My prism-like Oregon tan is officially being unleashed to the world as my eyes are in need of shaded cover. Seeing the sun consistently again is like nails being driven into my pupils. Flowers are pushing through the winter’s mulch, all the trees are budding, it’s time to mountain bike again! 
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This past weekend our friends from the right coast, Tara and Graham who recently relocated to Snoqalmie, WA, drove to Hood River for a visit. It was great seeing familiar faces and spending a few days sharing our little world.
Upon arrival we took them to Wachlella Falls for a short hike. We were experiencing typical late winter/early spring weather here in Hood River which meant spots of sun and light sprinkles. We live in a rainforest after all! The falls were cranking tons of water volume and made for an impressive display. Many people actually swim in the pool under these falls during hot summer afternoons. If you tried that today you’d drown in seconds.
Here’s April and Tara smiling at the falls. They’re both real small so it’s easy to get a sense of scale. 
Graham took a little tumble on the slippery rocks. Basalt can be pretty sharp.
After we ate dinner and chilled for a few hours we decided to head out to the local watering holes. The Pub was our first stop but quickly decided on the allure of Jack’s and their famous Scorpion Bowls. This would be our visitors first experience with such a drink, needless to say the bowls were many and later transitioned into another white “bowl” that flushes.
Tara and Graham pre-scorpion bowl
Our small group during scorpion bowl. (from top left clockwise: April, Tom, Carley, Graham, Tara)
The ladies post-scorpion bowl on the floor. Yes, this is a bar floor.
The next time we chill we’ll be using our mountain bikes and hopefully sporting falconering gloves!
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Today I turned 32 years young…though my body is hurting like I’m 60. April planned a long weekend at Crystal Mountain Ski Area which is a hop, skip and jump North of Mount Rainier in Washington. We packed up the car and drove 4 hours North to the small town of Greenwater, Washington where a nice A-frame cabin was waiting for us. The forecast was calling for snow all weekend and Crystal had already received over 3 feet of fresh, dry, snow prior to our arrival. Needless to say, we were both very excited to be skiing a new mountain with outstanding conditions.
We had a herd of elk roaming the street outside our driveway. I guessed there were about 20 of them roaming around. April made a new friend.
After we found the cabin, we drove up to the ski area to see how things looked. Deep, untouched snow was every where! We decided to strap the skis onto our packs and snowshoe up the mountain a bit to see the sights and get some virgin tracks in the new snow. Immediately we found the going very difficult as the snow was easily 3-4 feet and extremely dry and light, which meant we sank like rocks. We pushed on and eventually found a pistonbully track that made the climb much easier. After about an hour or so we put the skis on and tasted our first mouthfull of champagne powder! Click here to see a video! On my second or third turn I was buried. Absolute bliss!
That night we abused our favorite liquids and I invented a new deadly weapon…”snowshoe arms”! Watch out Rick…ever get a crampon in your eye?
The next day we skied. The snow continued all day adding to the already deep powder.
This was the best sign I’ve ever seen.
Once the avalanche team was finished blasting the peaks the backcountry gates opened and I started hiking. My first hike was to “The Throne” which was unreal, steep, deep, and tiring.
Another hiker was kind enough to take a pic of me standing on “The Throne” before dropping in.
After that I met up with April and we did a little exploring on the lower runs. Even at the lower elevations untracked pockets of deep powder where every where. Here’s another video of me getting fresh turns in chest deep goodness.
That night we poached a hot tub at a cabin directly behind us through the woods. The owners weren’t home so we felt it our duty to make use of such a wonderful asset. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
The next morning (Monday) we hit the mountain early to find no crowds and a steady snow falling again. I headed directly to the “South Country” gate and hiked (and skied) to the peak of “Silver King”. Click here to view a trail map. This peak sits at 7013 feet and requires time and commitment to reach. It’s one thing to hike and ski a peak like this with a friend, however alone is another story completely.
This is Silver King peak. I hiked the right edge and descended the wide chute to the right of the peak. I found this photo online as the clouds/snow made photography very difficult.
Here are some other peeps hiking to Silver King. One bad step and you’d be falling for a long time. I’m not sure how steep the pitch is, but the snow conditions made it feel almost effortless.
Here’s a shot looking back up the mountain. I couldn’t of picked a better line.
It would of been great to have a partner on these backcountry runs to take some action shots. To show snow depth I stabbed my pole in the snow. It dropped to this depth with ease.
This was easily my best birthday ever. My dad gave me a sweet hand-held Garmin GPS (GPSmap 60CSx) which came in very handy in mapping and marking routes in the backcountry. Even if the conditions would of been crap it would of been awesome. April really planned it perfectly…I’m wondering if she had anything to do with the weather too.
