Pro Photo Supply where I have two more calendar signings scheduled:

Saturday November 22 Noon-2pm
Saturday December 20 Noon-2 pm

The 2009 Northwest Weather Calendar is also available at

Joes Sports
Alberstons
Made In Oregon

And online through the Business Eduction Compact, which is the beneficiary of all calendar sales.

Watch this space for more information to come!

Happy Weather Watching,

Matt Zaffino
KGW Chief Meteorologist

I'll get to the Smash And Grab title in a bit, but this blog would better be called Matt Zaffino's Indoors. I write from the newsroom in the middle of what is always one of the most exciting and frenetic nights in any newsroom: Election Night. Usually on this night I find myself "field producing", which is to say I'm helping reporters and photographers at one of our remote locations (I was at Oregon Democratic Headquarters in 2000 and 2004) round up interviews and information and assist in getting the live shots on TV. That's because we rarely do any weather in the newscast on Election Day. This year the newsroom "deciders" - God willing we put that type of language to rest on this night - decided we will do a weathercast during the 11 pm news. We'll see about that, but whatever, this is in my humble opinion one of the coolest and most important nights in American history. I look at the video coming into our newsroom, there are parties breaking out all over the city and the country. Everyone is burning up the text lines, phone lines, email lines.

I started the day at 7am in the KINK Live Performance Lounge for the first ever KINK Election Day Town Hall. It was a great way to kick off an election day, with live music from Brett Dennen, whose newest album is appropriately called "Hope For the Hopeless". Senator Gordon Smith, whose congressional fate hangs in the balance at this hour, popped in for a visit, but the real stars of the show were the KINK listeners who showed up to be a part of a good ol' fashioned townhall meeting. It was more Americana coffee shop chatting, a place for people of like and unlike minds to get together and share views and ... hopes. It was a fantastic way to start election day. Perhaps this is the only real loss of living in an all vote-by-mail state, several lamented the loss of the day when voting meant chatting with the blue-haired old ladies at the polling place down the street. This was a little bit of that, and I have to say it felt good! Here are a few pics from this morning:

Brett Dennen Performs

My friend and colleague Sheila Hamilton and I broadcast live

My friend and colleague Dave Scott with Senator Gordon Smith

KINK Listeners share their views and concerns about the election and country

So, Smash and Grab? Friday night I met some friends downtown after work Upon returning to my car, someone had smashed a window in my 1996 4Runner (237,000 miles and going strong thank you) and grabbed my briefcase. I worried about a check made out to me, my checkbook, lamented the loss of some concert tickets and my little digital camera, and most off all the golf ball I had my hole-in-one with. But at least they didn't get my wallet or cell phone. Well it turns out some thieves have consciences too. My briefcase magically appeared on KGWs doorstep Monday evening, apparently dropped off by the smashers and grabbers, minus the camera a few other items that could be sold for quick cash. But they returned everything else, a lot of stuff that would be hard to replace or duplicate. Including the check and my checkbook. And my golf ball. As this election season comes to a close, even thieves give opportunity for hope.

Matt Zaffino
Chief Meteorologist
KGW TV

Check out the program of the Mt St Helens Institute. Wow!

Three of the speakers pop right out to me: William Sullivan, Klindt Vielbig and Darryll Loyd all have presentations coming up. I've dug into Sullivan's books many a time while planning trips. His current book on natural disasters of the Northwest sounds very cool. It's on my schedule. If you're a back-country skier in the Northwest you've probably looked at Vielbig's books. Also a must-see event. And Darryl Lloyd is one of the best landscape photographers in the Northwest, and a walking encyclopedia of our nearest volcanoes.

If you're looking for more immediate inspiration, like this Saturday night as you nurse your Halloween candy sugar hangover and stare out at the rain, check out this program put on by REI:

That ought to get the juices flowing again.

OK, Like I said I've been out a bit lately on little adventures. Did a great bike ride yesterday, the fall colors are the best they've been in years. If you saddle up though, remember the full-fingered cycling gloves and maybe the booties. It's staying cool out now!

