Arctic Wednesdays 2026: Week 5 Post-Trip Blog

 

                           Ryan Knapp and Kristine Kenison (March 4, 2026)

Arctic Wednesday was a Blast

Yuri the Magnificent Captain, our 400 PistenBully operator, was the first person that I met upon arriving at the MWOBS’s base camp. He was fleet afoot - preparing said rig, turning his attention to brushing snow off of the cars of the returnees from the summit, and offering friendly greetings to the gatherers. The arrival of all parties quickened, and soon, post introductions, we piled into the comfy quarters of this amazing machine. Shift changes are a natural weekly rhythm experienced by those involved in the operations of the MWOBS. 

The ride to the summit was exhilarating and as expected the conditions offered some minor challenges that were adeptly addressed by our Captain and his co-pilot, Michael Carmon. Conversations abounded for most of the journey and then an inevitable lull descended upon the group as we were transformed into a sleep-like state due to a lack of visibility, consistent rocking movements, and the lengthy nature of the ascent. Once we arrived at the summit, everyone understood their missions and the Arctic Wednesday teachers were treated to a tour of the facility by two energetic and way cool interns, Anna and Ryan. We then bundled up and headed up the hatches to step out onto the tower’s observation deck. Winds were gusting in the 80-90 mph range and reality set in as we got a little feel for what these weather observers can experience. Alex Branton and Bailey Nordin, MWOBS Education Specialists and Weather Observers showered us with a lot of attention and before we knew it, the lunch bell was sounding. We got to scope out some of the living quarters and settled into the kitchen area for some tasty vittles - thanks to those incredible volunteers who committed to whipping up some fine food for the residents of the summit this past week. 

Nimbus, the Summit Cat was unfazed by our presence and seemingly accepted the multitude of  praise and strokes as were forthcoming. He’s a legend.

The livestream portion of the afternoon was upon us and both Alex and Bailey made it happen fairly flawlessly, despite a few unanticipated glitches. I was duly impressed with their level headedness and their expert problem solving skills and can only imagine that everyone up at the summit is well versed in the area of pivoting.

Just before it was time to depart, I had the opportunity to meet Ryan Knapp, Senior Staff Meteorologist, and I was thrilled. I have heard countless weather reports from the summit of Mount Washington delivered by this weather celebrity!  We had a nice chat and later on that evening I discovered that my brother-in-law had sent Ryan some canvas prints of Marty (the previous summit cat) about five years ago. 

It was a privilege to have participated in this program and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have done so. A heartfelt thank you to all of the people who help in making the MWOBS such an invaluable organization!

Endlessly grateful,

Kristine Kenison