Where to get the best snow report for Mount Hood
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Photo Illustration: Axios Visuals; Photos: Courtesy of Temira Lital and Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images
If you're heading to the mountain for a day on the snow, you could turn to a resort forecast or the National Weather Service, but there's a better option.
The big picture: For the last 15 years or so, Temira Lital has been running The Gorge Is My Gym, easily the best and most comprehensive Mount Hood ski forecast website.
State of play: No other daily report offers the granularity — literally whether to expect granular snow or soft powder — that Lital delivers, free to all and powered only by donations.
- Mount Hood can be a difficult place to forecast, with the elevation where rain turns to snow often sitting somewhere in the middle of the resorts.
- But Lital has honed the forecasting craft over nearly three decades of self-taught meteorology and observation.
What they're saying: "It's about safety," Lital told Axios, but it's also about letting people know whether it's worth a trip as snow sports continue to get more expensive.
- "I really want to get it right," Lital said. "I want to let the people recreating know if the snow is going to suck."
Catch up quick: Based in Hood River, Lital first started paying attention to the weather as part of their interest in windsurfing.
- Lital saw a gap between what was available from the weather service and what they needed to make the most of their time on the water.
- Through lessons from other local forecasters and a lot of self-teaching, Lital launched the website and has been providing free forecasts ever since.
Plus: Lital offers other services with suggestive acronyms like Temira's Awesome Travel Advisory Service (TATAS) and a gardening report called Valuable Advice for Gardeners Inhabiting Neighboring Areas (we'll let you spell that out on your own).
Between the lines: Lital produces all that while also working as a therapist and meditation leader.
- "My life is disconnected and helping people is the throughline," Lital said. "I want people to have the best info possible before they go up there so they can make good choices."
What we're watching: Mount Hood Meadows and Timberline, the two biggest resorts on the mountain, are anxiously awaiting more snow before they get the lifts turning.
- When they do, though, Lital's forecast should be considered essential reading.