Pics below from a recent trip to central Oregon. Totally got rained out of the high country, so Xena and I opted for the Deschutes River Trail outside of Bend. It was a great bad weather option, and the clouds even parted long enough for a rainbow to rise like a trout on the river. I'm saving the bigger pics for the 2010 Weather Calendar! But the 2009 NW Weather Calendar is available now at Pro Photo Supply, Joes' Sports And More and Alberstons. Click here for more info on the calendar, and I'll post future blogs on that soon!

Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino

Craig Brown, from the KGW Sales Dept, makes some new friends. These ladies were from a team of Vegas showgirls. THye had an Elvis in their van too.

These ladies, it turns out, are also friends of Criags. 12 Beaches, each wearing a sash from an Oregon Beach town.

Yours truly and KGWers Michelle Ruark and Brad Zellick get ready to run.

One of the cool things about Hood To Coast is camping in the Coast Range. For three hours. Here's what that looks like.

Morning brings fog. In the air, and in the brains of sleep-deprived runners.

KGW's Scott Burton jumps either for joy at being close to finished, or because the pain in his legs made him twitch.

After a long hard run, a bottle of water never looked so good to KGWs Pam Gordon.

News Producer Leilani Welch flashes some secret sign on her last leg.

Finally, the finish line at the beach!

We finish with some pics on the Coast

Congrats to ALL Hood To Coast and Portland To Coast Teams on a run well-done!

Matt Zaffino
KGW Chief Meteorologist

We're sitting at a way-side on Highway 30 right now, waiting for one of our runners to finish his leg so we can move on in the relay. I'm having a little trouble with the cell phone internet connection, so I've only been able to upload a couple picstures so far. But, Elvis has definitely left the starting line:

Two of the great things about Hood To Coast are what runners to do dress up their vans, and themselves. On the right in the pic below is KGW Running Footage team member Michelle Ruark. Next to her, a runner from a team called "Half Rack".

For me the day started at KGW in the early morning. Up to Mt Hood we went, where I ran leg 2. After our team finished our first legs (each runner runs three legs) we handed off to Van 2, which carries teammates 7 through 12. From the van exchange in Sandy, we bolted back to Portland. I dropped off my teammates at A co-workers home, where they all showered and got some needed rest. I wolfed down some yummy home-made food and then bolted down to the seconf van exchange, under the Hawthorne Bridge to do live shots and the weather for the 5, 6 and 630 pm newscasts. Met a lot of fun and friendly runners down there! After that, I drove back to Ande's home to pick up my
van-mates and grab a quick shower. Then back to the Hawthorne Bridge exchange where those of us in Van 1 begin our second set of legs. And here we are!

We've got three more legs before we hand off to Van 2 again, then we bomb ahead to where we get hte baton back from Van 2 the last time. We'll grab a couple hours sleep in a field in the Coast Range. I'll try to update the blog again tomorrow after the legs have been run!

Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino
KGW Chief Meteorologist

ok, technological breakthrough. Cell phone internet allows me to upload more pics. Maybe there's better service here in Scappoose.

Here are the Van 1 runners from top left: Brad Zellick, Michelle Ruark and Pam Gordon from KGW Sales, yours truly, Craig Brown, sales, and Scott Burton from News.

I shot this while running down the mountain from Government Camp. It's great when other vans are made up in cool ways. And runners cheer on other runners!

NW Cables News photographer Adam Tischler gets the good video at the start of the relay.

On a very sad note, we just drove by a car accident on Highway 30. The KGW newsroom tells me a female runner was hit by a car and has life-threatening injuries. The driver of the car was also hurt badly. It's sad and sobering to know a fellow runner has fallen. To my knowledge this is the first time a runner has been hit by a car during the race. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family.

Mt Baker on the approach, Friday August 8, 2008

As the Olympics got under way in Beijing we set out on our own rewarding endeavor, our long-awaited Mt Baker Climb To Fight Breast Cancer. Seven climbers and three great guides from Alpine Ascents International. Kristen, Brian, Colin and yours truly all part of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's Climb To Fight Breast Cancer Program.
We were joined by Jeff from Seattle and Herb and John from Tampa, FL.

Here we ascend the "Railroad Grade", a section of trail on the south-side approach to Mt Baker that sits right on top of a lateral moraine of a receding glacier. It's a very cool section of trail!

