On Thursday we took it easy, drove up to Government Camp and saw a couple of Oregon Trail sites. Then we hiked 2+ miles along the Salmon River not far from where we were staying at an Airbnb.
Weather was delightful, probably low 70’s, and the hike was entirely shaded by the old growth forest.
On Friday we notched our July ski day at Timberline. Since snow didn’t soften until past 9AM and we thought Friday would be busier, we packed up early and got to Timberline Lodge for breakfast. Even though the ski area opens at 7AM, the Lodge’s Cascade dining room doesn’t open to until 8AM. Like lots of things this season they blamed it upon “COVID staffing issues.” The cafeteria breakfast at the Wy’East day lodge is reserved for the camps and not open to the public.
Temperatures were the same as Wednesday, 40’s early and 50’s midday, but there was almost no wind. So when we got up the hill at 9AM all of Magic Mile’s terrain had softened, perhaps about half an hour earlier than on Wednesday.
We skied the 3 Magic Mile variations twice each before heading up Palmer at 11AM. The Magic Mile lift line formed again from 10:00-10:30 but we never had much of a wait on Palmer. We alternated sides above Palmer’s mid-station, but around noon Liz went with me beyond the western boundary.
On Wednesday I was conservative about getting back in bounds well above the bottom of Palmer, but this time we continued on.
It’s not obvious where there might be a break in the rock spine at left, but there were tracks and 3 skiers below us, so I watched to see where they would cut left. We did have to walk over about 5 feet of bare ground at the narrow point lower right of the above pic.
I saw the 3 skiers traverse with a few step ups to return to Palmer, but Liz skied lower so I followed her. Fortunately we found a break in the rock spine about 1/3 of the way down Magic Mile.
Riding back up, midday is when the park scene is most active.
The continuous line of skiers center right is on the rope tow.
Friday was unexpectedly less busy than Wednesday. Each of the 4 sectors seemed to have at least one fewer set of gates set up. So despite the calmer weather the salted corn remained ideal to the end on both sides of upper Palmer as well as lower skier’s right. A camp instructor said that it doesn't get sloppy on the upper mountain unless temps get over 65F. Liz enjoying the ego cruising on our last run about 1:30:
We thought the imminent holiday weekend would bump up the crowds, but traffic is more driven by camp schedules, which are quite variable. We rode a lift with 9 and 10 year old girls from Vail who were there through July 17. Their schedule was 3 sessions of : 3 days slalom, one day off, 3 days GS, two days off.
We drove down to Portland via the Columbia River Gorge. I hoped to show Liz the windsurfing scene there and it did not disappoint. It was blowing ~20 knots along the shore and one of the rental guys said it had been 40 knots on the water a couple of hours earlier.
I was curious what the distribution would be between windsurfers and kiteboards, but there is now a third mechanism for harnessing the Gorge’s famous winds.
Liz is holding the wing in the wind and in left background you can see the short board with foil that the riders stand upon. With enough wind power the board rises out of the water completely as seen here.
The America’s Cup catamarans in recent years work this way too.
Overall kiteboards are probably the most popular gear in the gorge now.
I had thought that kites had gained popularity largely due to better performance in light winds. But as with windsurfers the kites work in higher winds with less surface area.
There were plenty of windsurfers and wing/foils out today too.
I dabbled in windsurfing mainly at Cabrillo Beach in the late 1980's and 1990's but never got past a low intermediate level. Kites are supposed to be easier to learn but they did not come on the scene until later. The rental guy admitted that the wing/foil setup requires even more athleticism and balance than windsurfers or kiteboards.
Weather was delightful, probably low 70’s, and the hike was entirely shaded by the old growth forest.
On Friday we notched our July ski day at Timberline. Since snow didn’t soften until past 9AM and we thought Friday would be busier, we packed up early and got to Timberline Lodge for breakfast. Even though the ski area opens at 7AM, the Lodge’s Cascade dining room doesn’t open to until 8AM. Like lots of things this season they blamed it upon “COVID staffing issues.” The cafeteria breakfast at the Wy’East day lodge is reserved for the camps and not open to the public.
Temperatures were the same as Wednesday, 40’s early and 50’s midday, but there was almost no wind. So when we got up the hill at 9AM all of Magic Mile’s terrain had softened, perhaps about half an hour earlier than on Wednesday.
We skied the 3 Magic Mile variations twice each before heading up Palmer at 11AM. The Magic Mile lift line formed again from 10:00-10:30 but we never had much of a wait on Palmer. We alternated sides above Palmer’s mid-station, but around noon Liz went with me beyond the western boundary.
On Wednesday I was conservative about getting back in bounds well above the bottom of Palmer, but this time we continued on.
It’s not obvious where there might be a break in the rock spine at left, but there were tracks and 3 skiers below us, so I watched to see where they would cut left. We did have to walk over about 5 feet of bare ground at the narrow point lower right of the above pic.
I saw the 3 skiers traverse with a few step ups to return to Palmer, but Liz skied lower so I followed her. Fortunately we found a break in the rock spine about 1/3 of the way down Magic Mile.
Riding back up, midday is when the park scene is most active.
The continuous line of skiers center right is on the rope tow.
Friday was unexpectedly less busy than Wednesday. Each of the 4 sectors seemed to have at least one fewer set of gates set up. So despite the calmer weather the salted corn remained ideal to the end on both sides of upper Palmer as well as lower skier’s right. A camp instructor said that it doesn't get sloppy on the upper mountain unless temps get over 65F. Liz enjoying the ego cruising on our last run about 1:30:
We thought the imminent holiday weekend would bump up the crowds, but traffic is more driven by camp schedules, which are quite variable. We rode a lift with 9 and 10 year old girls from Vail who were there through July 17. Their schedule was 3 sessions of : 3 days slalom, one day off, 3 days GS, two days off.
We drove down to Portland via the Columbia River Gorge. I hoped to show Liz the windsurfing scene there and it did not disappoint. It was blowing ~20 knots along the shore and one of the rental guys said it had been 40 knots on the water a couple of hours earlier.
I was curious what the distribution would be between windsurfers and kiteboards, but there is now a third mechanism for harnessing the Gorge’s famous winds.
Liz is holding the wing in the wind and in left background you can see the short board with foil that the riders stand upon. With enough wind power the board rises out of the water completely as seen here.
The America’s Cup catamarans in recent years work this way too.
Overall kiteboards are probably the most popular gear in the gorge now.
I had thought that kites had gained popularity largely due to better performance in light winds. But as with windsurfers the kites work in higher winds with less surface area.
There were plenty of windsurfers and wing/foils out today too.
I dabbled in windsurfing mainly at Cabrillo Beach in the late 1980's and 1990's but never got past a low intermediate level. Kites are supposed to be easier to learn but they did not come on the scene until later. The rental guy admitted that the wing/foil setup requires even more athleticism and balance than windsurfers or kiteboards.
Last edited:
