snow - The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

The sponsor of the report today is Hood River artist Mark Nilsson. Mark’s having a studio sale on TODAY at 7 Hazel Street, starting at 10am and finishing up with cocktail hour around 5pm. You can see his work in Doppio (an amazing world map), on 6th street in Hood River (an incredible tile mural), and all over town on people’s walls. If you head over this morning, you have a chance to meet Mark, wish him a happy birthday (it’s today!), and pick up an original Mark Nilsson painting. Your purchase of Mark’s beautiful artwork will help send him to Paris (assuming the French still aren’t on strike) to celebrate his birthday. To see some of the paintings, visit Mark’s Facebook page. And, one lucky person on the email list will win a mini Mark Nilsson painting – I’ll do the drawing tomorrow morning.

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I know I keep saying that the rain is coming, and it should have dampened the roads overnight, but somehow we dodged the bullet so far. On the satellite picture this morning, there’s a band of heavy rain west of us, and the tail end of it will clip the central Gorge. Following this band of moisture, we’ll just see light sprinkles today, so get outside and enjoy the weather (well, get outside after you go to Mark’s studio sale at 7 Hazel Street this morning… )

Indian Summer becomes torrential downpour tonight, as tropically-sourced, moisture-laden clouds pile into Oregon. Precipitation models show 3-hour periods with ½” of rain, for an overnight total of 1-2” of rain in the Cascades and central Gorge. In the wake of this system, we’ll see showers and periods of heavy rain tomorrow, especially before noon.

So, we’re going to lose the mountain bike trails tonight (I know you cross racers want to practice riding in the mud, but please don’t, because it’s really hard on the trails that everyone else uses), leaving us with alternative activities tomorrow.

First choice tomorrow will have to be windsurfing or kiting way out east. The most favorable setup will unfortunately happen in the wee hours tonight, but there should be some remaining strong west wind tomorrow morning in the desert. You may have to wait until midday for the rain to stop, but do keep an eye on Arlington and Threemile for the steadiest conditions. Second choice? Keep an eye on the river levels. The Hood is questionable, but the Klickitat will come up, as will the White Salmon (good thing, because it’s at 1 9/16 feet right now).

Other activities tomorrow include the Columbia Gorge Marathon and skiing at Timberline, where there will be new snow on the slopes. Yay!

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 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 gorge sports fanatics!

The ski report this morning calls for a sunny day on Mt. Hood. It’s 36 degrees at Timberline, where there’s a 160 inch base, 33 at Meadows, where there’s a 125 inch base, and 42 at Skibowl, where’s it’s free to ski today for Customer Appreciation day. Wherever you’re headed, throw some warm wax on your skis and prepare to finish early, because it’s going to be fun in the morning and sticky by afternoon.

If you’re a road biker, check out the Cherry of a Ride in The Dalles today. All proceeds go to benefit St. Mary’s Academy, so go ride your bike on a fully supported tour for a good cause.

Thanks to everyone who showed up for Charley’s work party at Post yesterday. I wish I could have joined you guys, but I’m at Meadows all day on the weekends. Anyway, Post is in prime-time near-perfect riding condition now, so go break in Charley’s trail and the newest section on spaghetti factory, and if you happen to have a new bike, break that in too! Just don’t break yourself!

Windsurfers and kiters and everyone else can head to the Windance multi-sport swap meet this morning, but there won’t be wind today. A weak front late tomorrow may bring some westerlies just before sunset, maybe upper teens, but the strongest wind will blow overnight. Tuesday’s looking like a decent west wind day on the water, with low pressure in the desert and high pressure building off the coast. Plan on Tuesday afternoon. Don’t tire yourself out Tuesday, because Wednesday looks like a massive, nuclear-force day in the Corridor. I’m kinda getting excited…

Finally, boaters, the Hood’s at 4.3 feet, the White Salmon’s at 3.9 feet, and the Little Whtie’s at 701cfs

If you need more event information, check the calendar at theGorgeismyGym.com.

Have an awesome day!

Temira