Tours on the Summit

2012-07-08 18:38:35.000 – Christopher Gregg,  Summit Intern

Chris and Marty in front of the weather wall.

There are a number of tasks that myself and fellow intern, Adam Brainard, share during the week. We work on different data entry projects, make and record a 36-hour weather forecast each afternoon, and provide tours to observatory members that visit the summit. Of our regular tasks, giving tours is likely one of my favorite things to do here on Mount Washington. If you enjoy a certain subject, odds are you enjoy engaging in conversation about that subject and sharing your knowledge with others. For me, giving a tour is nothing but that, I get to share with people something that I really enjoy and help them to learn in the process.

In showing people different aspects of the ‘weather wall’, I always love seeing faces of awe from touring members; typically when I show them pictures of rime ice, or a Hays wind speed chart from a more impressive day on the summit. In retrospect, it’s almost shocking to think how much I personally have learned since I first arrived at Mount Washington in early May. There’s a lot about this organization to learn about, and lots of questions to answer.

In giving tours, you get to meet a lot of people with various backgrounds in weather. Some people just became members that day and know little about the observatory, sometimes you’ll be greeted by a retired meteorologist with an impressive background, or sometimes you give a tour to a young man who refers to himself as a ‘connoisseur of anemometers’. Main point being, this facility has something that anybody of any background can find fascinating, whether that be in a scientific sense, or getting to feel intense winds from the very top of the observatory’s tower. Interested in getting a tour of the observatory? Become a member and schedule one by following the instructions here.

Christopher Gregg,  Summit Intern