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2010-12-03 14:08:19.000 – Jennifer Finn,  Summit Intern

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As promised, we’re keeping you updated on our progress on dealing with all the ice on the summit. Steve and our volunteers did a great job yesterday getting most of the ice off of the A-frame. They spent a good amount of time using a mallet to whack huge chunks of it off and move them out of the way so we can walk through. Some ice chipping has also been done to make a clearer path through the A-frame. The door to the observation deck is a whole lot lighter now that it has been deiced as well. I wish I could say we’ve removed more ice from the parapet, but unfortunately I can’t. What ice is still in place, not only in the parapet but elsewhere too, is solid as a rock and nearly impossible to remove.

The ice may be fun for us to see in all its cool formations, however it certainly is not as nice for you folks to see on our webcams! That being said, Kristin and I spent some time today removing the thin coating of ice blocking the Observatory Deck camera. We had to put an extension pole on our snow rake to be able to reach the camera in the first place, and then it became a matter of directing each other where to move the rake. If you did happen to look at the webcam while we were in the process of deicing, you just may have seen us! It took some time and a few good-humored jokes to finally remove the ice off the window and give you all a real-time view of what really looks like another world out on the deck.

Though we were able to remove the ice from this webcam, the North and the West view cameras are not as easy for us to tackle. Because of their locations, they are not only hard to get to, but there is also a more significant amount of ice that has built up and actually requires a heat gun to remove. So know that we are doing the best we can to take care of the ice up here on the Rockpile, and we thank you for your patience with the webcams!

Jennifer Finn,  Summit Intern