kiting - The Gorge is my Gym

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Now that the kids are back in school, the nights are cooling off, and the tourists are starting to leave the Gorge, it’s time to think skiing and snowboarding. Meadows passes are now on sale for the you-don’t-need-three-friends price of $499. Included in that price is the new Stadium Express lift (use your imagination and giggle when you realize the only possible abbreviation for that lift), eliminating the need for you to use the cattle crossing to Star (snowboarders, cheer loudly). The new lift gets you over to Star, HRM and Heather (it tops out at the same spot as Heather) without waiting in the MHX line. At this point, we’re looking at a weak La Nina or a neutral year, meaning average (450”) or better (max=830”) snowfall. I’ll do the statistical analysis and get back to you. Buy your season pass now!

Yesterday afternoon’s west wind was a pleasant surprise, and it got a few people out on the water near Hood River. Today looks like we’ll see light and variable wind all day long, so not much chance for windsurfing and kiting, unless we see that late afternoon bump into the 10-15 range that none of the models predicted yesterday and none of them predicted for today. Tomrorow we’ll see east wind in the 10-15 range in the morning, going to light and variable in the afternoon. Coimng up this weekend, we’ll see light and variable wind both days.

West wind returns on Monday and Tuesday, becoming strong on Wednesday, assuming the forecast holds, so cross your fingers that all the fires are out by then.

The Clymb: free membership.
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So I was all ready to tell you today that I’d hidden a Henni’s gift certificate on a bike ride between Mosier and The Dalles, and then, some crazy roadie (Mike Jones) went for a ride yesterday afternoon in 95 degree weather and found it. So much for that. I do have two more Henni’s bags to hide, so stay tuned for more free food.

Coming up Saturday in The Dalles, it’s the Aluminum Man triathlon. There are 12 divisions you can enter, including the two I like best: the Clydsdale division, for men over 198 pounds and my division, the Athena division for women over 150 pounds. You can sign up for the race at racecenter.com/aluminum man.

In whitewater news, our local go-to river, the White Salmon, is at 2.2 feet, a lot of water for this time of year, and they’ve started releasing on the Tieton, at 1830 cfs as of yesterday afternoon.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just want to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the link below. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til August 2012, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors. If you don’t PayPal, you can send a donation to PO Box 841 in Hood River, 97031.

Enter “Temira” as your referral code

We’re going to see the wind switching back and forth from east to west this week, but luckily for the 600 or so firefighters at Dollar Lake, we shouldn’t see very strong wind. Today looks like the best bet for windsurfing or kiting, with easterlies in the 10-15 range at Stevenson and Rooster Rock.

Models are disagreeing for tomorrow, with the overall setup suggesting light westerlies and graphical models suggesting light east wind. After tomorrow, it looks like the wind will stay light through the weekend, with temperatures in the low to mid nineties. Models tend to be inaccurate more than a few days out, but it looks like the earliest we’ll see a cooldown is Monday, and even then, with cool overnight temps in the desert, don’t expect a nukefest from the cooldown.

The Clymb: free membership.
Access to super cheap gear including Trew, Zeal, Sierra Designs, and many more.

With the light wind, the road riding is going to be awesome this week, and if you’d like to get away from the smoke, head to Klickitat County and ride the BZ-Glenwood-Trout Lake loop (clockwise, preferably). I recommend stopping at the Glenwood Store, where you can fuel your ride with a Rockstar Slurpee. Yes, I am totally serious about that, but I do suggest you cut it with water or you’ll find yourself hurling at some point.

Speaking of riding, registration is now open for the Hood River Harvest Ride on the 24th of this month. Also open for registration, and also taking place the 24th, is the Echelon Gran Fondo, a fundraising ride for OHSU’s cancer center several local charities, including Atheletes 4 Cancer.

If you need something to do tonight to cool down, there’s the sailboat race out of the Hood River Marina, there’s the Kayak Shed’s shop paddle on the White Salmon River, and if you want to get hot and sweaty, there’s the Post and Pinot mountain bike ride from Dirty Fingers, followed by cold, refreshing drinks at the shop. That would be Dirty Fingers, and those cold drinks, they’re free (unless you’d like to donate).

Have an awesome day today!

Temira