Forecast - The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

Please, people, wear helmets when you’re windsurfing in nuclear force winds.

The snow level is down around 2,000 feet, and it was snowing in Parkdale last night ( I have no idea if there’s snow on the ground up there now) so that means powder on Mt. Hood. I say powder because yesterday was employee ski day at Meadows, and although the snow was sludge at 9:15am, by 11am it was falling as powder, and there were a few powder turns at the top of Mt. Hood Express.

If you’re headed to Timberline, here’s the report: it’s 19 degrees, with 10” of new snow and moderate wind. If you’d like to backcountry ski, NWAC has issued an avalanche forecast for today due to significant snow accumulation and windloading. So, the skiing’s going to be great, but be careful if you’re in the backcountry!

I’m trashed from windsurfing yesterday, but if you’re not exhausted from windsurfing or kiting in yesterday’s nuclear winds, you’ll get a chance for lighter conditions today. It’s blowing in the twenties in the desert now, but it’ll back off to 17-22 from The Dalles eastward today, with gusty conditions in the Corridor. Tomorrow starts of with light wind, and then afternoon westerlies build into the low to mid twenties from Stevenson down to Doug’s.

Speaking of yesterday, it was one of the windiest days I’ve ever sailed. Victor the Inflictor and were about ¼ mile upwind of the launch on our 3.2’s when the wind turned on. Neither of us thought we were going to be able to get back downwind… I could have been on a 2.5, or even something smaller! May we please have more days like that this summer, preferably when I’m in windsurfing shape, not skiing shape!

Anyway, moving on, The Dalles Wastewater plant hasn’t cleared Doug’s, Rowena and Lyle from the E. Coli warning list. However, river water samples tested negative for e. coli, meaning concentrations are in the undetectable level, so sail that section of river at your own risk.

In biking world, there’s not much that’s rideable after yesterday’s rain. If you’re desperate, you could try the Deschutes River trail or possibly Tower of Power, but that’s about it. I’m thinking Post and Pint will not happen on Thursday. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. The Pint and Pint is a poor substitute for bike riding, at least in my book!

If you’re a boater, the rivers are up. The Hood’s at 4.9ft, the White Salmon’s at 4.5, and the Little white’s at 831 cfs.

That’s it for today. Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!

Temira

It is one crazy day up on Mt. Hood this morning. Meadows is closed, which is probably just fine, because it’s stormy as all getup there this morning. Well, actually, it’s employee ski day, and us poor employees will be riding Blue in a blizzard! That blizzard thing… it’s happening at Timberline too. It rained until 4am on Mt. Hood, but it’s snowing and blowing there now: 32 degrees, 1/2 inch of new, and wind gusts to 70.

Those are the kind of wind speeds we like to see on the river, and it’s going to be w-i-n-d-y out there this afternoon. This is frontal wind, so it’ll be gusty, but the upper low crossing southern BC will keep winds going for hours. Head east to Arlington or Threemile for the steadiest, strongest wind in the 35-plus range. In the western Gorge, under the clouds, we’ll have gusty low twenties, maybe a lot more at Doug’s. It’s a day for the windsurfers, not fishing. Be careful out there!

We’ll see high pressure rebuild at the coast tomorrow. That combines with a trough crossing the Northwest for another round of west winds through the Gorge. At this point, low twenties seem reasonable tomorrow.

The mountain biking was all perfect yesterday, but now it’s raining, and it’s time to give the trails a rest. Post is definitely no go after the quarter inch of rain that fell last night.

Boaters, your rivers are about to come up, but for now, the Hood’s at 4ft, the white salmon’s at 3.9 feet, and the little white’s at 672.

Have a great day!

Temira