ski - The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

This week’s report is brought to you by Crossfit Hood River , where your gym workout becomes a party with friends! Come experience Coach Jeri’s workouts and workout and nutritional advice. Remember, she’s a coach, not a trainer, and is there to help you improve your fitness level and life. And hey, if you have kids, they can hang out in the kidzone while you’re working out. What other not-gym does that for you? Drop in for a free workout at the not-gym at 1816 Belmont to check it out. Class times are Mon-Fri at 6:30am, Mon-Sat at 9am, and Mon-Thur at 5:30pm. One of the people on the email list is going to win a free month membership this week!

It’s starting to feel like fall, and now it’s official, because Mt. Hood Meadows passes go on sale today. Everyone’s been asking me the big question… how much are passes? Well, they’re the same price as last year, $449 for adults, except you no longer need a group to get that price. You just go online and buy a pass all by yourself.

It’s going to be an epic ski year, so consider getting a pass somewhere this year! I really don’t care where you buy a pass (well, as a Meadows employee, I do, but as a wind forecaster and snow forecaster, I don’t). I do care that you get in lots of powder turns this winter. Please get a pass or plan on lots of epic backcountry skiing. And please plan on picking up my sorry ass at China Gorge as I hitchhike to Meadows in a downpour.

But technically, it’s still summer, even though it’s cool and cloudy this morning. As the front moves east, west winds will follow. We’ll see gusty 15-19 under the clouds in the western Gorge today, with 21-24 east of The Dalles in the afternoon.

Coming up tomorrow, high pressure builds inland and a heat low sets up along the coast. This gives us east winds in the 20-24 range at Stevenson and Rooster Rock. This is a decent setup for the north and central Oregon coast too, where winds will blow in the 20-25 knot range with a 5 foot swell. It looks like sailable easterlies will hold on Friday.

At this point, it looks like we’ll see a return to west winds on Saturday. I am not sure yet about Sunday.

If you’ve been out mountain biking and you have a trail report you could share, I’d really appreciate it. I’m going to try and get out today, but I’d love to hear what trails, if any, have received enough rain to tamp down the dust.

Boaters, the White Salmon is at 1.75 feet and the Klickitat is still closed from milepost zero to milepost ten. If you’d like to go boating tonight, remember that the Kayak Shed’s shop paddle is meeting at Husum at 5:30 this evening for a run down the middle or the lower White Salmon.

Have a great 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 button at the bottom of the page. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til May 2011, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors.

Good morning!

This week’s report is brought to you by Crossfit Hood River , where your gym workout becomes a party with friends! Come experience Coach Jeri’s workouts and workout and nutritional advice. Remember, she’s a coach, not a trainer, and is there to help you improve your fitness level and life. And hey, if you have kids, they can hang out in the kidzone while you’re working out. What other not-gym does that for you? Drop in for a free workout at the not-gym at 1816 Belmont to check it out. Class times are Mon-Fri at 6:30am, Mon-Sat at 9am, and Mon-Thur at 5:30pm. One of you is going to win a free month membership this week!

Autumn-like weather continues in the Gorge today as another frontal system makes its way across the Cascades. This isn’t a great setup for wind. At best, we’ll see gusty 15-19 in the western Gorge, shifting out east later. Okay, if we get really, really lucky, we’ll see gusty low twenties at Doug’s and Maryhill after this front passes

After the second front clears the Cascades tonight, high pressure builds in from the coast tomorrow. This is a better setup for wind; We should see upper teens to low twenties at the hatchery early, with mid-teens early at the Sandbar. Gusty westerlies should hold through the evening, with 21-23 from Hood River all the way out to Maryhill.

In the weather picture on Thursday, sunny weather and warmer temperatures with highs in the 80’s return. That’s not a great setup for wind – at best we’ll see light easterlies, but it is going to be excellent weather for road biking and wakeboarding and standup paddling.

Coming up this evening, there’s the Tuesday night tri practice at the east end of the event site at 6pm. Also at 6, at Husum, is the Rattlesnake Stampede, an all-classes kayak and raft race down the Lower White Salmon. The race is free to enter, but you must have a roll or self-rescue skills. Come watch the start, around 6:30, as a crowd of boaters paddles into Rattlesnake Rapid together.

And speaking of boating, the White Salmon’s still right around 1.8 feet and the Klickitat’s still closed pending evaluation of the riverbanks.

Finally, remember that ski passes at Mt. Hood Meadows go on sale Wednesday. I can’t tell you how much they’ll be, but I can tell you that you won’t be pissed. So, stop worrying about how much you’ll be paying to access the epic La Nina/Pacific Decadal Oscillation cold cycle POWDER this season, and get your credit card ready. Everyone in town is talking 1000 inches (I have no prediction, other than LOTS OF SNOW), so get a frickin’ pass this year!

Have a great day today!

Temira