Life at the Top: Weather, Wisdom & High Cuisine from the Mount Washington Observatory - Softcover

Who would have guessed that the world's windiest, chilliest weather occurs not in the Himalayas but in New England? Indeed, New Hampshire's Mount Washington is known as "Home of the World's Worst Weather." We know the title is justified, because Mount Washington is also the home of a meteorological observatory, so we have the records to prove just how bad the weather is atop the "Rockpile." A handful of hardy souls live at the Observatory year-round. Do they have to be just a bit unusual to seek out such a career? Perhaps. But the Observatory crew find much more to enjoy in their icy home - even when it means dealing with hundred-mile-per-hour winds, wandering moose, and odd questions from visitors (Can you see New Hampshire from here?). Of course, they are also treated to spectacular sunsets, spine-tingling thunderstorms, and breathtaking toboggan runs. In this book, Eric Pinder's popular Life at the Top is revised and expanded for the 21st century. Pinder describes with wry humor the joys and terrors of living in theclouds and explains Mount Washington's geology and weather. The last part of the book is a one-of-a-kind cookbook made up of recipes contributed by theObservatory staff - favorite dishes from people who take their meals seriously (especially in winter, when the food becomes spicier as the temperature grows colder).

A graduate of Hampshire College where he studied both science and writing, Eric Pinder spent seven years as a weather observer on Mount Washington, and for two years was the editor of the Mount Washington Observatory's quarterly magazine, Windswept. He writes with authority on the unique geology and meteorology of the mountain and with great fondness and humor about the antics and misadventures of the crew - both human and feline. Yes, cats have shared the summit with the observatory crew since 1932. Pinder concisely and engagingly describes the world's worst weather and its causes expanding with sidebars and excerpts from the Observatory logs. A born teacher, he explains the formation of the mountain and the face that in the Granite State, Mount Washington is neither granite nor volcanic. The text is illustrated with stunning photos from the Observatory archives, and the dessert of the whole book is the selection of genuine Mount Washington recipes from the Observatory kitchen.