Meet "The Watchers on the Wall" 2015-06-02 18:07:48.000 - Mike Carmon, Co-Director of Summit Operations   Seek the Peak is coming, and this year the two shifts of summit observers are facing off in the first ever fundraising challenge! It's Mike C's shift, "The Watchers on the Wall" vs. Kaitlyn's shift, "Cirrus Contenders". This week, meet "The Watchers on the Wall." Check out our facebook page for the video! If you'd like to donate to our team, we would appreciate your support! Of course, all proceeds from both teams will go to support the non-profit Mount Washington Observatory.   Mike

Stormy End to May, Wintry Start to June! 2015-06-01 17:47:18.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   The past few days have seen some pretty wild weather on the summit, with heavy rain and thunderstorms giving way to a brief taste of winter to start off the month of June. Saturday evening multiple lines of thunderstorms crossed the summit, with very heavy rain and winds gusting to hurricane force at the height of the storm. Due to the slow nature of the storms, lightning continued to strike the summit and the immediate surrounding area for nearly 4 hours straight, making my

When will all the snow melt from the White Mountains? 2015-05-30 17:17:55.000 - Michael Kyle, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   With the passing of Memorial Day we can say that the summer season has unofficially begun. After the brutally cold and snowy winter we had this year it is nice to see the sea of green leaves surrounding the summit again. It’s even better to see the colorful flowers of the alpine garden starting bloom. The down side to all this (at least for skiers) is that all the snow that has coated Mount Washington and the adjacent White Mountains, since

First Days at the Castle in the Clouds 2015-05-29 17:05:38.000 - Thailynn Munroe, Summit Intern   So far, my time in New Hampshire has been nothing short of incredible and full of surprises. Most people never see moose while they’re visiting, and I’ve spoken to a few locals who’ve said they haven’t seen one in years. Against all odds, I saw two in one day! My luck only increased as I made my way up the mountain, to what I’ve nicknamed the Castle in the Clouds.     Yesterday was my very first day as an intern here at the Observatory,

A Spring Volunteer Week 2015-05-28 05:59:10.000 - Ayla & Bruce, Summit Volunteers   What a great week to be volunteers at the Observatory (but isn’t every week up here great?)! We experienced a true spring week on top of the mountain – one which showed us many extremes including high winds in which we could barely stand, snow, rain, fog, rime ice, clear days with visibility up to 130 miles, and clear nights with an amazing blanket of stars.    We started the week with wind chills of -10 and ended it at temperatures in the 50s! We were treated

Every Day A New Adventure 2015-05-26 21:29:34.000 - Ian Bailey, Summit Intern   As a brand new intern, I wasn’t really sure what to expect for my first shift on Mount Washington. Obviously, I knew I would have a lot of fun, learn a ton, and work with incredible meteorologists and a great staff. I was absolutely right in that regard. But what I didn’t expect was that every day, the mountain would give me a gift.   My father and I hiked up to the summit last year and we spent the day exploring. We visited the museum, spoke

Another Beautiful Week on the Summit! 2015-05-25 19:08:33.000 - Michael Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   This shift has been exceptionally beautiful, with clear weather for the majority of the shift so far. With the Mount Washington Auto Road and Mount Washington Cog Railway fully open, we're sharing this beautiful weather with many visitors to the summit as well! It's nice to get back to some 'warmer' weather which, here on Mount Washington, starts when the mercury breaks 40 degrees. While I do thoroughly enjoy the warmer weather, I really enjoyed the last part of this winter. Below is a compilation

Shift vs Shift 2015-05-24 19:19:38.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   In my nine years working on the summit, I have witnessed and experienced a few rivalries. When I was an intern years ago, the first one the Observers made me aware of was the “Good Weather Shift” vs the “Bad Weather Shift.” Over the course of the winter, one shift would typically average a larger amount of days with milder temperatures, lower winds, and great visibilities while the other shift would be stuck in the fog, with extreme cold, and extreme winds. However, these titles were rarely set

Mount Washington's Iceberg 2015-05-22 17:10:10.000 - Will Hatheway, Intern       When hiking around Mount Washington you never know what you will find given our dramatic weather. While hiking on the trails, one of our summer interns came across this large ice block frozen in a basement. To give you a perspective on the size of this giant ice block, it comes just two feet shy of the top of the basement and fills the whole room. Now how would you like to come home to your basement filled with this? Unfortunately this ice block will not be melting

A Wonderful Volunteer Week on the Summit 2015-05-20 18:51:23.000 - Steve Crossman, Summit Volunteer   Another shift as an Observatory volunteer is sadly coming to a close. We started the shift with a tenuous ride up the ice covered road with the wind howling. Winter wasn’t quite ready to release its grip on the mountain. Once up top we did the shift change and then got about our daily chores. The prior shift’s volunteer had left a large piece of ham so the getting the first night’s supper on the table was especially easy. The rest of the week’s meals