mountain biking - The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning Gorge sports fanatics!

If you’ve ever been frustrated by NOAA’s lack of weather
reporting in the Gorge, this is your chance to make a difference.
NOAA’s weather spotter training is tonight at 7pm at the Parkdale Fire
station. The training is free, and gives you the right to call NOAA
and report the weather to them. It’s fun and interesting, so go check
it out!

Speaking of weather, snow starts falling on Mt. Hood tomorrow. If you
want fresh tracks, your only chance for lift-serve skiing this week
is Timberline. They have a spring pass for $99 that’s valid through May
31st. Meadows will be open on Saturday and Sunday.

If you’re a mountain biker, take the time to swing by Timberline’s
website and give them some feedback about the lift serve mountain bike
trail system they are planning. They’re actively seeking input from
people who know what’s up: you, the riders! Also, tonight is Mountain
View’s alternative ride… Meet at the shop at 6:30 for a mellow ride to
Mosier and back.

Windsurfers and kiters, an unexpected east gradient this morning has things looking pretty good at Stevenson, where people are out on 6m kites. With the upper low rotating off the coast, we’ll see the wind hold until mid afternoon, when gradients decrease and eventually switch to neutral or light westerly. Call it a bonus day on the water that I didn’t see, because I had to do the report last night… I have to catch up on rest sometime. At this point, tomorrow looks like a light westerly day.

And sailboat racers, spring race series at the Hood River
Yacht Club starts Wednesday!

Boaters, the Hood’s at 4.1 feet, the White Salmon’s at 4.1 feet, and
the Little White’s at 674 cfs.

Gosh… that was a lot of information packed into one little report.

Have a great day today!

Temira

Good morning!

Up at the mountain today, it’s going to be a nice day of spring skiing both in the resorts and in the backcountry, although the high clouds may make the light a little flat. If you didn’t check the skihood website yesterday, you missed a crazy day up there. A rare downslope windstorm shut everything, including the ballroom carpet, down for most of the day.

I know I’m a weather dork, but it was very cool, and I wish I’d been up there to see it. 60-80 mph wind coming straight down the mountain, 8% humidity, trees falling, lifts swinging… sounds like my kind of fun. And rare… a sight to see….

Speaking of wind, that was a great three-day stretch on the water, and now you get a chance to rest. Well, it’s not like most of you are sailing yet anyway… there were about 8 of us at the Hatchery yesterday for a beautiful 3.5 day. Where are you people?

Low teen westerlies this morning will pick up a bit out of the west this afternoon as a front approaches. We’ll see gusty 17-20 from Stevenson down to Hood River late in the day, hopefully before dark. After the front passes tomorrow, we’ll see gusty 17-20 from Hood river east. Sunday looks light.

The lack of strong wind isn’t bad, because today through Sunday is the Cherry Blossom Classic cycling race out in The Dalles. This year they have both pros and ams, so go support the race by spectating and buying t-shirts and cheering. Check out their website for volunteer opportunities and race information!

Coming up this weekend on Saturday there’s the annual Post Canyon trail cleanup, where you might find lots of ketchup bottles like Mayor Babitz did last year, and there’s also the Arbor Day celebration at Hood River’s Waterfront Park. On Saturday and Sunday, Maupin hosts the Deschutes River Valley Time Trial Stage Race, the only one of its kind in the country.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira