Volunteer Week

2013-05-14 23:59:18.000 – Debbie Bohr and Patti Chappell,  Summit Volunteers

May Rime Ice

Why do we come to Mt. Washington? We come because we love the views, the sunrises and sunsets, the diversity of the weather, and the winds. It’s called the Rockpile, but it is much more than a pile of rocks. The day before we arrived, a new daily record high of 57 degrees was set. Today the temperatures were in the upper teens and the wind chills hovered around zero or below. This is a place of extremes, fog and sunshine, warmth and cold, mountains and valleys, technology and nature, high winds and calm, young and old (the crew is young, we’re old!). All of this combined to make this volunteer week an amazing experience.

It is always different, no matter if it is your first time (Deb) or your ninth (Patti). Even the Observatory kitchen is an adventure. We enjoyed the challenge of working with the ingredients available and varying our meals as we cooked for a small but appreciative crew. We had a few opportunities to hike off the summit and Patti relished this opportunity to show her out of state cousin some of the beauty of New Hampshire and why Mt Washington and the surrounding area holds such a special place in her life. We never lacked for anything to do. On the days where being outside was not an option, we had much time to sit and talk, not only to each other, but also to the crew members, learning a little about who they are and what draws them to this place. An experience like this would not be possible without membership in the Mount Washington Observatory, which Patti gave to Deb to allow us to spend this week together, two cousins catching up on lives spent miles apart. What a gift, one Deb will never forget. Share the gift of membership with someone you know. Who knows where it might lead you, maybe to a volunteer week together on this incredible pile of rocks.

Debbie Bohr and Patti Chappell,  Summit Volunteers