Mount Washington

Mount Washington Observatory's Beloved Mascot Dies After 12 Years on Duty

The observatory had recently shared the news that Marty the cat would retire from the mountain early in 2021

Marty the Mount Washington Observatory Cat
Mount Washington Observatory

A cat who patrolled the highest peak in the northeast U.S. for a dozen years as its weather observatory's mascot has died.

Marty, a black Maine coon cat, succumbed to "an unforeseen illness," Mount Washington Summit Operations Manager Rebecca Scholand said in a news release Monday. 

"As a past observer who lived on the summit for four years, I can tell you Marty was a special companion, entertainer and so incredibly loved by observers and state park staff and will be sadly missed," she wrote. 

The staff at New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Observatory have had a cat at the 6,288-foot summit, called the "home of the world's worst weather," since 1932. The observatory had recently shared the news that Marty would retire from the mountain early in 2021. 

Whoa, it was wicked windy on Wednesday atop New Hampshire's Mount Washington — up to 133 mph, to be exact. The Mount Washington Observatory sent out an intern to demonstrate just how intense it was on the windiest day of winter so far.

"The summit feline tradition will continue," the news release said.

Marty, a shelter cat, won 53% of the Mount Washington Mascot Primary in January 2008, the same time that Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain won their respective races in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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