Meow.

2008-11-27 13:19:15.000 – Jordan Scampoli,  Summit Intern

Hitchin a ride.

Yesterday was my introduction into the winter commute to work on Mount Washington. Since the summit and the valley have seen snow and ice in the past few days, the only way we could reach the summit was via the snowcat. Luckily everything went off without a hitch (except for the cat-to-cat jumpstart), but I think my first ride has given me the impression that riding in the cat is comfortable, easy, and fun – which I have been assured, it is not.

Our cat is parked part of the way up the Auto Road, so we hitched a ride with the State Park cat until we reached ours. Wayne, the Obs snowcat operator, got the old girl purring and we followed the State park cat up to the summit, stopping every now and again to plow ourselves a suitable road that will be the base for the entire season.

I say my first ride gave me the wrong impression because of a few reasons. Stacey and Jeff are both off for the week, so it was only me, Steve, Mike, and our volunteer Rob coming up. Rob sat shotgun, so there was only three of us in the back, giving us plenty of space to move around and enjoy the ride. Another anomaly was the weather – bluebird skies and very little wind. Since there were only three of us in the back, the windows didn’t ice up, so not only did we have nice weather, but we also were able to actually see what was going on! Thanks to Rob for the pictures, and a thanks in advance for the Thanksgiving feast he is making for us tonight!

Jordan Scampoli,  Summit Intern