• Bad weather delays rappelling down Washington Monument

    By Rich Shulman

    I'm not usually a big fan of silhouette photos, but the moody sky really makes this one. I'm sure a lot of professional photographers and tourists will be training their cameras on this event tomorrow.  Full story.

    Previous PhotoBlog posts.

    Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

    A television cameraman winds up a cable after waiting all day for a crew to rappel from the top of the Washington Monument to conduct inspections to the structure Sept. 27, 2011. After day-long preparations, it was decided to wait for tomorrow to begin the rappelling. The monument was damaged by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the nation's capital in August.

    Engineers scheduled to begin rappelling down the Washington Monument Tuesday may have to wait because of a threat of thunderstorms. NBC's Tom Costello has more.

    Katie Francis is one of four specially trained engineers that will sue ropes to rappel down the Washington Monument looking for earthquake damage. She tells NBC what they'll be looking for.

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  • Engineers rappel down the Washington Monument

    Paul J. Richards/AFP - Getty Images

    A survey inspector climbs atop the 555-foot Washington Monument and secures safety lines on Tuesday Sept. 27. Several inspectors will rappel down the monument to inspect each stone, looking for damage caused by a Aug. 23, 5.8-magnitude earthquake which caused several stones to crack.

    By Natalia Jimenez, NBC News

    Wow. I really hope this guy is not scared of heights. Working at 555 feet in the air, I assume being comfortable with heights is a prerequisite for this job.

    For more information: Rappelling scrutiny of Washington Monument begins

    Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images

    A survey inspector secures safety lines onto the Washington Monument on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

    Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images

    A survey inspector climbs atop the Washington Monument and secures safety lines on Sept. 27.

    The monument is closed until repairs are complete. Click here for an earlier post on this status.

    Incredible new images were released Monday showing what it was like inside the Washington Monument as an earthquake hit in late August. The monument has not re-opened since. NBC's Tom Costello reports.