Two down but not out yet

2010-08-18 22:30:22.000 – Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist

Intermittent sunset today.

When I said I would do a quick comment this evening, my coworkers scoffed because I don’t tend to write short comments. But, I’ll show them; the whole five of them that are up here. Had I said this last shift, I would have been scoffed at by seven coworkers but this week, it was only five. We have reverted back to a crew size similar to when I first started here (two observers, an intern, the museum attendant and the two volunteers) for two reasons. The first reason we are down one from last shift week is just one of the signs of fall up here: the end of the summer intern program. Our summer intern program lasts from May to mid-August since that is usually when school lets out and goes back in. Since it is now mid-August, our two summer interns are retreating back to Florida for their fall semesters. Hanna was the first to depart our shift as she ended her summer work up here last shift. She is already missed up here but luckily we were able to keep one of the pair of summer interns for this shift week since our fall intern doesn’t start until September first (our next shift up).

By retaining Rebecca for one more week, it will help out Mike immensely this week as it will only be him during the day shifts as Brian is out on vacation (the other reason we are down one person this week). Most weeks, if we had to, we would make due with only one person during the day shift. It’s the way it was done in the past so it’s not impossible. But the next two weeks tend to be the busiest on the summit as families start squeezing in their last ditch summer vacations before school starts. This means an increase in observatory tours for our members, video tours with our Weather Discovery Center in North Conway, and increased foot traffic in our museum/gift shop downstairs. So retaining a summer intern for one more week will help out in several ways most importantly, keeping Mike and our Museum Attendant sane. And as long as the day shift is sane, everyone around them will remain sane as well (or as sane as one can be working nights alone up here).

Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist