Historical Posts Archives - Page 32 of 378 - Mount Washington Observatory

July 2018

Mount Washington Sunsets

2018-07-14 18:19:23.000 – Simon Wachholz, Summit Intern

When I woke up 5am Wednesday morning for shift change, my first thought was that I couldn’t wait until my next off week so I could finally sleep in. Once I got back to the top, however, I quickly forgot why I would ever want to leave. The cool air is an amazing reprieve from the summer heat in the valleys and the views of the surrounding towns, forests and mountains are unmatched. Whenever I’m up here, my favorite part of the day is without a doubt sunset. As day progresses into night, the mountain is transformed from a bustling tourist destination to a quiet, serene mountaintop. Additionally, I was able to witness a few amazing sunsets so far this week too.

On Wednesday a perfect amount of altocumulus clouds were illuminated by the sun setting on the horizon. Looking toward the southeast, I also saw some anticrepuscular rays caused by the shadows of the altocumulus. The rays are actually parallel, despite appearing to converge because of an optical illusion created by the increasing distance.

Wednesday’s sunset and anticrepuscular rays

Thursday’s sunset was slightly subdued by distant clouds. However, some remnant smoke from wildfires in Siberia caused the sun appear as a faded red ball, even somewhat resembling the appearance of Jupiter.

Thursday’s sunset

Clouds approaching the summit from the West cut the sunset short Friday evening, but the view was still amazing with the sun illuminating some fog passing near the summit.

Friday’s sunset

The summit has returned to the clouds today, so it looks like there won’t be much to photograph tonight, although I’ll have my camera ready for whenever we do clear out of the clouds again.

Simon Wachholz, Summit Intern

‘Tis but a Patch!

2018-07-11 07:34:50.000 – Ben Seleb, Summit Intern

Living on a mountain has its ups and downs (literally), and Mt. Washington is no exception to that. Acclimated to our unique and isolated workplace, we often find ourselves captivated by things that other people would think odd.

For instance, when we aren’t in the clouds, we have our fair share of spectacular sunrises and sunsets. So many in fact, that after a while they also become commonplace. While we still go out to the observation deck to watch them, we have begun to judge their magnificence more critically.

In contrast, there are some objectively insignificant things that have our captured our full attention. One of these things in particular, the one I intend to write about, is a patch of snow on one of our neighboring summits.

This snow patch, better known as the Jefferson snowfield, is well known by summit staff, hikers, and skiers. Most snow on the summit of Mt. Washington and the Northern Presidentials tends to melt away by mid-May, but the snowfields hold on a bit longer. Initially covering the eastern slopes of Mt. Jefferson, during summer the snowfields begin to dwindle until only a single snow patch remains.

The remaining patch of snow on Jefferson during the month of June

A few weeks ago, as an annual tradition, summit staff started making guesses as to when the patch would melt away completely. As the day drew near, and the snow patch nearly disappeared from view, I took it upon myself to confirm its condition. I left as soon as possible, getting up before sunrise so that I might be able to reach the snow patch before it had received too much sunlight.

Sunrise at the Clay Col intersection

By the time I had summited Jefferson, temperatures had risen and the sun was already high in the sky. The snow patch is located in a rocky area alongside Six Husbands Trail. Scouring the rocks, I couldn’t find any snow and I was worried that I was too late. I was about to give up and turn around when I found it. A ten foot long strip of snow was all that was left, and melting fast. I couldn’t help but smile due to my good timing, and the fact that I’d be the last person to visit it.

My emotional reaction during the snow patch’s final hours

I spent a few minutes enjoying the last of the snow on Jefferson, took some pictures, and built a snowman to commemorate the occasion. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough for a snow angel.

I only had time to build a small snowman (sunglasses for size reference)

Jefferson snow patch has been an undying reminder of winter fun and allowed us to pretend that summer hadn’t really arrived yet. Just before I dumped my water bottle and stuffed it with the last of the snow, I reached the final stage of grief: acceptance. The summer months tend to be calmer and less fun for our observers than winter months, but they deserve acknowledgement too. The snow fields will be missed, but it won’t be long until they return!

If you’re in drastic need of some snow, don’t worry! There is a bit left in Tuckerman’s Ravine. You might want to hurry though, because it’s melting away fast!

