The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

I’m going to say it again: stop riding Syncline, and get your friends to stop riding Syncline until it dries out. It’s a muddy mess, criss-crossed with tire trenches from selfish bikers. If you must ride, and 99% of people would rather you didn’t, at least stay on the trails and off the grass to the side. You don’t want to ride in the mud? Then don’t go riding. Making the trail wider so you can avoid squishing and sliding along is not an acceptable way of riding. Respect the trails, and we’ll continue having access. Trash the trails, and you’ll ruin the riding for everyone.

Thank you.

If you’d like to ride, the roads are in good shape right now. I rode Eastside Loop yesterday, and there was very little gravel on the road. Riding felt so good to my legs, and my cobweb-covered bike was happy too.

If you like to play in the snow, I have good news. There’s plenty of snow headed toward Mt. Hood, good news for groomer-weary riders. If the forecasts hold, snow will start falling on Sunday, continuing through much of next week. You can thank me for this: I am headed to Maui on Monday, for three days, so we should have a foot of new every day I’m gone.

If you’d like to windsurf or kite, your best chance will be at the coast over the next few days. A series of disturbances will keep the southerlies blowing, often in the nuclear-force range.

Have a great day today!

Temira

Good morning!

If you have been riding Syncline, STOP IT. The trail is trashed, and your fat tires are making it worse. Be a responsible rider, and leave the trail alone until it dries out. Yes, I know you want to stay in biking shape (I’m just as much of a compulsive exerciser as you are, I promise), but your fitness is less important than the fitness of the trail. If you must ride, ride on a road, or go on a biking vacation somewhere else. Otherwise, go for a run. It’s not going to kill you to switch activities for a few weeks. Have a little respect for your trails, and they’ll respect you. Stop destroying our recreation resources.

Now, on to skiing.

NOAA’s overzealous mountain forecasts are making me crazy. They’re driving half of Portland nuts too, judging by comments on the MHM Facebook page. I’m giving up on NOAA.

Up on the mountain today, there’s about half an inch of new in the parking lot, but ski patrol is reporting 4-6” of new up top, so the skiing should be pretty good today. There’s not much additional precipitation coming down now, and honestly, I don’t expect that much until later today. Most likely, snow will start around noon or 1pm, as an upper level low slides across the gorge. This setup usually brings moderate to strong wind to the slopes as well. I think the best skiing today will actually be night skiing tonight. I’m thinking 6” of new this afternoon into this evening.

Snow levels rise tomorrow, for a not-so-great day. They’ll fall again on Friday, brining a few more inches of wet snow to the slopes.

If any of you can do anything about El Nino, that would be great. I’d like to see snow levels fall back to 2000 feet or so.

Finally, if you are desperate for windsurfing or kiting, watch the desert this afternoon…

Have a great day!

Temira