The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

This week’s report is brought to you by 2nd Wind Sports at 210 Oak Street in Hood River. Right now the shop’s in nether-nether land between wind season and ski season, meaning you can’t consign your wind gear until next summer, but you can score some great deals on this season’s gear. And since it’s fall and the snow is already flying in the mountains, 2nd Wind has some killer deals on last year’s skis. The new skis and boards will be coming in very, very soon. At this rate, we’ll be skiing next week (okay, maybe not…), so start thinking skiing and snowboarding!

The upper level low that drove the weather for the last few days has moved east of the Cascades today, setting up westerly gradients across the Gorge. The 5am gradient was at .08 from Portland to The Dalles, with another .04 out east. It looks like weak high pressure will be building in from the coast today, so that should help gradients build later. Morning westerlies will be in the 12-17 range, building in the afternoon. We’ll see gusty 19-23 from Stevenson to Mosier, with 25-29 from Lyle out to Arlington.

Weak high pressure bridges the Cascades tomorrow, setting up a light start. With a little thermal help in the afternoon, westerlies should pick up into the 14-18 range from Stevenson to Mosier.

Out on the mountain biking trails, Mitchell of Dirty Fingers has issued a tack alert for the greater Hood River area. If you like to ride on the dirt, it’s nearly perfect right now, so get on your bike, get to Post Canyon, and get your tack on! And don’t forget that tonight is the post and pint… just two left! I don’t have information about the upper elevation trails, but I can only assume they are near-perfect as well.

Boaters, the White Salmon is still at 1 ¾ feet and the Tieton is now at 1800 cfs. Sounds like there might be a crew from the Gorge headed up there this weekend, and if you’re not a kayaker, Wet Planet is running trips up there for just $80!

Have a great day today!

Temira

p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just want to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the button at the bottom of the page. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til May 2011, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors.

Good morning!

We’re stuck in a fall-like pattern the next couple of days with cloudy skies, a chance of rain, and gusty west wind. As an upper level low makes its way east of the Cascades over the next couple of days, the westerlies will pick up.

Today looks very gusty, with 15-19 from Hood River out to The Dalles, and possibly as far east as Rufus. Winds pick up a little in the afternoon as the desert warms up a little, building into the gusty 19-24 range.

The upper level low moves east of the Cascades tomorrow, and high pressure slowly fills in behind. It’s still going to be pretty cloudy in the western Gorge, so we’ll see gusty 13-18 all day there. Doug’s, Maryhill, and Arlington see 23-26 in the afternoon.

Boaters, tonight’s the Kayak Shed’s shop paddle, and my friend Devin’s running the Midlde for the first time. Come on out and support him. The White Salmon’s still at 1 ¾ feet, and the Tieton, if you want to road trip, is at 1820 cfs and rising daily.

Finally, the snow level’s right around 7000 feet right now, I can see a ton of new snow on Adams, and Timberline and Skibowl announced the Fusion Pass pricing yesterday. It’s $449 this year, the same as a Meadows pass. You have until November 7th to purchase a ski pass somewhere at the discounted rates for this epic La Nina season! It wouldn’t surprise me if you could ski powder today!

Have a great day today!

Temira

p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just want to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the button at the bottom of the page. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til May 2011, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors.