The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

The rain and gloomy weather over the last several days just wasn’t conducive to me writing a forecast!

Now that the white stuff has returned to the slopes, I’m ready to talk to you guys again. It is snowing at the Vista Superpipe at Meadows right now, around 6000 feet or so, and it’s a mix of snow and rain at the base. Looking at the radar picture, I see the cold side of this wet front hitting the mountain before 10am. At that point, temps will drop and snow will fall.

NOAA says 3-7” today. I think we’ll see closer to 7” than 3”. I think we’ll see another 6-8” tomorrow, with colder temperatures and better snow. If I had to pick, I’d pick tomorrow, but I think this afternoon will be good as well. The snow level will be high enough for accumulation at Timberline, but poor Skibowl is going to get walloped with rain, yet again.

I need all of you to do a snow dance for Skibowl, please. I miss skiing West Wall!

I do see one small issue tomorrow. The upper level low associated with this storm is forecast to pass just north of Mt. Hood tomorrow, midmorning. That puts us (skiers) on the southerly, high wind, side of the low. At this point, I’m not saying nuclear force winds, but I think it’s going to be strong enough to shut down higher-elevation lifts and slow down the high speed quads. I also think it’s going to be windy enough for an extra layer of clothes and for windblown snow to fill in our tracks.

The track of that low pressure system will also be conducive to desert winds, if you’re hankering for a windsurfing session. Arlington is your call tomorrow, late in the day. Upper twenties to low thirties seem likely.

That’s about it for now. Have a great day today!

Good morning everyone!

It’s my birthday today!

Mother Nature didn’t exactly give me what I wanted for my birthday. I was hoping for 12-18″ of powder and blue skies on the mountain. Instead, she dished up a round of pea-soup fog and freezing fog, with rain or freezing rain on the way. According to my friends on the hill, the skiing is good on the groom, but it’s just not what I hoped for. Mama Nature is still serving easterlies at Stevenson and Rooster, and the .24 early-morning gradient should be enough for some fun river riding today. I’m not sure I want to windsurf for my birthday. Instead, maybe I’ll just enjoy all the “happy birthday” texts, emails and phone calls… (yes, that’s a hint!)

The sailing was quite good yesterday. Stevenson was 38-55 or so, but NOAA reported gusts to 100 at Crown Point. I’m thinking gusts to 100 is probably too windy, even for me. Maybe not too windy for Mike Kitts… I was on a 2.9 at Stevenson yesterday, and it was plenty. Laura was on a 2.8ish, and the guys were on 3.2’s. Pretty fun… I wonder if anyone sailed at Rooster?

If you are hoping to windsurf, today is your last chance for a while. High pressure in the desert breaks down overnight in the face of an approaching system, bringing Gorge gradients down to zero.

There’s not much positive to report in the mountains. It’s been so warm that Skibowl has closed for several days to preserve their base. I wonder if that means no nachos? It’s going to be a big bummer if they aren’t open Tuesday, as it’s the first Tele Tuesday of the year. Coverage is actually quite good at Meadows (not sure about T-line), where we’ve had nice, wet, base-building storms all season. A 60″ base isn’t a 200″ base, but it’s totally acceptable in an El Nino year.

Sadly, the forecast is looking downright dismal for the next few days, with the snow level fluctuating between 6,000 and 9,000 feet until Tuesday. Mix in .75″ of water today, another .25″ tomorrow, and a trace Sunday, and you’re looking at a cold, wet weekend on the hill. Please, somebody, make it snow!

If you are coming to MHM this weekend, there’s the Burton Super Demo Tour (free snowboard demos and swag giveaways), along with telemark clinics on Sunday (I’m only promoting those clinics because I took them last year, and they are awesome. Well, also, my friend Glenn is teaching them, and he rocks!).

That’s about it for now. Happy birthday to me!

Temira