchbaugh, Summit Intern   I cannot believe the summer season is winding down already. It seems like it was just yesterday I made the trip up Mount Washington for my first shift. Even though this summer passed by in the blink of an eye, the awe inspiring beauty of Mount Washington has left me with many memories. For example, my first day, I remember pulling off halfway up the Auto Road to put chains on the tires of our van, because of icing at the top. Upon summiting, patches of snow dotted the landscape

Until Next Time 2015-08-11 15:44:35.000 - Thailynn Munroe, Summit Intern   I’m really not even sure where to begin; it seems unbelievable that I’m writing this already. And it makes me incredibly sad. This summer was filled with more weather, merriment, and learning than I could have ever imagined. Like the lichen grows on the rocks, the White Mountains have grown on me. It seems funny looking back to the beginning of this summer because I was so nervous embarking on this journey. This was my first time moving to a new place on my own, living by myself, and

The Week (So Far) In Pictures 2015-08-09 16:44:07.000 - Mike Carmon, Co-Director of Summit Operations   Wednesday   Our shift started off on a unique note this week, with the MWO Summit All-Staff Retreat taking place. For the first time in a long while, nearly all of our valley staff came up for a two-day, one-night retreat to the summit. The name of the game was fun! Wednesday was full of science experiments, fun & games, and our first-ever "all-staff weather observation." There were even a couple rounds of MWO Jeopardy! Thursday   The second day of our All-Staff Retreat

Marty's Big Day 2015-08-07 15:24:30.000 - Marty, Summit Cat   Hey guys, Marty here. I just wanted to let everyone know that this past week I was taken down for a veterinary appointment in the valley. The ride down was definitely not my favorite part; as many of you know I almost never leave the summit, so I’m a little wary of cars. However, once I was down there I adjusted right away. In fact, I actually thought it was really cool seeing all of the trees and blue skies, which are sights unseen at an elevation of 6288 feet!

Hiking and Lightning: These are a few of my favorite things! (As long as they are not occurring at the same time…) 2015-08-03 21:49:49.000 - Elena Weinberg, Summit Intern   Well, it’s been another wonderful week up here on the Rockpile. This past Wednesday a few of us hiked up to the summit for shift change. We started at Pinkham Notch and hiked up Tuckerman Ravine. On the way up, we stopped to look at Crystal Cascade, a beautiful waterfall just a short hike from the Pinkham Visitor Center.     This was my first hike up the mountain I

Another Electrifying Birthday on the Summit! 2015-08-01 18:59:02.000 - Michael Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   We here at the Observatory have a continuous 8-day-on, 6-day-off schedule, maintained 365 days a year through holidays and birthdays. It is typically the luck of the draw whether you’ll be on the mountain or off the mountain on any given day, so I’ve had a couple of birthdays on the summit. So, it being my birthday, I’m going to discuss one of my favorite things here (as well as a common weather theme): thunderstorms! Today, we experienced some impressive temperature drops as lines of

Fog - More Likely Than Not 2015-07-30 15:23:51.000 - Thailynn Munroe, Summit Intern   Wow! I can’t believe that I only have one more shift left on the summit. This internship has been challenging, mentally and physically, but it has also been more than rewarding. I really enjoy being able to practice my forecasting skills and observe whether or not I was accurate. For most of the first half of my past shift, the forecasts were relatively easy because the summits were in the fog. The higher summits see so much fog because of orographic lifting (in essence, the lifting