Big Pow finally comes to Bachelor - then rain :(

I'm sure glad I got my days of riding in while the mtn offered up some pow. Word is that it's now RAINING up there. Meahwhile, we headed down to the sunny So. Cal beach, where it's NOT raining, and almost 70 degrees. Here's some shots from the good days last week, and some of the early cone from October.

Meanwhile, back at the coast...

Great 'surf' report (below) from the NW this week. We should get about a foot or more of cold pow from this one back in Bend and Bachelor. Fun, but shallow lines on the front-side of the mtn have been good for an hour or two of fun for the last couple days. Hopefully, the coming storm, and subsequent "pineapple express" next week should usher in the beginning of the real snow season soon! from http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/marine.php?marine=PZZ250 .SUN...S WIND 40 TO 50 KT...BECOMING 45 TO 55 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. COMBINED SEAS 16 TO 20 FT IN THE MORNING DOMINANT PERIOD 9 SECONDS THEN BUILDING TO 26 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN. .SUN NIGHT...S WIND 30 TO 40 KT IN THE EVENING...BECOMING 55 TO 65 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. GUSTS UP TO 80 KT. COMBINED SEAS BUILDING TO 32 TO 36 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 11 SECONDS. RAIN. .MON...S WIND 60 TO 70 KT WITH GUSTS TO 85 KT... EASING TO 45 TO 55 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. COMBINED SEAS 40 TO 45 FT. RAIN. .MON NIGHT...S WIND 35 TO 45 KT. COMBINED SEAS 28 FT. RAIN IN THE EVENING...THEN CHANCE OF SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. .TUE...SW WIND 25 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 6 FT. W SWELL 29 FT. SHOWERS. ..and an update on the evening of 12/3: BUOYS 29 AND 50 ARE ADRIFT AND MAY RUN AGROUND TONIGHT. SEAS PEAKED AT 48 FT AT BUOY 89 BUT HAVE STARTED TO FALL. WILL MAINTAIN THE COASTAL FLOOD WARNING THROUGH MIDNIGHT DUE TO VERY HIGH RIVER FLOWS AND GIVE THE SEAS SOME MORE TIME TO DROP. WILL LIKELY NEED TO GO WITH HIGH SURF WARNING LATER TONIGHT. THERE IS ANOTHER BATCH OF SEAS CLOSE TO 30 FEET THAT REACHES OUR COAST TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT FROM AN OFFSHORE FETCH THAT WILL MAINTAIN RATHER HIGH SEAS INTO AT WEDNESDAY. Power out to over 40,000 around the N. Oregon coast, 130mph gusts, warming temps, and rain. Can anyone say "Pineapple Express"?

I'm glad we don't have to resort to this....

I watched the premiere of this adventure the other night. A friend of mine and his mates put together this excellent movie of their summer 'dirt skiing' adventure - pretty tough guys, for sure. The full video is on Youtube as "parts 1 and 2", don't miss it after playing this preview. For those that don't recognize some of my favorite local biking and climbing spots in their "approach" to the cone, there is a whole lot of local humor here. Enjoy

Giving Thanks for good surf...

Clandestine Video from an 'unnamed left point'

The local vibe was 'less than friendly'

but we got some waves anyway...

Choices, Choices

With some good snow on the ground, I left for a November surf trip to the good 'ol Oregon Coast. After the storm, the typical offshore pattern sets in, and on the trip over, I was greeted with a fresh coat of snow...

But I was on a mission for another type of sliding, as Mt. Bachelor only reported 6" from the storm. Here's a shot from tonite, with some building swell wrapping into the local reefs here.

Plenty to be thankful for here, how about you?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Matt

The rest of the surf shots....

France surf shots are on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shredvids/sets/72157603029925973/ It sure was good to get some surf, and Paris was a wonderful end to the vacation. Great to be back in Bend, OR climbing, biking and waiting on the snow to come for some good POW turns....

Weather comes in, so we are off to Paris...

Good surf while at the coast - This is Hossegor the last day, with a 30 mph wind onshore, and still firing like the wedge. As the weather turned, we headed out to Paris

I was instantly blown away at the many sights and sounds of the city....

Last night we hit Harry's bar,

the oldest cocktail bar in Europe, and guess who they are rallying for?

GO DUCKS!

New job in Biarritz!

F-it, I am taking a job in this Belgian pub - A lifetime's worth of good beer, and a great crew to hang with! Surf's been pretty good, too! Guethery Friday AM

Lafitenia Friday PM!

Finally, one of the strangest lineups I've ever seen - Inside the city of San Sebastian, Spain, this rock wall reform was being worked by some intense locals, RIGHT next to the rocky seawall! Jump in off the wall, line up amongst the locals, and try not to hit the rocks on takeoff - Most were making about 50% of their waves - boards were getting racked into the wall constantly.

3 Days of Riding Bend's Big Fat Tour!

Friday: - Lookout Mtn Saturday: -Loop around Mt. Bachelor: Sunday - Cache Mtn Loop

13th Annual Bend's Big Fat Tour "Rides Again"

It's Big Fat Time Again! BBFT Founder and Course-Creator Supreme, Paul Thomasberg Mid-day today... The ride today was two major climbs in the Ochoco Mtns, east of Prineville. I rode the second half, to the summit of Lookout Mtn, with an incredible descent off the snow-covered top, Here's a little bit of the video from the finish of today's ride...

First Tracks on the Cone Today - Where the Bloody Hell were You?