Ben Seleb, Summit Intern

Special Relativity and Mount Washington

2018-07-09 15:42:43.000 – Emily Tunkel, Summer Intern

Freshman year, second semester, I took a course called “Introduction to Relativity and Quantum Mechanics” in which we discussed an experiment performed by David Frisch and James Smith in 1963. Frisch and Smith were looking to measure the effect of time dilation on mu-meson particles. Time dilation, an effect of special relativity, basically describes what happens if you throw a clock fast enough: It will start to run slow. The factor of this time change is generally pretty small because it relates the object’s velocity to the speed of light (3*10⁸ m/s). The only way to have a significant time difference is for the object to be moving incredibly fast — generally around 0.9 times the speed of light.

A mu-meson, also called a muon, is a type of elementary particle that is created by protons from the sun getting broken apart by the atmosphere. These muons have a very short half-life – only two microseconds. If we imagine these muons coming down from the atmosphere, half of them would die in two microseconds, another half in another two microseconds, and so on.

Frisch and Smith wanted to see how fast the muons were travelling, so they set up two stations; one at sea level in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and one at 6,288 feet on top of Mount Washington.

From their experiment, which took about one hour, they found that the muons decayed at only about 0.7 microseconds – if we imagine that the muons were clocks, they would be running slow by a factor of nine. The muons were moving at a speed of 0.995 times the speed of light, which changed how long Frisch and Smith observed their half-life!

This is a very brief overview, and I recommend for more information you take a look at their original paper “Measurement of the Relativistic Time Dilation Using mu-Mesons” (1963) or the short movie Time Dilation: An Experiment with Mu Mesons published by MIT.

The Cosmo Shack, a small wooden cabin on the observation deck of MWO, measures the number of muons that are rained down from the atmosphere and compares it to ones measured at the University Of New Hampshire. This project has been on-going for nearly 60 (!!) years and can be used to monitor ejections of mass from the Sun’s corona as well as solar flares. While the Cosmo Shack is not the same one that Frisch and Smith used, the experiments are similar in their detection parameters.

Emily Tunkel, Summer Intern

Back In The Swing Of Things

2018-07-09 06:38:26.000 – Christopher Hohman, Night Observer

Hi there! My name is Christopher Hohman, and I am the new Night Observer here on the summit of Mount Washington. Some of you may remember me a few years ago as in intern. I thought I’d spend this blog talking about what I’ve done over the past two years, and what it’s been like coming back to the best place on Earth.

My internship at the Mount Washington Observatory was one of the best experiences I ever had in my life. I had left the mountain on August of 2016 with the fondest of memories, and friendships that would last an incredibly long time. I left with the summit with a heavy heart, but I was ready to get into Meteorology at Plymouth State. The skills I had picked up from various observers, and from all the higher summit forecasts I had done, would end up proving highly valuable to me in the following two years of college.

Thermodynamics, Synoptic Meteorology, Atmospheric Physics, Dynamics, it was all I could ever wish to learn about in life. Sure it felt insurmountable at times with how much work was thrown at me. In the end though, I was able to learn topics that took people thousands of years to understand. I am beyond thankful for the education I have, and that’s why I was ecstatic to graduate this May:

(I’m the dorky looking guy 2nd from the right)

So what’s it been like coming back to the summit? Just as amazing of a feeling as I thought it would be. Reconnecting with the observers, experiencing the hurricane force winds again, and eating the delicious meals the volunteers make for us everyday. I just can’t describe how happy it makes me to finally be back. The weather up here really is as unique as it gets. To have the honor to experience that again on a daily basis, it’s truly a dream come true.

Being the night observer has been a different experience than working during the day. The observatory is a little quieter, there isn’t the constant buzz of noise from the rotonda. It’s a bit darker outside on average, and the fog can make things a little spooky at times. It’s still incredibly fun though, especially when there’s a clear night. The stars up here are phenomenal, you can see the Milky Way end to end:

I really hope to see some unique, and record breaking weather on the rockpile during my time here. My dream is to see the wind record be broken up here again (Perhaps a direct hit from a Cat 5…..). Or even a temperature record or two, I’m not picky! I’m also extremely excited for the winter time to roll around. Summer is great and all, but I’m already ready for some Nor’easters to dump tons of snow on the summit.

No matter how long I stay up here, I know it’ll feel too short at the end of my time. I’m going to enjoy every minute of this, and hopefully my journal entries will be able to entertain some of my kids in the future. I’m beyond thankful for where I am today. I wouldn’t be typing this right now if it wasn’t for my family and friends who given me colossal amounts of support throughout my life.

So here’s to the dawn of my career on Mount Washington. May it be the best experience of my life. Above all though, may it be fun!

