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

Eric Pinder first learned to love weather and mountains in his hometown of Cobleskill in upstate New York where as a child he watched the stars and lunar eclipses with a toy telescope. His first experience of mountains was climbing Mount Katahdin in Maine with his father. On their first try they were turned back by fog, wind, and rain--nothing to what he would later experience on Mount Washington, but the strongest wind he’d experienced in his six years! In the tumultuous ‘80s Pinder chose not to pursue the establishment path for college and went to Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts where he was able to explore subjects like geology, history of science and creative writing. Here he first discovered nature writers like John McPhee and Annie Dillard. Dillard made him think, he says, and John McPhee made him learn. Other influences were Loren Eiseley and Carl Sagan who both make science interesting and understandable to a general audience. Through these writers he found a way to combine his lifelong interests in science and writing with the outdoors. After graduating Pinder began his writing career with fiction and essays. His first published article was a travel guide to Maine's Baxter State Park, published in Northeast Outdoors. In the spring 1995 he started work at the Mount Washington Observatory and the next year moved to northern New Hampshire to be closer to his work. As a weather observer Pinder most often took the morning shift, waking at 4:30 to prepare the radio forecasts. Before the day’s bustle began the mountain felt like it was his. He particularly enjoyed days with undercast when the summit rose like an island out of a sea of clouds. He wrote three books during his time at the Observatory, and for two years edited Windswept, the Mount Washington Observatory’s membership magazine. He also led "Understanding Mountain Weather" guided hikes to the Observatory and Lakes of the Clouds Hut for the Appalachian Mountain Club. Pinder left the Observatory in 2002 to pursue his writing more fully. Around this time he became interested in children’s literature. His book Cat in the Clouds, based on the adventures of the Observatory’s cat Nin, comes out in May 2009 from the History Press. Pinder continues to live in Berlin, New Hampshire and teaches Nature Writing and Writing for Children at Chester College of New England in Chester, New Hampshire. When not teaching and writing he enjoys riding his bike up mountains. He is also pursuing an MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts, focusing on writing for children and young adults. Eric Pinder is an experienced and engaging teacher who has made frequent author presentations and is always eager to participate in author events. His previous books are a first edition of Life at the Top (Down East Books, 1997), Tying Down the Wind: Adventures in the Worst Weather on Earth (Tarcher/Putnam, 2000), North to Katahdin (Milkwood Editions, 2005), and Among the Clouds: Work, Wit and Weather at the Mount Washington Observatory (Alpine Books, 2008).