This is Kristin, Brian and photographer Colin Sapp's 2nd attempt on Mt Baker. It's already going better than last year when they saw the volcano for all of about 15 minutes.

We were carrying 55 to 65 lbs packs (climbing gear is heavy and the weight of 3 days worth of food and cold weather clothing adds up), but the great weather and views ahead kept smiles all around.

We base-camped just shy of 7,000 feet and below the snout of the Easton Glacier. As you'll see in a bit, tent placement can be crucial.

Kristin, Brian and Colin share a 3-person tent high above the Skagit Valley.

Friday afternoon brought time to kick back, cool the dawgs, enjoy the warm alpine sun and terrific views of Mt Baker and the North Cascades.

From the left, Alpine Ascent guides Ian, A.J. and Ben. Ian's snacking on goldfish. A.J. and Ben survey the gathering clouds and hope the weatherman is wrong. Unfortunately, I won't be.

Sunset brings a turbulent sky as we eat tortellini for dinner and hope for the best. You get what you get in the mountains.

The storm began to roll in Saturday, but a break in the rain bought us time for snow school. Kristin practices self-arrest with her ice-axe just above camp. Nice technique, Kristin!

West of our route sits the formidable Deming Glacier, with a new slathering of wet summer snow.

Snow school ends, the cold rain begins again and we all head for the tents. When climbing or back-packing in the Cascades it's always a good idea to bring something to read. It's not uncommon to have to hunker down for a couple days in bad weather. Reading tent and sleeping bag labels gets old after 5 minutes. With a good book (Nuk Tessli, The Life Of A Wilderness Dweller, by Chris Czajkowski), I enjoy some prolonged tent time.

Outside, my tent-mate Jeff takes a stroll back from the void.

If forecasting rain is right, I want to be wrong. This time anyway. It rained hard all night. Near-by Maple Valley, west of Mt Baker, had 1.3" of rain Saturday night. I estimate we had two inches. As I listened at 2 am Sunday morning, the rain-pound on the tent was joined by a harmony of sleet-slamming.

As I mentioned earlier, tent location is critical. We made a poor choice (rookie move, we knew better!) and ended up sleeping above a new little lake. But the sleeping bags stayed dry, which is all that really mattered, so no biggie.

Are we having fun yet? My ice-axe stands stoically, yet pathetically, in the icy rain puddle that is partially covered by our tent.

The guides made the call not to attempt the summit when each time the early morning alarms went off, it was raining harder than the last time. Climbing would have been neither fun, nor safe.

At least is started snowing at breakfast.

Yummy oatmeal. Hot chocolate and coffee. After that, nothing left to do but pack up the soggy gear and head out.

Back down on Railroad Grade, fog rolls up from the gorge on the glacier-side of the moraine.

So we didn't get to summit, but that's life in the mountains. Sometimes they let you up, sometimes they don't. The important thing is great support and money we all raised in The Climb To Fight Breast Cancer. Our team raised $17,500 for the FHCRC and the 2008 Climbs combined raised over $775,000! Way to go climbers!

We hoped to unfurl the banner on the summit, but high camp will have to do. This time! Photo by A.J. The Guide with Colin's Nikon D200

Thanks to ALL of you for pitching in, donations large and donations small were all very much appreciated. Some people find fund-raising easy. I am not one of those people. But you all made this not only easy, but fun and rewarding. As for the climb, what started well ended even better, because we know we are helping cancer patients surmount much greater challenges than a little cold rain and snow.

Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino
Chief Meteorologist
KGW TV

I know it's been a long time since I updated the ol' blog, but it's been a while since I've done anything blog and training worthy. There was the trip to Tennessee for the Bonnaroo Music Festival in June. A totally fantastic and fun endeavor, but I wasn't exactly logging any miles as KINK FM 102s Music Director Dean Kattari and I produced radio reports. Then there was the American Meteorological Society Conference in Denver, also in June. I did some solid runs in that fair city, but pretty standard out of town stuff. After that, a family reunion on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Some great beach runs, a few rounds of golf and some humbling but exciting kite-boarding lessons. But no supporting pics for the kite-boarding and I wouldn't bore you with pictures of me running, even if I had them. So, that brings us to this past weekend and the weekend version of Cycle Oregon.

