The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning everyone!

The best news today is for mountain bikers: Lewis River is open. There are three trees down on the trail, but that’s it. Falls Creek is partially rideable, but the upper part is snow-covered. So, break out your thighs and buns of steel and ride up Falls Creek as far as you can.

Windsurfers and kiters get good news too, as west winds will blow today. We started off with the Portland to The Dalles gradient at .09 and the eastern Gorge gradient at .07. Strongest wind will be Mosier eastward, with 17-21 this morning and 24-27 by mid-afternoon as high pressure moves in at the coast. In the Corridor, under the clouds, we’ll see gusty 14-18.

Get it today, because tomorrow looks light, with west winds in the 10-15 range at best. Strongest wind will be tomorrow morning, fading towards afternoon as high pressure builds across the Northwest.

Boaters, the Hood’s at 4.2 feet, the Little White’s at 3.0 feet, and the White Salmon’s at approximately 4.1 feet. If you’re interested in the Wind River, it’s around 5.1 feet according to Wet Planet, and they are running a trip today.

Finally, there’s a ton going on this weekend. Today there’s a trail work party at Beacon Rock, a beach cleanup at Doug’s, and tonight is 2nd Wind’s season opener party at the Horse and Hound in Hood River. Tomorrow is a swap meet at Windance, a race on the Twin Tunnels to benefit the Mosier School, the Columbia Gorge Off Road Association’s trail work party, and the Big Winds Beach Bash.

For more details on any of those events, check out the events calendar on the home page. And whatever you do today, have an awesome day!

Temira

Good morning!

Mother Nature is still trying to convince us that it’s winter. Timberline had 4 inches of snow yesterday, and they’re supposed to get a few more inches of new snow today. It’s not exactly powder skiing, but it is fresh tracks in late may, and that’s pretty spectacular.

Although there’s new snow, the chance for the classic Gorge double of skiing and winsurfing is pretty low today. The wind was very light on the river this morning, and low pressure off the coast will keep the wind light for much of today. Best chance for anything at all is westerlies in the Corridor in the 10-15 range late in the day.

A weather system moves through tonight and weak high pressure builds in from the coast behind it, for stronger westerlies on Saturday. It’s not a great setup, but I think we’ll see 23-27 for much of the day on Saturday from about Mosier eastward, and maybe in the Corridor if we get lucky. Westerlies continue on Sunday, with low to mid twenties through the entire gorge.

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, there’s plenty going on. On Saturday, There’s a beach cleaup at Doug’s on Saturday, a trail work party at beacon rock, and the 2nd wind season opener party at the horse and hound. On Sunday, there’s the Windance swap meet, the big winds beach bash, and Columbia Gorge Offroad Association’s work party at Kingsley.

Have a great day today!

p.s. I have a report that Lewis River is open and clear of trees!