Vibe-Winter-2425 - Flipbook - Page 63
As the snow cat heads up the Mt. Washington
Auto Road, the treads kick up snow, obscuring visibility as
the wind piles snow drifts in its path. A single trip can take
hours, and the arrival must be timed exactly right.
to continue to get up to the summit,”
Knapp recalls.
In extreme weather, as well as
everyday conditions, Observatory staff
rely on a team of snow cat operators
to get them to and from the summit
safely. The snow cat (often referred to as
a Sno-Cat after its trademarked variety)
offers a way to reach the summit in potentially deadly winter
conditions, but the job requires a level
of skill and judgment far beyond that of
the typical weather enthusiast. Without
these specialized operators, the more
than century-old tradition of weather
observing from the summit—and the
forecasts it produces for all in the Mt.
Washington Valley—would quickly
evaporate.
WiseguyCreative.com photo
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