In my nine years working on the summit, I have witnessed and experienced a few rivalries. When I was an intern years ago, the first one the Observers made me aware of was the “Good Weather Shift” vs the “Bad Weather Shift.” Over the course of the winter, one shift would typically average a larger amount of days with milder temperatures, lower winds, and great visibilities while the other shift would be stuck in the fog, with extreme cold, and extreme winds. However, these titles were rarely set in stone as the weather varies greatly from week to week. However, one shift would rarely boast about their good weather because it always seemed to jinx them and then they would become the bad weather shift. So it was a known but rarely spoken of rivalry – like the summits version of Lord Voldermort…er, I mean “He-who-must-not-be-named.” If you’re a member, you can log into Premium Content and watch a video of this Good Wx vs Bad Wx rivalry on Oct 11, 2010.

 

The longer I was here, additional rivalries surfaced. As our ObsCast from February 11, 2008 showed, there was the rivalry of Skiers vs Snowboarders within the Observatory staff.

 

 

There was also the ObsCast (November 26, 2007) which revealed a rivalry between the Day Shift (or light-side of the Obs) and the Night Shift (or the dark-side of the Obs). This was ultimately settled with a light saber battle obviously.

 

 

This summer, a new rivalry has broken out between the two summit shifts. Both shifts have formed teams to raise money for our non-profits annual fundraiser Seek the Peak. Each shift has formed a team to raise money and hike the summit to support what we do. My shifts team name is “Cirrus Contender’s” and consists of Mike D., Kaitlyn, and myself. The other shifts team name is “The Watchers On The Wall” and consists of Michael Kyle, Mike C, and Tom. Unlike past rivalries which were settled between individuals, this one will be settled by you, the reader. By going to one of the two team pages above and settle who is the top team by donating. We haven’t settled on what the losers will have to do but we do have some ideas in mind (insert nefarious laugh here). Regardless of which team loses the Observatory wins, as your support of either team will go to supporting what we do up here. So a huge thanks from both shifts for your possible support.