Christopher Hohman, Night Observer

A Spectacular 4th from the Summit

2018-07-05 07:58:50.000 – Zach Butler, Summit Intern

Being atop Mt. Washington for the 4^th of July with clear conditions was an incredible sight. As the sun set, we began to see the first fireworks light off. Small towns and houses began this small show. As the sky became darker, North Conway and Brenton Woods took over the show. Trying to see both sights was quite difficult actually. Running from the observation deck to the south east side of the mountain soon became a workout as I tried to get the best pictures of the light show. Watching the North Conway show soon allowed me to realize the larger scale of the event.

To the south and south east, Maine was lighting up. While the scale was not very impressive, the whole horizon was lighting up with different fireworks. It was truly an unbelievable sight with thousands of fireworks going off, looking like small puffs of flames, as seen above.

Now for the main event. We ran back to the observation deck to watch Brenton Woods. This ski resort with the Mt. Washington hotel gave us our closest show of fireworks. Less than 15 miles away, we were able to see the detail of the beautiful fireworks. We could even hear the loud booms because of the calm winds we had atop the summit. This show got better as it went on with a slight orange glow of the horizon from the sunset’s afterglow. The “oooos” and “ahhhhs” came out of us as the grand finale popped off. As it ended we continued to hear the loud booms because of the sound delay which was very cool to hear!

Wait, now for the main event. The Milky Way soon began to form over us and to the east. This incredible sight really capped off the night. The stars and the galaxy above us were truly the firework and celebration we need for the fourth of July. It made me realize how small we are on Earth. With all the fireworks looking like small campfires from the summit, the Milky Way ran supreme and mighty over the land and sky. Again realizing how lucky I am to work and live up here.

Zach Butler, Summit Intern

A Crash Course in Cyclogenesis and Conveyor Belt Theory

2018-07-02 18:18:05.000 – Sarah Thunberg, Summit Intern

Standing at the base of the mountain Wednesday morning, I was jumping with energy and excitement to get back on the summit this week. It doesn’t take much to get me excited in the first place, but this week was looking promising for storms. The storm that passed Thursday and Friday followed the classic mid-latitude cyclone lifecycle. This particular cyclone was already weakening as it hit New England so we only received a lot of rain and small cells scattered across New Hampshire. Later in the week we got some much nicer thunderstorms that were beautiful to watch as a meteorologist. Friday afternoon I was watching thunderstorms pop up all around me while I was doing little happy dances in my chair. After a weaker thunderstorm cleared the summit, I went outside to take a look at the large cell I had been watching on the radar just southwest of Mount Washington. Of course as I was admiring the storm to our west, I heard people talking about a rainbow to the east. It was gone by the time I turned around.

While all the storms were popping up Friday, I was asked a lot of questions about thunderstorms and ‘bad’ weather up here. So without further ado, here is my attempt at explaining some of this.

Most storms people think of are actually mid-latitude cyclones, and they generally produce lines of thunderstorm cells, or widespread rain. A mid-latitude cyclone is really just an area of low pressure that forms east of a dip in the jet stream in the Northern Hemisphere. We call these dips troughs because they generally are where large cold masses of air can be found. The jet stream weaves in between these pools of cold air and warm air. The air in the jet stream behaves a lot like cars on a highway, just before a tight turn the cars (air) pile up and create a traffic jam. Coming out of the turn, cars speed back up again and there’s a lot of space between cars. Thinking of air behaving like this, when the air piles up (converges) before a trough it creates high pressure before the trough, and low pressure after the trough where it spreads out (diverges).

The area of low pressure east of the trough starts out as a slight drop in pressure along a temperature gradient between the cold air and warm air. The warm and cold air behave like two separate masses of air, one of them is cold and dry, the other is warm and moist, and they don’t mix together. The low sitting in between the two air masses makes the wind turn slightly towards the low, and eventually the wind is making a full counter-clockwise circle around the low. This makes the warm and cold air masses start rotating around the low creating the warm and cold fronts. The type of the front is determined by which air mass is pushing the front forward. The cold front has the cold air mass blowing into the warm air mass and the warm front has the warm air mass blowing into the cold air mass. The warm air will rise up and over the cold air with both fronts because warm air has a lower density and cold air. At the surface this means the cold air gets wrapped completely around the low. When the cold air catches up to its back side the front turns into an occluded front because the cold air is blowing into itself. This is what eventually kills the cyclone because it needs that temperature gradient to sustain itself. I drew out the whole cyclone lifecycle below for reference.