The Tent City at Fort Stevens State Park, Home Sweet Home on 2008 Weekend Cycle Oregon. If you do the ride, and I HIGHLY recommend it, try to avoid getting a snoring neighbor.

The campground is adjacent to Young's Bay. It's fun watching the marine commerce ply the briny froth.

Some of the new friends I made at Cycle Oregon. From the left, it's Chris, Paul and Rebecca from Portland and Diane from North Carolina. We logged 55 miles Saturday and 65 miles Sunday. Now that's some solid cross-training for the Mt Baker climb next weekend!

This is what the tent city looks like at night. Riders crash early. It's a ghost town by 10 pm.

But a late night game of UNO broke out Saturday night. That's right, we rock hard before we roll on Cycle Oregon.

Below you see Jay Graves, owner of Portland's Bike Gallery bike stores, Cycle Oregon Board Member, bike mechanic and all-around great guy. But that's not enough for the Cycle Oregon volunteers on the left. Jay, it turns out, did not have the official Cycle Oregon wrist band. No wrist band, no food. No exceptions. Jay was reduced to bartering cool bike pins, green in his right hand, orange in his left hand, for food. Cycle Oregon has terrific (and VERY thorough) volunteers!

The Leneve family takes a break from riding.

The band "Code 4" entertains riders at lunch. Cycle Oregon does a great job lining up musical entertainment at night and at lunch. The band "Brothers Jam" had riders dancing Saturday night.

Yours truly at Cape Disappointment, WA, Sunday's turn around point on the 65 mile ride. Cycle Oregon was anything but a disappointment. Hopefully the Mt Baker climb next weekend will be the same.

I'll have a blog update for you next week on the Mt Baker climb, and thanks again to everyone who supported me in fund-raising for The Climb to Fight Breast Cancer.

Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino

For the last 20 years I've spent Memorial Day Weekend camping with a large group of extended friends. I planned on using some of my time there this weekend mountain biking as I continue my training for my Climb To Fight Breast Cancer. I appreciate your support in trying to reach my lofty fund-raising goal of $10,781 - Mt Baker's elevation in feet.

Usually there's mountain biking and mushroom hunting for the tasty yet elusive morel mushroom. At least I saw my mountain bike this weekend. Not the case with morels. Here's a pic of Phil, dog Benny and I scanning the forest duff in vane.

Our cold spring and late melting snow have delayed the morel season. So really, in light of that, my climb training is right on track. Ahem. Right.

But there was a mountain climbed this weekend at our little backwoods soiree. Having met here two years prior, Phil proposed to Gina (KGWs 5pm news producer)! Here's Phil and Gina discussing the engagement with a gaggle of fellow female campers.

Phil and Gina check out the video I made of them right after the proposal.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing with a book and the dogs. Xena enjoyed cruising camp.

Always a highlight of this gathering is the music. The band rocked hard into the wee hours each morning.

Phil and Gina, Chris and Annie, and yours truly celebrating a fun and eventful weekend!

NEXT weekend: back to some serious training!

Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino
Chief Meteorologist
KGW-TV

But not nearly as scary as the prospect of facing cancer. Which brings me back to Mt Baker August 8-10 as part of the Climb to Fight Breast Cancer. My Mom battled breast cancer and lost in 1999. I do this in part for her, but maybe more for those who are still with us. Who will have to fight that dreadful, scary fight. And hopefully the funds raised through my efforts and your generosity will help make that battle a little shorter, a little less painful and a little less scary. Click here to go to my Climbing Page through the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's Climb To Fight Breast Cancer. Below are some pics from a ski climb I did last weekend from White Pass, WA. My first training climb for Mt Baker. I like to think it would make Mom happy and proud.

Thanks for reading and for any contribution you can make to help fight breast cancer.
Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino
KGW Chief Meteorologist

Snow camping at 6500 ft in the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Squinting in the strong spring sun

Our cozy little camp

View of Mt Rainier

I remember that weekend well. Saturday was sunny and beautiful. I went for a run on the outer edges of Forest Park. Admiring the always stunning sights of Mt Adams, Mt Rainier and Mt Hood, I took in the view of the lenticular clouds forming on the summits of Adams and Rainier and thought "yep, Sunday's storm is coming in right on schedule". I didn't know that my friends Dan and Alice were among a group of climbers up on Mt Hood, beginning an adventure that was a bit more than they had bargained for.

