Nothing gold can stay

2009-05-26 20:51:01.000 – Ali Boris,  Summit Intern

Final sunset

Tomorrow I will join the ranks of the many talented and accomplished former interns of the Mount Washington Observatory. Despite my esteemed company, however, I really don’t want to go.

The intern experience has clearly been different for each person who’s passed through here. For me, it’s been a learning experience not only with respect to my research, but also in enjoying life to its fullest. I traveled across the country for this internship not knowing what to expect, and am now seated here on a boulder overlooking the rolling hills surrounding the Mount Washington Valley, atop the highest peak in the northeast, and next to a newly made lifelong friend. In my time here, I’ve learned a lot about meteorology, but wish that I had spent more time watching the observers code the clouds and other phenomena. I’ve spent weeks writing an extensive research document on the regional boundary layer influence on particulate matter, bur feel like I’ve barely started understanding how the concentrations vary. I’ve gone on countless jaunts around the summit, slept under the stars in well under freezing temperatures, shoveled feet of snow and ice –and wish that I could stay to continue this amazing adventure. Like my final sunset that I watched tonight, nothing gold can stay.

If you’d like to see some of the photos which will from now until at least next June make me cry, or read the mushy details of my final (I think) blog entry, click here. Otherwise, I’d like to leave all of you who have been, are, and will be involved with this wonderful organization with a heartfelt thank you and the hope that all of you have enjoyed the mountain as much as I have.

Until next time,

Ali Boris,  Summit Intern