It's On In The Gorge

[Blue crab]

Here is a video from 1 of the 3 runs I got in this weekend: . It was my friend's first Viento and he did tremendously well.  Lots of glides and of course lots of water time.  The coolest part was the Wells express.  Whereas Mitchell Point is more or less a double clack diamond with crazy swells and some confused water, the mile before Wells is like a nice wide and fast blue run with 6 inches of fresh powder.  Looking a touch haggard and defeated as we approached the last miles of the run, my friend just lit up as his board skimmed across the water leading into Wells.  Unfortunately, I screwed up the GoPro during this section, thinking on was off & vice versa. Therefore, most of the footage is from the first 2/3 of the run. However, it gives a good idea of the conditions.

Hood River is not an easy place to spend only 3 days with family & friends.  The distractions are too numerous.   My buddy wanted to take advantage of the great road biking (which we did). The foodie contingent had competing requests only some of which we were able to honor.  My kids wanted to downwind and we wasted precious time trying to find a run that was sufficiently short and safe: this proved impossible as the notion of safely removing boards from the car at the Hook in 40 mph unprotected winds is absurd.  I had never done the short run from the Hatchery to White Salmon and did not want to learn on the fly with a kid in tow so we bailed on this idea.  We never did get the kids on the water which is a shame. 

As result of this chaos, I missed a shuttle and 2 of my Vientos were solo and at odd hours. My first run on Friday evening, I was more or less alone on the water and it was the most extreme conditions I have seen on the run.  Kind of freaky but awesome.

The other major distraction is Mt Adams.  The SW chutes are apparently one of the best backcountry routes in North America and we could see them from our porch.  I got altitude sick when we tried to do it last summer but the desire to get back there is high.  I think our plan for next summer is to put the kids in windsurf camp, stay 10-14 days, and conquer all. 

[SUPcheat]

Strange, I have never felt any particular urge to downwind, but lately I have been noticing a subtle, growing itch to try it.

You guys are contagions.

[JP4]

Looks like that F16 works great here in the Gorge Blue crab!
Yes there are plenty of distractions around here, and spring backcountry skiing can be really good.  I've done the SW Chutes on Adams several times and I have to say I've never skied a longer or more consistent pitch anywhere.  If you hit it right it's thousands of feet of perfect corn at about a 35 degree pitch.  To get it all you have to ski to the bottom which puts you off course for the hike out, so then you get to climb another 1,500 feet or so to attain the ridge of the south climb route.  That makes for about a  7,500' of climbing day, assuming you can drive to the end of the road.  Unfortunately I don't think this year it's going to be any good with the low snow pack.  Another great ski closer by is the Snow Dome on the NE side of Hood, accessed via Cloud Cap.  It follows the Sunshine route up Hood.  Stop and eat your lunch below the giant hanging seracs and then ski back down 3k to the Timberline trail.

[yugi]

^^ what time of year is optimal for that?

And the next question is will DWing on the gorge be going off as well?

[JP4]

I've always done Adams around the first week of July with a normal snowpack.  You want to do it on a day that's forecast to be really hot in town as the summit temp will be about 43f colder than what it is in town.  The last time I did it it was about 100f in town and I still had to wait on the summit for about an hour and a half for the snow to corn up (left the car about 2am summited about 7:45). It would be pretty dangerous to try to ski the chutes before it corned up.  Even though it's not super steep, if you fell you'd slide for the better part of a mile if it was icy.
Also, if you're fit, forget about doing it in two days, unless you really like to camp and haul tons of weight.  I've done it both ways and it's way easier to just climb it in one shot.
Hood can be skied all summer in a wider variety of conditions.
JP

[JP4]

And yes, downwinding goes off all summer, with the blow dryer thermals peaking July-August.

