In 1870-1892 the United States Signal Service, a precursor to the National Weather Service, established an observatory on the summit of Mt. Washington, which documented extreme winter weather and helped improve forecasting. The observatory laid dormant from 1892 until 1932, when it was reestablished. On April 24, 1934 the observatory recorded the highest wind speed on earth at 231 MPH.

During winter publication, the Portland Evening Express ran a section called Along the Snow Trail, which featured ski news and advertisements from around the region. This photo ran in the Evening Express on Tuesday, December 15, 1936.

Gannett Publishing Co. was well known for their broad and extensive use of photography in their publications; they were especially active in aerial photography and owned several company planes for this purpose. The Gannett family were also well known aviation enthusiasts, and air travel was often the preferred method of travel for Guy and his father William.