Check out my first day on 6" of early season snow, on top of a 2" frozen slushee base. Conditions were NOT bad, considering it's the first real snow for Mt. Bachelor this season. As I rode down from the cone to my car, I noticed that the Pine Marten Lift was being loaded with chairs - I'm sure that must mean that all of that new money from our season passes will convince them to open early..............NOT Youtube "Where the Bloody Hell Are You"

Psychopaths in Hyperspace

From a trip two weeks ago to Leavenworth, WA to climb the fable "Snow Creek Wall"

PC vs. Shorties....

Chum, from Sissyfish had a report from last Thursday afternoon, giving us a chance to compare the swell at two spots that like a N-NW wind.

PC was a bit confused, with less swell near the cove

giving up a nice entry into the full brunt of the swell down at gas chambers.

Scott, Scott, Bill and I met up down there and combined quivers,

leaving us well-stocked for the swell. Three sessions in butt-cold water left us driving back within 24 hours salty, tired and happy to get some waves.

I, too, struggled with the water temp, going from an optimistic afternoon session with a 3mm and no hood (brrrrrrrrr.....) to a morning session in the full 5/3, hood, booties and gloves, which always leaves me feeling like I'm trying to surf from the outside of the little box with a crane that you try and pick up stuffed animals with for a quarter. The gloves, especially mess up my ability to push off an into a good wave without feeling somewhat sketchy.

My attempts with surfing with the Hero Cam continue - Coming soon is a short video clip from Thursday's sessions, called too scared to look, because of all the rough footage that ends up peering down into the green deep while I paddle...

clas·si·fied (klăs'ə-fīd') - when the surf is inundated by hordes of "surf lesson" Noobs

After surfing a very busy couple of days on the Oregon coast, I came up with the above "new school definition" of the impact of all the surf schools on the lineup. At my last trip to Short Sands, on a Tuesday, there was more than 100 cars in the lot, and hundreds out enjoying some pretty good surf. The majority were on either softtop beginner boards, or rentals, especially wetsuits with S or M written in sharpie on the front and back. I also caught this story: Surfers cruise into Guinness World Record, which is the ultimate expression of what we used to call B.Y.O.C., or Bring Your Own Crowd, a much frowned upon practice of showing up at a little-known or local break with 10 or 15 of your 'best friends', and taking over the place. It's not all bad to help out folks learning, though. Here's a classic shot of a friend's daughter, on her 'first ever' wave at Short Sands. Sharing the stoke is what the surfing life is all about, to me.

Hard Labor on Labor Day!

From a nice, casual 'garden party' yesterday,

John and I ended up in the Lower Gorge at Smith Rock, where I lead up Cornercopia, a 5.10b*** Smith Basalt Trad climb.

I was worked,

but we headed along the west side of the river, over tons of talus, and onto the Northern Point. Check out all the potential for sunny, warm winter climbing on the East side of the Lower Gorge...

John then put up some other 5.8+ climb, Burn Baby, Burn with just two draws (from the top!)

Oh Yeah, and in case you think it's cold here in Oregon...

CON Surfhouse rennovation

I've been out at the coast lately, working on our surfhouse. Major Water damage repairs, a new woodstove, mantle and stone, and some much needed paint and upkeep have kept me busy at a beautiful time to be on the Oregon Coast. Friends, like Alejandro have volunteered to help, so that we can enjoy a few moments out in front of the house like this...

My uncle Scott has his first board down at the beach house, and we are looking into restoring it as well. It's apparently an old Con Surfhouse board, possibly from as early as '58.

She still rides well, but needs some love and affection, and a place on the wall at the house, once we finish the house. Swell is still around 5', and there's been nobody out. We have had a couple of shark sightings, though.

Sissyfish...

Sissyfish is a great surf blog to take a look at - Check out this "Spring Runoff" concept in the following video: http://sissyfish.blogspot.com/2007/07/how-nau.html

Balboa Peninsula Summer Fun!

Check out the nice, round keg this guy just got spit out of at 39th St! Gettin a groove on at Scotsmans' Cove Rights! It's great to back at my "home break" 3112 Ocean front (the tall white one) - Our beach house for the week.

Scott, ripping it up on the bodyboard in the warm, (74 degree!) water!

The locals "forecast" from Mutt Lynch's bar- Newport Beach is in the "949" area code - 909 and 951 are for the masses from inland, where temps hovered just below 100 degrees last week. Obviously, many 909 / 951 'ers (and a few 541'ers!) made their way to the cooler (80's) temps at the beach...

Many of the best waves last week were at the 'RJ's" break, right in front of the Santa Ana Rivermouth, where enough partially treated sewage to fill Anaheim Stadium two times runs into the ocean everyday. This is what can happen if you 'eat shit' on a wave at RJ's...

Back from the beach!

The views changed dramatically from summer fun on the beach yesterday, to some considerable expsoure while taking in the views from "Wherever I may Roam", a 5-pitch new-school classic at Smith Rock in the afternoon. Here I am, trying to snap off a couple shots while leading the second pitch.

As we got even higher, we found everyone else climbing the usual routes...I'm pretty sure this is Alejandro climbing, with everybody else looking on... Finally, we topped out, and rather than the usual rap down, we went looking for a supposed walk-off we had seen another party pull off. This is John, ledging away from the safety of the rap while I ran off to look for the way down from the top of the Smith pinnacle.

We never found an easy way down the west side, and the east side had lots of slings and rotten gear, so we bailed back to the anchors, and rapped back down for some well-deserved beers with the rest of the Tues. night climbing crew....

Summer's here, and the livin's easy!

Great Surf yesterday - Even went out for quite a while in trunks, sans wetsuit!

Surf was fun 3' peaks, with nobody out in the water at all, dead glass. We also went out this morning and 'caught' several clams at the beach out front. They ended up being Clam chowder dinner, with bread, salad, and a couple of Alaskan IPA's...