I'm a little ashamed to admit this but I only got two days of skiing in this April.

I spent a day at Crystal Mountain and another at White Pass. Below is a picture from what's left of one of my ski poles. Wish I had a good story to go with the snapped pole, but I just accidentally busted it while goofing off with some friends. Didn't even fall.

So just two days in April. Well, La Nina has made May the new April for skiers and boarders this year so maybe I'll do better in May. Alpental and Summit Central are open Saturday, Sunday and Monday then close for the season. Lift tickets are $5 on Monday.

Believe it or not, the snow is still dumping. Eight inches at Alpental last night.

This is the fourth of at least 12 installments from Craig's attempt to ski at least once each month this year. He's done this before but this is his first time writing about it. He'll write more in the summer months when the skiing is a little more difficult to find.

From the Bureay of Lane Management:

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oregon State Office announced today that it has decided to move forward with the “No Action” alternative in the March 2007 Environmental Assessment (EA), and reject the hardrock lease application.

=> Read more!

Somebody placed what appears to be a snowboard-toting lawn gnome in front of the Johnston Ridge Observatory Web cam at Mount St. Helens.

The sign to the gnome's right says "I will get the snow." The sign is getting attention from media outlets around the Northwest. This morning a second sign was added to the gnome.
It reads "No headway on the snow, but could use some hot chocolate."

The National Weather Service recently told The News Tribune that snow levels in the Cascades are 150 percent of normal this season.

Holly Lippert of the Summit at Snoqualmie says the ski area received eight inches of new snow overnight. The ski area, the only one in the area still operating, will reopen Saturday. It plans to close for the season on May 5. Lift tickets will be $5 on Monday.

One of the primary concerns for athletes as they train for this summer’s Olympics in Beijing is the air quality.

The International Olympic Committee has even warned that endurance events could be postponed if air pollution is at a dangerous level.

Pat McDonough, director of athletics for USA Cycling, says preparing for Beijing is a bit tricky.

“We have air purifiers for the rooms,” McDonough said. “But there is not a lot we can do on the course.”

McDonough says athletes can’t really acclimatize to pollution.

“Some athletes have tried and the only thing that really happens is that their level of performance has gone down,” McDonough said.

In the USA Cycling’s previous experience in polluted areas all days have been equally as nasty,” McDonough said.

“In a 10-day period maybe two days are pretty good and two days are really bad and the rest is someplace in between,” McDonough said. “We will plan for the worst and hope for the best.”