2000. 1st edition. 280 pp, b/2 photos. On April 12, 1934, the strongest wind ever known to blow across the face of the earth descended on Mount Washington, New Hampshire. The Big Wind, as it was called, hasn't appeared with quite the same force since, but, writes Eric Pinder, Mount Washington gets plenty of powerful, downright nasty weather all the same.
Pinder, a meteorological observer on the mountain, does many things in Tying Down the Wind. He offers a fine study of mountain meteorology, for mountains make their own weather; and he provides a fascinating natural history of that particular Appalachian spire, which sees millions of visitors each year. More than that, Pinder serves up wonderfully learned musings on some of the basic questions that children ask and adults are too often unprepared to answer.
Imagine yourself kept indoors by inclement weather with a companion who has a keenly developed sense of how the world works, and who is all too happy to tell you about it. That's the kind of experience reading Pinder's book offers, and it's a treat.
On the summit of New Hampshire's Mount Washington, 'Home of the World's Worst Weather,' snow can fall in the height of summer and hurricane-force winds blow more than 100 days each year. Not surprisingly, Pinder (Life at the Top: Tales, Truths, and Trusted Recipes from the Mount Washington Observatory), staff writer at the observatory, describes enough extreme weather, hardship, damage, and destruction to make both meteorology and disaster buffs salivate. New hardcover with dust jacket.