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The days are getting longer. The trees are starting to bud. The birds are singing in a slightly different key. Perhaps right on cue, some great shows are coming to Portland to welcome in the beautiful Oregon weather.
March 14: Modest Mouse @ The Crystal Ballroom
March 31: Woven Hand + Calla @ The Doug Fir Lounge
April 21: Peeping Tom @ The Wonder Ballroom
Life is good.
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April and I signed the papers today on our new home! We’ve been looking since last August for the right place and finally found it.
More pics are here: http://www.springfish.com/blog/house/
1311 Cascade Ave., Hood River, Oregon 97031
This contemporary home has everything we’ve been looking for and we feel we got a great deal on it. It was appraised last year for much more than we paid. It features 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1 office, garage, deck on the front and rear, fireplace, radient floor heating, huge windows with Gorge, Columbia River and Mount Adams views from every room, the floors are made of Montana Rainbow River Rock. We’re closing in the beginning of April.
Here’s the view from any of the windows. Who needs a TV?
Things are going really well and only showing signs of getting better. I think it’s safe to say that I’m never moving back East. Oregon is my home and will stay that way.
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The Pacific Northwest’s snow drought is officially over. Over 20 inches have blanketed the Cascade range in the past 48 hours with more slated throughout the week. With this in mind April, Carlie and I headed up to Ski Bowl Ski Area, the nation’s largest night skiing area, to get our ski on!
We arrived after driving through close-to whiteout conditions and were greeted to DEEP snow and a very small crowd. The snow was very light and fluffy offering waste deep turns in the untracked steeps and consistent knee deep coverage just about everywhere else you looked.
Looking down into one of the large bowls from the lift. It’s amazing that all this area is actually available at night. Everyone was super excited to be skiing such great snow.
Taking any decent photos in the dark, especially while snowing was difficult to say the least. In this photo you can see all the untracked goodness under the lift and the snow weighing the branches of the pines. Everything was very quiet tonight. Perfect.
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This past weekend April and I drove to Seattle to visit with her Aunt Rose, her husband Nathan and daughter Vicky. They live just outside of Seattle in Port Orchard. Our visit included trips to Tacoma, Seattle–Pike’s Market and the surrounding area. We attempted to take the ferry to Seattle from Port Orchard but missed the boat…literally.
Here are some fish that weren’t in the process of flying through the air at Pike’s Market. I’m not sure what happened to the face of the halibut. Looks like he had a pretty rotten day.
Here’s Puget Sound at sunset from Seattle. I saw more bald and golden eagles than I could count. Spotting killer whales here is very popular.
We had a really great weekend seeing the sights, which included my first look at Mount Rainier and the Olympic Mountains. We played a great game of “Asshole” on Sunday night. Aunt Rose and Nathan were newbies to the game but did very well rising through the political ranks. All in all…good times.
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This past weekend I rented a really nice cabin in the small town of Zigzag. Zigzag is about as small as towns get and is located about 15 miles southwest of the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood’s southern face. The cabin was built back in the 1930’s and featured authentic log home craftsmanship throughout. A huge stone fireplace is the centerpiece of the construction that extends high into the vaulted ceilings. The cabin sits high on the banks of the Clear Creek which feeds into the Sandy River, a classic Oregon whitewater run.
The Minikanda Log Cabin at night under the quiet of old growth Cedars.
We spent the weekend with a few peeps from Portland and Hood River. In usual Oregon fashion there wasn’t any time for being sober. The hot tub was the home base for abuse.
Oregon style livin’!
Sunday we woke to a steady light rain, which meant fresh snow on the mountain. After a big breakfast and a quick dip in the hot tub (and a few cans of PBR) we cleaned up the cabin and left for Mount Hood Meadows to ski. We were greeted by fresh, untracked pockets of 6+ inches of powder. Abe and Nicole showed me some of the areas I haven’t skied yet in and around Heather Canyon. We all left the mountain exhausted and smiling.
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I love birds. Instead of keeping a journal in paper form I’m going to start adding my list here. I’ll update as needed and this will hopefully be a more efficient way of keeping track of my feathered friends. I should of been an ornathologist. Anyway, the list starts today.
1. Scrub Jay
2. Varied Thrush
3. Winter Wren
4. Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
5. Chipping Sparrow
6. Spotted Towhee
7. Dark-Eyed Junco
8. Hutton’s Vireo
9. California Quail
10. American Dipper
11. Mountain Chickadee
12. Grey Jay
13. Middle Finger
14. Golden Eagle
15. Bald Eagle
16. American Raven
17. Kestrel Falcon
18. Red-tailed Hawk
19. American Robin
20. Starling
21. Great-Horned Owl
22. Downy Woodpecker
23. Black-capped Chickadee
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