The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

The forecast has been on powder vacation the last couple of days, with the call of the mountain stronger than the call of the forecast. Can you really blame me? =)

First off, as of right now, it is snowing at Meadows, despite the dire forecast of 6000 foot snow levels. It’s rain mixed with snow at the bottom of the HRM access road, but that’s irrelevant if you’re skiing higher on the mountain. I can’t tell you how glad I am that it’s not raining up there. I was dreading saying rain, but more importantly, I was dreading rain falling on all our nice new snow. I’m guessing it’s raining at Skibowl (but the nachos are still great) and snowing at T-line.

Snow levels are supposed to drop to 4000 feet today, and temperatures have been falling since 2am. So, it’s looking like we’re going to sneak by with snow for this system. It looks like we’ll see 6-12″ by tomorrow morning, so tomorrow should be an excellent day of skiing. Sunday looks sunny, so whatever your preference, you’ll have a good day on the hill this weekend.

In mountain biking land, everything is a sloppy mess. On top of that, we’ve been asked to not ride at Columbia Hills State Park. I know many of you are saying, “Where?” at this point… It was open to the CAMBA public (in a stealthy, quiet way), but now it is closed until further notice. Please do not ride there until it’s officially open, or we’ll lose this new year-round trail before it’s even open. Arthur thanks you.

There’s not really any wind for the next couple of days, but glassy conditions on the coast should make for great surfing.

Finally, attached is a photo of my friend and fellow snowphone reporter David’s missing snowboard. This is a custom board, and has his photo on the bottom. If you see the board, please take it away from the person who has it and call the police. Or call the police and then take it away. Either way, get the board back. It has sentimental value, and David is offering a reward.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

Good morning!

There’s finally something nice to talk about in the forecast, so I’m writing one. Don’t get me wrong, sunshine in the middle of winter is nice, but it’s not snow, it’s not wind, and the below freezing night temperatures wreaked havoc with our mountain biking trails. I’m ready for normality to return.

The jet stream plays a battle with the El Nino high pressure ridge today, and it looks like the jet stream will win out. We’re expecting .5″ water at the mountain overnight, giving us 4-6″ of new snow on the slopes tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, off-piste areas are coated in melt-freeze ice, so the snow isn’t going to stick very well (thanks, Tighe), but we will see new snow on the ground.

Another .25″ by Wednesday, another .25″ on Thursday, and about 1″ by Friday morning will have the slopes in great shape by next weekend. Snow levels look to stay below 5000 feet this week, meaning you won’t be hearing the dreaded R-word on the snowphone or seeing it on the T-line or Meadows websites. No guarantees for Skibowl… but they do still have the best nachos on the planet.

If you’d like to go mountain biking today and would like to respect the trails, go early while they are still frozen. I had a report that PC was rideable yesterday, and went for a lap. I am not recommending it, unless you just want to play in Family Man, where the trail is in great shape. Lower areas are covered in melt-freeze mud slime, and your tires will do a lot of damage if you ride now. Please leave the mud where it belongs: in the forest and not on your bike.

I don’t have a current report for Syncline, but I know that Maui does not handle melt-freeze well. I also don’t know how Hospital Hill is riding after the melt-freeze cycles. It was great 4 days ago, but now… give Mitchell a call at Dirty Fingers, and I am sure he can let you know. =)

Road bikers, the Twin Tunnels trail is slick, but the road to Rowena Crest is almost completely clear of gravel. If you’d like to ride today, that’s my recommendation.

If you’re not in the mood for skiing tomorrow or would like to try for a daily double, there’s a chance of some marginally sailable west winds in the desert from about 10am on. This is frontally driven wind, so it’s only going to last for a couple of hours. I think 21-24 is a reasonable call, but the southerly cant will favor only Avery and Arlington. I am not recommending making the drive unless you are striving for the DD.

That’s about it for now. See you on the mountain for the new snow tomorrow. Have a great day today!

Temira