[cnski]

June is a good month to ski the volcanoes too. The SW chutes of Mt. Adams is awesome. I remember one year me and a bunch of friends passed a roped up team all decked out in their climbing gear. We were going up in tennis shoes. We were going really fast. The majority of the group ate mushrooms I believe. They were still climbing when we skied down. The Snow Dome on Mt. Hood is really fun but the best line I've skied is the Sandy Headwall on Mt. Hood's west face. Epic ski descent. We always finished the day off with some windsurfing, if possible.

[JP4]

Yeah, tennis shoes on Adams is the way to go until at least the Lunch Counter.  A buddy of mine has run up it in two hours and twelve minutes, though I believe that was late season after the snow melted.
Haven't done Sandy, but I've seen the pictures, looks awesome!
My favorite line is Wy'East headwall, though my joints and skills have eroded to the point where I don't ski anything with serous consequences anymore.

[PonoBill]

Cheat--be careful, it's as addictive as crack. Just ask Art Acquino, who lives in Seattle but drives to HR so frequently that I see him more often than the locals.

Crab--give a yell next time you're here and I'll be glad to hook you up with locals for shuttling when Big Winds isn't going or the times are inconvenient. I go pretty much every day that there's wind, which means pretty much every day. I can also show you how to get boards into the hook without damage. It's a fun little run. If your kids are capable of that, they're probably good to go for a Viento run. It's one of the few downwind runs I know of that has a good escape route--you can hug the Oregon shore and get out of most of the swell and current. Almost any decent paddler can do the run that way, and still take little nibbles of the swell to get glides.

Local knowledge is a big deal here, though it's not of the "save your life" category that Maliko is. Currents, sandbars, wind funnels and underwater pilings are the big issue here. One run is all it takes to learn the big stuff. A hundred runs is too few to get all the little details.

One more distraction is surfing. Your kids would have a blast surfing at the sandbar, and so would you. There's also swell city and the hatchery for big drops and lots of fun. More challenging, it's easy to find an overhead swell to drop into. Just watch out for the windsurfers and kiters. If you come for a couple of weeks you might be able to get your kids into the Big Winds development team. Steve Gates does great things with these kids and they learn a lot. Fiona Wylde is one of the recent graduates and a rising star internationally.

Three days in the gorge is a teaser. Every day you'll find five more things you want to do. Mountain biking here is simply amazing. the most diverse and interesting trail system I'm ever seen. Everything from easy to ramp jumps and single log bridges. Endless hiking, skiing, whitewater, fishing, biking plus all the water sport. Insanely fun, and you'll find lots of people to show you the best of the best.

Yesterday was a fun run. I had dry hair to Wells until Rod Parmenter buzzed me on his kite. After zooming up to say hi he drenched me with spray and then jumped over me--but didn't land on the other side. I was looking around frantically for about 30 seconds--no Rod. I figured he was going to land on me, but he came down downwind of me. He was hovering over me for about 30 seconds, watching me and laughing. I fell twice after that. Bastard.

[Blue crab]

Thanks Bill,  Will be back for sure this summer, probably July 2-3 if it is blowing & then again in August for the race.  Will be in touch.  The runs were interesting for sure.  I have a bit of an addiction for renting different boards from the event center and trying them out on Vientos.  I've used Glides, Javelins, Connectors & Bullets.  All are excellent and fun in their own way.  That being said, the F16 is hands down the winner. The Bullet V2 was the best board for me in terms of getting into everything. However, the length of glides on the F16 was just out of this world.  The rudder is also a blast though I am probably only using it at 30% functionality. There were a few times when I was carving the board like a snowboard just for kicks.  These were the most fun runs I have had on the river and that is saying a lot.

The only issue was falling.  I had over 10 falls on 2 of the runs, and ~5 on the other.  Last summer, I had a couple of dry runs on my Glide in comparable conditions so I was bit surprised to be in the water so much.  Not sure what the issue was this weekend.  The board is 26" so maybe it is just an adjustment process. I noticed on the video that my right foot was a bit wide and I need to be more in the midline. I also did some biking before a couple of the runs so maybe I had a bit of fatigue. Maybe I am still getting used to the rudder. Nevertheless, I'd take the falls and the extended glides over a dry run with shorter glides any day.