Mt Hood; March 21, 2008

But from their scenic perch in Illumination Saddle on on the south side of the volcano, the Mt Hood 8 had no such view of the foretelling clouds licking the summits of Mt Hood's northern neighbors. They enjoyed a great evening snow-camping, awoke to bad weather and did the right thing: started down. A few degrees off on their compass bearing, three of the climbers, and Velvet, took one wayward, blind step in a white-out and tumbled into White River Canyon.

The search and rescue was successful. The onslaught of media attention was at times entertaining and exciting. But this group decided to do more than just enjoy the ride on the wave of overwhelming media interest. After the Ellen Show appearance, and hits on The Today Show and Good Morning America, they put together a fundraising auction and raised tens of thousands of dollars for local search and rescue groups. I help out as emcee and auctioneer, happy to lend a hand to friends who were doing such a great thing for the climbing community.

Last weekend they commemorated the entire odyssey from Illumination Saddle to The Ellen Show with a weekend back on the mountain, this time in the cozy confines of Silcox Hut. Silcox is like a mini-Timberline lodge, 1,000 feet above the main lodge at the top of the Magic Mile chairlift.

Silcox Hut at night

Celebrating Inside Silcox Hut

The Mt Hood 8 knows how to throw a party! We danced. We ate well, drank well and looked at a slide show of the climb and video highlights and lowlights of the news coverage of the event. But what was more glaring than any camera lights was the comraderie, caring and passion this group shares for its sport, the outdoors, and above all, for each other.

Looking down on the lights of Ski Bowl from Silcox Hut

Since we weren't going down to Ski Bowl, Quinn and I went up.... for a night ski under the full moon above Silcox Hut. We slapped on our climbing skins and skied up the mountain a ways. The picture below was made at 11:45 pm with my Nikon D200, on a 20 second exposure at F13 as we enjoyed the ski down. The snow was great!

Skiing by Headlight and Moonlight above Silcox Hut

What to do with headlights when their not in use: Juggle!

Juggling Headlights

The Mt Hood 8 plus friends and family. Yours truly on the far left.

As we head into spring (if it ever returns) climbing season, have fun and be safe out there. Drop me a line and better yet some pictures of your activities and adventures.

Happy Travels,

Matt Zaffino
KGW Chief Meteorologist
mzaffino@kgw.com

Here's a picture of the provincial courthouse. It's a beautiful turn of the century structure. This picture doesn't do it justice (hey I was in hurry!), and it's even more beautiful when you see it surrounded by huge piles of snow.

Update! I snapped this daylight shot below of the courthouse on the way out of town. Hopefully this gives a little better idea of why I think it's so cool.

Simply put, this is one of the friendliest town's I've ever visited. But there's a charm here that goes beyond small-town friendly.

Downtown Fernie with the ski area's Lizard Bowl in the background.

You can't slide off a chair-lift or step into one of the growing number of great restaurants in town without hearing an Australian or New Zealand accent. Fernie is hugely popular with skiers from down-under. Part of it is because it's easy for fellow common-wealthers to work in Canada. But for this American ear, it adds an international quality to a visit to Fernie that's just fun and interesting.
The Fernie restaurant scene has seen some much-needed additions over the last few years, including Currie Bowl for thai food and an expansive beer list, Yamagoya's for great sushi and The Brick for drinks and solid and creative pub fare.

In spite of the growth, some good some questionable as is usually the case with a developing town, the common denominater here is still the powder.

The ski area is basically a series of bowls that all feed back to two base areas.

I'm cutting some telemark turns in the Fernie powder. The pictures don't show my smile.

The backdrop of the Lizard Range can be distracting from the task at foot.

There's a reason this is called Snow Valley. It's only 40 miles north of Montana so it reaps the snowy benefits of winter storms that often traverse inland south of the border. But it's also only 40 miles west of the Continental Divide, which acts as a barrier to the Arctic air-masses the Canadian Prairies are famous for. The boundary between the cold Arctic air and moisture laden Pacific air can be a very efficient snow-producer. Lisa poses for a picture from Siberia Bowl at Fernie Alpine Resort, high above the town of Fernie.

