Tuesday we spent the day fulfilling one of Isaiah's dreams. He has been wanting to go to the top of Mount Washington for a long time. They have weather observation station at the summit that is continuously manned. They claim to have the "Worlds Worst Weather". This is also the location of the highest wind ever recorded by man.
Originally we had planned to ride the Cog Railway up Mt. Washington and Michael and Michaela were going to drive up the auto road. We had also planned to tour the weather observation station. Our plans had to change though because the train schedule didn't match up to the available times for the observation station tour. So we had to make a decision, ride the train or take the tour. We decided to drive the road and take the tour. At least that way we could spend as long as we wanted at the summit. Isaiah was a little disappointed that we didn't get to ride the train but he had a wonderful day anyway.
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Another view of the mountains on the way to Mount Washington
The Mt. Washington auto road is about 8 miles long and takes about 20 minutes to drive. During that 20 minutes, you transition through several different ecological zones. At the base is a forest of northern hardwoods and then a little higher it is mostly spruce and fir. As you gain more elevation, you enter the sub-alpine zone and then you cross the tree line into the alpine zone (the point at which no more trees can grow) at about 4,400 feet. That is still almost 2,000 feet below the summit. It was 53 degrees at the base of the mountain when we started up the road. The temperature dropped rapidly during the drive and by the time we got to the summit, it looked and felt like we were in a blizzard.
The pictures below show some of the different zones we passed through.
In this picture, we are about half a mile from the summit. There was heavy fog for the last couple miles of the road, but it wasn't just a normal fog. It was freezing fog. We started noticing that it was freezing on the plants and rocks on either side of the road. Visibility was very low and at times Michael had a hard time seeing the road in front of him. He was very relieved to finally reach the parking lot at the summit.
The wind got steadily stronger as we approached the summit. When we got out of the car, it was difficult to stand up and walk. The wind was sustained around 60 miles per hour and gusting around 76 miles per hour which is hurricane strength. It was 29 degrees but the wind chill made it feel like 8 degrees. It was so cold that any exposed skin actually hurt.
Two interns took us on the tour of the observation station. It was short but informative and Isaiah seemed to enjoy it. We got to go outside to one of the areas where they do some of their measurements. We couldn't go up to the very top because conditions were not safe. The interns told us that it was pretty rare to have those kind of conditions on a June day. Weather is always strange here but yesterday was a little out of the ordinary.
The freezing fog was creating Rime Ice, an ice that forms when the super cooled water in the fog hits something and freezes into feather like shapes. The ice actually forms into the wind, not away from it as you might expect. It was very interesting. Even the interns and volunteers were excited about seeing it.
Isaiah had fun leaning into the wind. It was so strong that it would hold him up.
On the drive back down the mountain, the fog had lifted some and we were able to get some good pictures of the view. Unfortunately the pictures just can't express what an amazing place this it!
This pictures shows ski slopes in the distance. I would say these runs are probably pretty difficult. These mountains are much steeper than what we are used to in North Carolina.
The sun was setting over the mountains as we drove back to the RV. It was so beautiful!
One last treat for the day. We saw another moose! It was crossing the road. They don't run like deer do. They just walk casually across the road and step over the guardrail.
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