The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning Gorge sports fanatics! Patience was a virtue yesterday for everyone who caught the big swell and sub 3.7 wind at Arlington, Threemile and The Wall. Days like that don’t come often, and it was great to see the after-work crowd out too!

Windspeeds over the next few days don’t look like much compared to what we saw over the last few days. High pressure builds to our west and to our east, dropping gradients through the Gorge. We’ll have some residual wind today before high pressure blankets the Norhtwest. Winds hold in the 22-25 range this morning in the corridor, fading around midday..

By tomorrow, upper flow turns northerly, a bad thing for gorge westerlies. If you still haven’t had enough wind, don’t despair. The coast fires up over the next few days. Strongest winds will be at Pistol River in the 30-plus range. If you can’t make the long drive, the central coast sees 20-25 the next few days. Unfortunately, the swell is microscopic, at two feet, but flat ocean with wind is better than a glassy river with no wind, unless you have a ski boat!

It’s going to get hot this week, so start thinking of high-elevation mountain bike rides. Falls Creek is in excellent shape, as is Ape Canyon/Smith Creek loop. Road biking will be awsesome this week too. Think about riding up near Trout Lake or doing the climb to Lost Lake.

Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!

Hey windsurfers and kiters, are you tired yet? I hope not, because today’s a repeat of yesterday. That upper low crossed the state yesterday evening, leaving western Oregon buried in clouds. With clouds east of Hood River, best winds are out east again today.

Early morning gradients were at .12/. an09d .28, and early morning winds were already in the upper twenties at maryhill and Arlington, meaning you better clear your schedule and pull your 3.0 sail or 5.0 kite out of the bottom of the pile. If you missed yesterday, here’s your chance for the same wind with less people. Gotta like it.

Reports from Arlington late in the day yesterday were “EPIC” and Doug’s was off-the-charts windy. I know not everyone likes those crazy conditions, but I do, so I’m super stoked for today.

Westerlies build and build and build again today. Sail when you like, but my picks are Maryhill, Arlingtonor Threemile, where the afternoon session will be in the 35-40 range. I’d say the super-nuker session will be mid-afternoon today, before the clouds really start burning back. I recommend patience today… I didn’t have the patience yesterday and missed the all-time Arlington. Today, I’m going to nail it. You should too. There is a very slight chance that the clouds will burn back early enough to power the corridor as well. Keep an eye on the sky.

The west winds back off tomorrow as high pressure builds over the coast and the northwest. We’ll see afternoon thermals in the 17-21 range, a nice change if you were blown off the water recently! If you want more wind, head to the coast, but remember, the waves are quite small at 4 feet.

In other news, don’t forget about free tai chi at Wilson Park in Hood River tonight. 6pm, and it’s free.

Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!