The town is about 3 miles from Fernie Alpine Resort. You'll still find skiers and boarders hitching rides to the ski hill every morning. People here aren't afraid to give a fellow rider a lift to the lifts.

Downsides? If you're looking for a big apre-ski scene, this may not be your town. Sure, there are a few hot-spot watering holes, but you're nearly as likely to be rubbing elbows at the bar with a coal-miner as you are with a powder-hound. Although in Fernie they're often the same guy. And yes, this is Canada, so hockey rules. One of the most fun things to do on a winter night in Fernie is catch one of the games of the local junior hockey team, the Fernie Ghost-Riders. The team is named after the shadowy image that appears on the face of one of the local mountains every sunny afternoon. The "Ghost-Rider" is as much a part of Fernie's history as fluffy snow and coal. But that's the subject of a future blog, the next time I'm back in my favorite ski-town.

Matt Zaffino
Chief Meteorologist
KGW News Channel 8

What's your favorite ski location? Post a comment, I'd love to hear about it!

Xena catching a frisbee at Bennett Pass SnoPark on Mt Hood

Check out the massive amount of snow in the parking lot at Bennett Pass! Xena, in her eagerness to go ski-joring, bounded almost straight up the snowbank. I made a feeble effort to kick steps in and climb up, before giving up and going around to a low spot farther down the parking lot. I made this picture on February 13. Clearly there's a ton of snow on Mt Hood, but already the snowpack is shrinking. And that's probably a good thing.

On February 8th, there was a massive 140" of snow at Government Camp. I can't recall ever seeing more there. But as of today, February 21, the snowpack is down to 91". That four feet of snow loss is due to settling, melting and sublimation (evaporation of snow). The reason I say the snow loss is a good thing is because the risk of widespread flooding is diminishing. The low elevation snowpack has been huge this winter. Our recent weather pattern has been perfect for a gradual reduction of all that water stored up in the snow.

Xena inspects a clear-cut off Bennett Pass

And there's still plenty of snow at higher elevations for great skiing well into spring. In fact I can hardly wait for the longer days of spring and some great corn snow.

Impressive Cap Cloud on Mt Hood

I made this picture the day before the ski-trip pictured above. The lenticular cloud on top of Mt Hood goes by the casual name of a Cap Cloud, since it looks like a cap on the mountain. These clouds are good indications of strong winds aloft, which can be an indication of an incoming storm. In this case, the storm dropped about 4 inches of snow on Mt Hood for my and Xena's skiing pleasure.

So what's up with the rest of winter? Are we done with stormy weather? Not likely. But it looks like more good opportunities in the next couple weeks to continue my cross-training regime of skiing, running and golf.

What about you? How do you take advantage of our less-stormy weather this time of year? Drop a comment on the blog here and I'll post some of the good ones. That way we can share ideas and maybe come up with more great ways to get out there and have fun!

Happy Trails,
Matt Zaffino
KGW Chief Meteorologist

On New Year's Eve Lisa, Xena and I did a little x-c skiing on a neighbor's Christmas tree farm. I gotta admit, skiing mere minutes from home was pretty cool! Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens loom in the dusky background.

Xena's not as vicious as she looks, she just likes to run! In my experience stop motion photography often catches dogs in Cujo-mode.

Xena's in this shot too. The snowpack is about 18". For an elevation of about 1400 feet, that's not bad! The tree farm owner has lanes cut in his trees, which made for some nice lines.

Sunday, January 6th, South Side of Mt St Helens.

We parked at the Marble Mountain Snow-Park, and headed out on a little tour. A lot of x-c skiers don't like this trailhead because it's heavily used by snow-mobilers. But through the smoke of those two-cycle engines, emerges an opportunity for skiers and snow-mobilers to interact.

And hopefully see that we share something: a desire to get out and enjoy the snow. We just have different methods.

Hey it's not like we have to share (here, anyway) the trails. Can't we all just get along? But that's fodder for future blogs. Back to skiing!