The picture above shows the cyclone from the NOAA satellite GOES-16 on Thursday as it was entering New England. I’ve drawn the fronts on the image, but the cyclone was getting more disorganized at this time so it’s hard to picture the structure. Looking at the cyclone a day earlier shows a much more defined structure. The image below shows the cyclone from the same satellite Thursday through the moisture of the air; yellow indicates dry air and blue/white/green indicates moist air with green being the wettest.

The warm air blows north around the west side of the low and rises up and over the cold air at the warm front following the path shown by the red arrows. The cold air follows the black arrows and moves west on the north side of the low and wraps around to the western side of the low forcing the warm air up and over it along the cold front. The circulation of these air masses actually pulls in dry air from higher in the atmosphere just behind the cold front, contributing to the clearing and drying behind the cold front. The flow pattern of these air masses is drawn out in the diagram below.

The drying of the cold air and the fact that the cold air wraps around itself are the main processes that limit the strength and lifetime of the cyclone.

Sarah Thunberg, Summit Intern

A Year’s Worth of Snow In Review

2018-07-01 16:35:30.000 – Simon Wachholz, Summit Intern

At Mount Washington (and other weather sites) the conclusion of June marks the end of our yearly weather season. This is to encompass a complete winter, instead of splitting the winter up at the end of the calendar year. This means that yesterday was the end of the 2017-2018 snow season, and that starting today any snow (or sleet or hail) will count towards the 2018-19 winter season.

Rapidly changing weather is something you should expect at the summit of Mount Washington, and this past year was no exception. The year’s highest temperature of 67 happened in September. September 2017 ended up being 5 degrees above average and was even warmer than August, the first time this occurred since 1999. Winter 2018 was especially volatile for the summit. While over 80 inches of snow fell in December less than 30 inches fell in January. Daily temperature swings greater than 40 degrees occurred on 4 occasions, with two days where highs rose above freezing and lows dropped below 0. Additionally, February 2018 saw some record wintertime heat. Temperatures climbed to 48°F on the 21^st, tying the all-time record high for meteorological winter (defined as the months of December, January, and February).

Winter made a comeback in March and ended up being colder and snowier than February. 68.6 inches of snow fell in March with a peak depth of 23”. Snowy conditions continued well into April with another 68.9” of snow falling – most of which fell in the second half of the month. While April ended up being the summit’s 7^th snowiest April on record, things turned around quickly in May with no accumulating snowfall after the 0.1” on May 1^st, making it the summit’s 3^rd least snowy May on record. Conditions once again flipped in June; 0.8” of snow fell on June 5th, making it the first time since 1998 that more snow fell in June than in May. I suppose it’s not surprising that the weather pattern is once again changing as we head into July with record warmth in the upper 60s and lower 70s possible throughout the upcoming week!

Some quick 2017-18 stats:

Average annual temperature: 28.5 degrees (1.2 degrees above average)

Total Liquid Equivalent Precipitation: 88.56” (8.31 inches below average)

Total Snowfall: 345.1” (63.9” above average)

Average Wind speed: 36.2 mph (1.2 mph above average)

Quite an interesting combination if you think about it – while the 2017-18 season was drier and warmer than average, it was also snowier than average. Unfortunately as a summer intern, I missed out on 99.768% of the season’s snow (yes, that’s the actual percentage; I did the math). However, I did still get a chance to build a June snowman, and at least was able to see snow in July (today) thanks to the Jefferson snowfield that is just barely hanging on!

Snowman I built after our June snowfall.

Webcam image from this morning of the last remaining snow in Tuckerman’s Ravine

Simon Wachholz, Summit Intern

Hot, Humid, and Hazy

2018-06-30 16:40:13.000 – Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist

With the upcoming weather pattern, there are a two noteworthy things to talk about.

