I love winter photography on Mount Washington (Photo: Jerry Monkman)

I led my fifth annual winter photo “edutrip” up Mount Washington this weekend for the Mount Washington Observatory. I always look forward to this workshop, because it is such a fun way to experience the World’s Worst Weather in a safe way. Even though it is spring on the calendar it was definitely full winter conditions up high. The summit received a couple of inches of new snow on Friday when we arrived and temps remained in the single digits and teens with winds in the 30 – 50 mph range.

Rime ice at sunrise on the summit of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington. The Northern Presidential Range is in the distance. (Jerry Monkman)

The forecast was uncertain as we made our trip up. We knew it was supposed to clear up at some point on Saturday, but it’s always tough to predict the exact timing of things on the summit, and we weren’t expecting much light on Saturday morning, but as you can see by these photos, we were happily surprised.

Radio towers covered in rime ice on the summit of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington. (Jerry Monkman)

A trip to the summit always involves a lot of time inside as the wind howls outside. I give some lectures and we head out mainly to experience winter in all its glory, but the photo opportunities are usually few and far between as visibility is often less than 100 yards. This trip was no exception until Saturday’s sunrise, and then it was a crazy 45 minutes of trying to capture the beauty of the high country at sunrise.

Mount Adams (left) and Mount Madison at dawn as seen from the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. (Jerry Monkman)

This trip was another example of how outdoor photographers often spend hours and days waiting for just the right moment, which can often last a few minutes at most. This is true whether you are on the summit of Mount Washington in winter or the Maine coast in summer.

Mount Jefferson at dawn as seen from the summit of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington. (Jerry Monkman)

The White Mountains at dawn as seen from the summit of Mount Washington. (Jerry Monkman)

To get a sense of how the wind was moving and how fast things were changing, here’s a little video clip of the clouds moving over Mount Monroe:

Clouds over Mount Monroe Video

Clouds moving over the White Mountains as seen from the summit of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington. (Jerry Monkman)

Have a great week!

-Jerry