Meet MWOBS’ 2025 Seek the Peak Teams

By MWOBS Staff

Another year, another epic Seek the Peak. To celebrate our 25th Anniversary year, the staff at Mount Washington Observatory have created their own fundraising teams, and, in keeping with tradition, have embarked on some friendly competition. Meet the teams below, and, if you’re rooting for anyone in particular, we invite you to make a donation to their team to show your support (in June 2025, all gifts up to $20,000 are doubled thanks to four generous donors)! Keep an eye out for features highlighting their stories, creativity, and call to action as we enter the final month of fundraising for our largest annual event.

The Knights of Nimbus

The Knights of Nimbus are a brave bunch, comprising one-half of our weather observation team on the summit of Mount Washington. Ryan Knapp, Karl Philippoff, and Amy Cotter have endured many extremes on the rockpile—with collectively over 30 years under their belt—making them fitting guardians for our favorite feline. Behold the Knights of Nimbus (and support them here)!

The Fellowship of the Sling

The Education team, fans of Tolkien’s Middle-earth trilogy, have taken their creativity to new heights in both their team name and creative design. The “sling,” pictured below, is in reference to a weather data collection tool called a Sling Psychrometer. We’ll be unveiling this team’s epic story soon, but in the meantime, you can donate to Misha, Jackie, Olivia, Alexander, and Brian here, or support them by buying your own Fellowship of the Sling shirt.

Rime Rippin’ Weather Observers

We can’t mention creativity without the Rime Rippin’ Weather Observers, who were inspired by a shared experience of surfing at the top of New England after discovering a massive, wave-like rime ice formation developing on the top of the instrument tower. You can learn more about this team’s inspiration in their recent blog post, and be sure to check out their custom tees below!

To make a Seek the Peak donation to Charlie, Alex, and Alexis, who make up the second half of the summit crew, click here.

MWO Tactical Weather Division

The MWO Tactical Weather Division, consisting of team members from MWOBS’ Technology, Research, and Executive teams, carries with it an air of mystery— but we can tell they’re all business by their team logo, so we aren’t asking any questions! Be on the lookout for updates from these leaders, and support Drew Bush, Keith Garrett, and Brenda Sullivan here.

Obs Funcasters

The MWOBS External Affairs team is forecasting a lot of fun for this year’s 25th Anniversary Seek the Peak! You can find Charlie, Carissa, Wendy, and Ellen planning events, collaborating with the media to share the Observatory’s research and stories, engaging with members, supporting our volunteer community, and talking about the extraordinary work of this organization to everyone they meet—near and far. Now, they’re taking that energy to Seek the Peak—and they’re aiming high! You can support the Obs FUNcasters here.

Nimbus, Resident Summit Cat

Though not a team strictly speaking, Nimbus is most certainly in a league of his own (and cares little for rules). We’re highlighting this champ because he is the beloved mascot of the mountain, and has historically been a mainstay on the event’s leaderboard. Fun fact: He has raised over $30,000 for Seek the Peak over the past few years!  Want to support the event but don’t want to choose a team? This cat’s for you. (No, you can’t have him— he lives on the summit!)