More Icing…

2007-06-23 10:48:18.000 – Cathy Radonic,  Summit Intern

Summer at the Obs…

I never would have thought that on the second full day of summer I would be standing at the top of the tower taking free ranging swings with a crow bar to de-ice the instruments. At first though, I was not taking such liberty with my hacking, afraid I would cause an instrument to break off and be carried off by the nearly 70mph winds. Then Brian told me to let loose and swing full force, and of course that’s when the real fun began. As chunks of the glazed ice went flying off into the fog, I just kept thinking to myself, ‘It’s June 23!’

I’ve been told that I am one lucky summer intern to have seen two icing events this late in the year, and there is no doubt that I agree with that. The icy conditions certainly helped me fulfill my goal of being knocked off my feet and sliding a bit across the observation deck. I also witnessed one of our volunteers, Jeff, lose one of his gloves to the wind, or so we thought. After the gust we turned around to find the glove iced to the cable he was holding on to, which gave us a good laugh. I guess this all goes to show us how unpredictable this mountain is, as it never fails to throw us for a loop, sometimes literally.

Cathy Radonic,  Summit Intern