Yes, Xena is wearing booties. Snow tends to ball up between her toes, so she patiently let me strap these suckers on her paws. She threw them off a few times, but I finally got the hang of strapping them on tightly. After a few seconds she forgot about them and they sort of acted like little snow shoes. It was cool to watch her run with them. When I take her backpacking in summer, I always bring her booties, in case she cuts a pad or hurts a foot.

Friends Phil and Gina (Philina) enjoy the heavily falling snow. Gina's a rookie and she did great. See, she's smiling! Phil has more patience than any man alive. Not that he needed it... :)

Danger Zone


Check out the fracture line in the snow. A small avalanche left evidence of the unstable snowpack currently in the Cascades. As I write this, an Avalanche Warning is up for Tuesday for dangerous back-country conditions. This slide was next to the Swift Creek Trail we were on. We weren't in danger at this point, the slope above us was small and had already slid. But a bit higher, the small slope expanded into a bigger one on the right side of a gully that led to where we wanted to go.

Terrain trap! Even though it had mostly slid, I felt it was unsafe to ski because if it slid again, even though the slope was only about 50 yards high, it could release enough snow to bury a skier in the gully. Gully skiing makes me nervous.... I generally avoid it unless I know the snowpack is bomber (very stable). Here's a nice little poem by Mark Moore of the Northwest Avalanche Forecast Center (NWAC), that describes the current snowpack:

Slow down and listen, this ain’t no jive-
You’ve got to ratchet things back to stay alive.
Shooting cracks on the slope, whomps on the ridge-
We’ve got no strong crusts to act as a bridge.
The only crusts we’ve got are faceted and weak-
And loaded by even more snow as we speak.
Settlement is coming but not fast enough-
And it’s hard to focus with all of that fluff.
So whatever your sport, whatever your skill,
Be avalanche aware or else you it will kill.

Moore has done great work at the NWAC for years, and apparently he's quite the poet. I highly recommend you check their avalanche conditions forecast before heading out into the back-country.

Beauty Shot!

I'll end with this.. snow piling on fir trees. Gotta love the Cascades when it dumps like this. And it will all week. See, I'm weather-geeking out already. Thanks for reading my blog, and I'd love to see your comments.

Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino
KGW Chief Meteorologist

I spent an hour or so out in the crisp cold night making pictures of the lookout tower. This 30 second exposure is one of my favorites. I've skied into fire lookout towers more times than I can remember, but I'm always struck by the stark and stately beauty of these structures against the backdrop of winter. The horizontal line of light on the right is an airplane on final approach to PDX. The orange glow on the left is the lights of Portland. You can see another light-line, angling off from the vertical at the top of the shot. This is either a high-flying airplane or a satellite, but it's cool because I didn't notice it until I was home looking at my pictures.
The Five-Mile Lookout sits on a 30-foot tower and has views of Mt Hood, Mt Adams and Mt Rainier and of course a sweeping view to the east.

Xena mostly ran and I skied in to the tower in the awesome late afternoon light to meet our good friends Terry and Bill. My pack in the background is a lot heavier than Xena's!

Xena carries her food and ski-jore (future blog subject) gear, along with a couple adult beverages in her dogpack. Once it's on her she doesn't even notice it. Hey the girl's gotta carry her own weight! Not literally of course, she only has a few pounds in there.

We got to the tower in time to catch some nice Mt Adams alpenglow. That's Mt Rainier on the left.

Terry and Bill are great back-country cooks. But this is not really that. The lookout has a propane oven and stove, so it's not exactly primitive. And since the early season snowpack is shallow, the ski in was short. So we brought A LOT of supplies!

How about a fondue and fresh crab feast?

I brought the fondue cheese and bread, Terry and Bill hauled in the fresh crab. Yummy!

After scarfing scraps and her dog food, Xena thinks she just might settle in on the bed for a nap.

But she slept on the floor near me. The wood-burning stove was doing a great job of heating up the place, so she occasionally crashed by the door for some heat relief.

In the morning she did a good job of scouring the left-over congealed fondue cheese out of my pot.

And she was all over it when Bill dropped an egg on the cabin floor.

The ski out was a little short for Xena, she would have preferred to keep going!
If you're interested in learning more about Forest Service lookouts available for public use, you can make reservations and find out more at

http://www.recreation.gov

Matt Zaffino
KGW Chief Meteorologist