Group of students at mountain hut

Mount Washington: Out of Our Comfort Zone and into the Clouds

Mount Washington Summit, “Home of the World’s Worst Weather”

This past week allowed many of us to step out of our comfort zone and test our limits in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Mount Washington is the highest peak in northeastern North America and known as the “Home of the World’s Worse Weather.” After riding in a van to the summit, we were given the opportunity to descend from the Alpine Garden to Lakes of the Clouds. Standing right on the ridge, we witnessed the “orographic effect” first hand. It occurs when cold air rises over the top of the ridge, forming a cloud. Then, as the air descends the other side of the ridge, the air warms and the cloud vaporizes. Although it was foggy, the experience was still exhilarating!

Environmental Science Semester students hiking at headwall of Huntington Ravine

We spent the night at the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) Lakes of the Clouds Hut. We continued our journey down Tuckerman’s Ravine bright and early the next morning. About half way down, we stopped for a “yellow notebook moment” where we applied what we previously learned to our observations.

yellow field notebook
Rite in the Rain yellow field notebook

Tuckerman’s Ravine is a glacial cirque. This means the glacier carved out the side of the mountain. Imagine a scoop carving out a giant mound of ice cream, slowly, over thousands of years. In this moment it was amazing to see that all of our hard work really paid off. Although it was a long, intense journey down, the views of the cirque and alpine environment were absolutely gorgeous. It was something many of us have never been given the chance to experience. So far, this opportunity has allowed us to explore the world from a much different perspective!

Group of students at mountain hut
Environmental Science Semester students and faculty at AMC Lakes of the Clouds Hut on Mount Washington, NH

As the first week comes to an end, we’re off to our next stop: Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve in Wells, Maine.

-Becca Regan

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