JP4 & cnski: thanks for the advice on Hood. I looked these runs up and like the option of shorter routes relative to the SW chutes. Adams is awesome, but also a pretty decent slog. 

[PonoBill]

You are more likely to fall on the bigger boards because it's so much easier to either get out of control and get bounced off, or punch the nose in, or round up, overcoming the rudder with rail. You're also more affected by side chop and crossed up swells. When I do downwinders with my 12'2" X 26" I'm always surprised at how much easier it is to get through the crazy spots, but it doesn't connect swells or reach the nutty speeds that a 17 Bullet or F16 does.

[covesurfer]

WTF is this? Make Covesurfer Homesick Day?! Screw you guys. 

The Gorge is just an unreal place in the Summer. Winter? Not like summer. Winters in the Gorge can really try your spirit. Months of cold, dark, damp days. But Summers make up for it in spades.

JP, why the hell did you never mention all the adventures you did when we were pedaling ourselves to death? We should have done some climbing/skiing! It's a good thing you discovered downwinding or you'd still be riding yourself crazy, wearing too much lycra and seeing if you could bike enough that your upper body and arms would actually become toothpicks. Well, I will say we had some pretty cool MTB adventures there and at some of the races we did. Still, you would never do anything besides ride, ride, ride and then ride some more when I lived there.

Blue Crab, I have a lightweight F16 here. It's 26" wide and you can get bucked off pretty easy. I've found a few things help: Don't overtrim by going way back to the tail. Only get back like that if it's REALLY necessary. Most of the time, keep paddling in surf stance with your toes just on the rudder when you're gliding. Use the rudder to follow the wave energy. Continuing to paddle, usually on the upwind side, while you are surfing the board helps stabilize you. Remember also that if you're getting way 'out of shape', i.e., going at too sharp an angle across the waves, you can also get bucked off. It's good to angle but you have to stay on it and keep the board speed up. Try to keep your feet positioned on the board so that you don't dig the rail in. Your mileage may vary but I'll stand by those tips.

Anyway, have fun boyz. The Gorge rocks. At least we're getting swell here the past few days since we have no tradewind. Downwinders should kick back in soon. Lots to do on Maui too but honestly, the Gorge is hard to beat from May to October.

[gorgebob]

Oh Covesurfer, its got to be rough stuck on Maui. I can help with the pain: the water is still refreshing(in the sixties), the hour traffic jam getting back to Portland is a test of attitude and the rattle snakes and poison oak are just starting to come into season. I think you will survive but it would sure be nice to have you out this way if you decide to do so.

[JP4]

And don't forget the nightly ritual of pulling ticks out of the dog this time of year, it just never gets old.
Cove, I would have skied with you, but I couldn't risk having another sport you could kick my ass at.
And bike racing, so dumb.  Who invented that?  They should be shot.
I will be on Oahu in two weeks, on the beach between Sunset and Turtle Bay. That's pretty much a straight shot from your house in your OC-1.  Start in the morning and   you will arrive just in time for one of my many kailua pork plate lunches!

[covesurfer]

hahaha! I still hope I can get over there in August. And, that the wind cranks and that we get many Viento runs in!  Also hoping that gorgebob does not have to clear my fin of weeds this year! Ticks, rattlesnakes, refreshingly cool water and PDX traffic, ok, I don't miss those things but I do miss paddling Vientos with the local crew, including Mr and Mrs gorgebob!

JP, we both agree bike racing is dumb but we did have some fun on the MTB's and we did some pretty epic adventure rides too. Remember the one up Road 44 on our CX bikes, then we came back down a forest road that linked us into Pinemont. What a ripping descent that was! If all we'd done is road bike, then we'd be pretty lame but we did some cool adventures, so that counts for something!

Glad you guys are carrying on. Sorry to lurk on your thread and harass you all.