The first is the various Heat Advisories in place from neighboring NWS offices. While the higher peaks will be cooler, summits will still be hot/humid and trailheads and several lower elevations fall under the heat advisory criteria. With the Heat Advisories in place, some notes to keep in mind for the weekend and beyond: Pack extra fluids than you normally would carry, hydrate frequently, and encouraging everyone in your party to hydrate. Do not wait until you are thirsty as that could be too late in these kind of conditions. Avoid alcohol and drinks with high sugar content as these are actually dehydrators. And avoid extremely cold drinks as these can cause internal muscles to cramp. If you have pets or small children (that aren’t carrying their own water) on the trail, remember to hydrate with them frequently too. Do not leave them in a parked vehicle for any amount of time. Replace salts and minerals as heavy sweating removes these from your body. Limit activities in direct sunshine and take it slow and take plenty of breaks in shaded areas. Outdoor activities should be limited and scheduled for early morning or evening hours when conditions will be slightly cooler. Wear lightweight, light-colored, and loose fitting clothing preferably made with synthetic materials that can breathe. Be sure to wear plenty of sunscreen with a SPF of 15 or higher with broad spectrum protection. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Hike with others so that you can identify anyone suffering from these symptoms. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location and allowed time to recover. Be advised that if situations deteriorate to the point where emergency service must be called, cell coverage around the Whites is spotty and emergency services can take several hours to arrive for most locations.

How do you recognize heat exhaustion? While warning signs and symptoms vary, they typically consist of heavy sweating, paleness in the skin, muscle cramps, extreme tiredness, weakness, dizziness and loss of balance, headaches, nausea/vomiting, fainting, cool/clammy skin in direct sunlight, a fast or weak pulse, and/or fast or shallow breathing.

If untreated, heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke. Before that occurs, provide the individual cool/non-alcoholic beverages, provide plenty of time to rest in shaded (or if accessible, an air-conditioned environment) areas, use wet rags/clothing to wipe, drip, or drape, if not too far gone a dip in cool water, take off unnecessary layers, and provide salty/sweet foods.

If the victim is past the exhaustion stage, how do you recognize heat stroke? While the symptoms vary, but typically consist of high body temperatures (typically above 103F), red/hot/dry skin with little to no sweat present, a rapid/strong heartbeat, headaches, dizziness, nausea, confusion, slurred speech, frequent stumbling, and/or unconsciousness.

If suffering from heat stroke, emergency service must be called. However, cell coverage around the Whites is spotty and emergency services can take several hours to arrive for most locations. Despite these challenges though, try to get someone in your party to move to a location so that they can place a call to get SAR efforts in motion ASAP. While waiting, move the victim to shade, cool the victim rapidly using whatever method you can, monitor body temperatures as best you can, sometimes muscles might twitch uncontrollably so try to prevent the individual from injuring themselves, do not put fluids or foods in their mouth, and if vomiting, turn the victim on their side to free their airways.

Mt Washington and the southern peaks of the Presidential Range

The second thing to cover: NHDES Declares Air Quality Action Day – Unhealthy Air Pollution Levels Predicted for Monday, July 2nd and Beyond. Their statement is as follows:

“The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is expecting air pollution concentrations to reach unhealthy levels for sensitive individuals in Belknap, Carroll, Cheshire, Grafton, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, Strafford, and Sullivan Counties, and at elevations above 3000 feet on Monday, July 2. These air quality conditions are expected to continue during the heatwave. Advisories may be extended early next week for July 3rd through July 6th if needed.

NHDES officials are calling for an Air Quality Action Day and advise sensitive individuals in these areas to take precautions to protect their health by limiting prolonged or outdoor exertion. Sensitive individuals include children and older adults; anyone with lung disease such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis; and people who are active outdoors. Even healthy individuals may experience mild health effects and should consider limiting strenuous or prolonged outdoor activities.

NHDES forecasts unhealthy concentrations of ground-level ozone (the main component of smog) for sensitive individuals in the above-mentioned regions. In addition, moderate levels of fine particle pollution are expected statewide during this event. The predicted unhealthy air quality comes from the persistence of high temperatures under sunny skies and winds transporting pollution into New Hampshire from surrounding areas in combination with local emissions. These air quality conditions may continue throughout the heatwave until cooler weather and cleaner air move into the state late next week. Additional advisories will be issued as needed.

Symptoms of ozone exposure include coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or pain when inhaling deeply, and shortness of breath. The severity of the health effects increases as ozone concentrations increase.

For further information, contact NHDES at (603) 419-9697. For air quality forecasts and current air pollution levels in New Hampshire, call 1-800-935-SMOG or visit the NHDES website at www.airquality.nh.gov”

Bottom line – Stay safe out there in the coming days!

June 30, 2018 sunrise over the Northern Presidentials

Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist

Another Day at the Office

2018-06-26 16:31:19.000 – Zach Butler, Summit Intern

Starring out the office window for motivation of a blog post is never that hard. The beautiful northern view of our presidential range is always an eyesight to amaze and daydream amount. How far can I make it on a hike today? What kind of flowers have emerged today and this week? These are just some of the thoughts I daydream about as I look to the north and west.

I’m really not sure if there is a better office view possible. The daydreams and wonder about the terrain to the north are always endless. The only downside to this view is the distraction it as too my work! Fortunately from the desk I sit at right now, I can only see part of this view.

Anyway, on with my blog! I was able to address and answer some of the questions I made this week. As I hike quickly down the Appalachian Trail to the Great Gulf, fellow intern Ben Seleb and I were trying to make it as far as we could within the hour time slot we had. As we hiked and hopped on the rocks, we noticed how much greener the grass and Great Gulf was then weeks prior. Summer had finally appeared to arrive to the area. We continued to see wildflowers that we saw on prior week hikes. As we descended, we approached the saddle between Mt. Clay and Mt. Washington, the clay-cole junction. Ben and I hadn’t made it to this junction on weeks past hikes due to time constraints. Finally, our legs and knowledge of the terrain allowed us to hike a little faster. As we approached the junction, we saw some yellow flowers we had not yet seen before! Quickly, I pulled out my iPhone and used the app “iNaturalist” to identify this flower. This new app has drawn my attention to the amazement and accuracy it has to identify plants and flowers. I simply took a picture of this yellow flower and the app told me it was most likely “Mountain Avens” or Geum peckii. I reported this flower so fellow hikers or naturalists could see where this flower was in the mountains.

As Ben and I observed these yellow flowers, we made it to the clay-cole junction at last. At this point, we realized it was quickly time to turn around. We started hiking back, happy with our success to make it this far. As we made our way back, we realized that we had to pick up the pace to make it back on time to finish our work in the museum for the day. This stroll and adventure quickly turned into a tough workout as we rock hopped feverously up hill. Sweating profusely despite the 37 degree temperature and wind chill in the 20s, Ben and I made it back just in time.

This quick hour adventure made me realize how lucky we are to work up here. Completing an adventure that you daydreamed about while getting a workout in, helped me answer more questions that I thought of in the beginning. The office view we have here allows one to inspire. By physically experiencing this office view, I obtained more rewards and appreciation than expected.

Zach Butler, Summit Intern

An Unlikely Destination

2018-06-24 16:45:38.000 – Ben Seleb, Summit Intern

If you read the most recent blog by observer Ian Bailey, you may have noticed the part where he explained our annual hike-a-thon Seek the Peak, and shamelessly promoted our own team, Team Vergalicious. Just kidding, of course you noticed!

Don’t worry! This isn’t another shameless plug.

You may have actually noticed the part where Ian mentioned that my favorite part of working here is the contrast between Observatory and its surrounding environment. I figured the “contrast” I’m talking about here could use some additional clarification, which I will attempt to give in this post.

Mount Washington has been contrasted long before the Observatory was founded, starting when man first entered the dwelling place of the gods. More specifically, even when the mountain was first summited, it was merely to disregard the sanctity of the mountain, which was believed by natives to be inhabited by the gods.

Contrast has become more apparent on the mountain ever since, despite the reverence for its wildness and extreme weather. Buildings were built on its top, and shortly after, the Auto Road and Cog Railway made travel to the summit accessible to anyone who could pay for passage. In spite of it being completely inhospitable due to its remoteness and notorious weather, Mount Washington became one of the nation’s first tourist destinations. The contradiction is almost unfeasible as it is laughable. I’d argue that the Observatory is actually one of the most fitting decorations on the summit, because it wouldn’t be here at all if not for the extreme weather.

We tend to work pretty long hours at the Observatory, and sometimes it can be difficult to take advantage of the amenities that make the Mountain so unique, particularly the natural ones. My internship is now halfway over, and I have become even more motivated to take every opportunity that I can. Whenever I have the free time, and weather permits, I try to get out for a short hike during the day. While I’m normally busy with my own work, I’ll always tag along for a few of the hourly observations each day as well. I get some fresh air, gain some additional weather knowledge (which I can always use), and am able remind myself of the awesome environment that I’m in.

The view shortly after entering treeline on Lion’s Head Trail

One could get used to the scientific equipment, high-speed internet, and bountiful selection of DVD’s available to us at the Observatory. It wouldn’t be long before they began to forget about the natural wonders that exist just outside our front door. That’s why it’s important to remember why we’re really here—in contrast to the Mountain—and why there’s no other workplace quite like it.

Friday’s sunset (the best I’ve ever seen) brought everyone out and onto the observation deck