NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Saturday, December 11, 2021
known as just the handle tow.
The Mad Hatter also accesses
the Rabbit Hole terrain park
for beginning skiers and
riders.
Future characters, in the
same theme, are in the works.
Alice’s Wonderland,
as distinct from “Alice in
Wonderland,” honors Alice
Trindle, a Baker County
native and lifelong Anthony
Lakes skier, and longtime
ski school instructor and
member of the board of
directors for Anthony Lakes
Outdoor Recreation Associ-
ation.
Trindle recently stepped
down from her board role but
remains an integral member
of the ski school, where she
started teaching in 1978.
Waiting on Mother Nature
those storms are brewing in
the North Pacific.
The National Weather
Service is forecasting a series
of strong storms to push into
Northeastern Oregon this
weekend and into next week.
A preliminary forecast
suggests 2 or more feet of
snow could fall at Anthony
Lakes through Wednesday,
Dec. 15. The snow base was
5 inches on Dec. 9.
Typically, the resort needs
about 2 feet of snow to start
running the lift, although a
deeper base is required to
fully open all the downhill
runs.
If conditions permit, the
ski area would be open daily,
except for Christmas Day,
from Dec. 18 through Jan. 2,
closing at 1 p.m. on Christ-
mas Eve (with $5 off lift tick-
ets that day).
With snow scarce across
Oregon and the Northwest
until now, Judy said she
expects skiers and snow-
boarders will be eager to
make their first runs when
the weather allows.
“We’re definitely expect-
ing pretty big numbers as
soon as we’re able to open,”
she said. “We’re all excited
to ski.”
Judy pointed out atten-
dance was up at ski areas
across the nation last winter,
a trend industry officials
attributed in part to people
looking for outdoor activities
Anthony Lakes Ski
Area needs quite a
bit of snow to open
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — When
you run a ski area, the term
“record high temperature”
might as well be one four-let-
ter word.
A couple of early fall
storms whitened the slopes at
Anthony Lakes Ski Area, but
that promising start devolved
into a period of unseasonably
mild temperatures, said Chel-
sea Judy, marketing director
for the resort in the Elkhorn
Mountains west of North
Powder.
“I wouldn’t call it a (snow)
base yet,” she said on Dec. 2.
That was just a day after
the temperature rose to 54
degrees at the Baker City
Airport, breaking the previ-
ous record high, for the first
day of December, of 53 set in
2013.
But Judy pointed out that
at Anthony Lakes, with the
highest base elevation (7,100
feet) among Northwest ski
areas, the transition to full-
fledged winter can be, and
often is, rapid.
“A couple of good storms”
can sometimes be enough to
kick off the ski season, she
said.
And it looks as though
during the pandemic.
On the viral front, Judy
said this winter should be
different from the last at
Anthony Lakes.
Barring any new state-im-
posed restrictions, the plan
is to open the lodge as usual
this winter and have a normal
parking system, she said.
Last winter, by contrast,
Anthony Lakes encouraged
visitors to use their vehi-
cles as a staging spot, and
although restrooms were
available, the lodge was
otherwise closed.
Although face masks will
be required indoors, they will
not be mandated in lift lines,
as was the case last winter,
Judy said.
One change from last
winter that will carry over to
2021-22 is on the Nordic side.
Judy said the mobile
Nordic “outpost” — a
converted trailer — will
again be parked in the
Elkhorn Crest trailhead lot
about a quarter-mile east of
the lodge, just off the high-
way. The outpost will have
Nordic trail passes and hot
drinks, among other services.
The Anthony Lake Guard
Station, which formerly
served as the Nordic center,
now is available for overnight
rentals during the winter, an
option that was popular last
year, Judy said.
The trailhead parking lot
has more space for vehicles
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
SUNDAY
| Go to AccuWeather.com
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Supporting locally
owned businesses
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald
A couple inches of snow covered the slopes at Anthony Lakes
Mountain Resort on Sunday morning, Dec. 5, 2021. The ski
area, in the Elkhorn Mountains west of North Powder, needs
about 2 feet of snow for a partial opening.
than the site near the guard
station, she said.
New options for new
skiers and riders
The gentle slope near the
lodge where fledgling skiers
and boarders hone their tech-
nique has a new look.
And a new name —
Alice’s Wonderland.
The ski area has replaced
Environmental group sues Army Corps
over pollution from Columbia River dams
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
Cloudy, a little rain;
windy
Breezy, a.m. rain;
mostly cloudy
52° 39°
49° 35°
A shower in the
a.m., then rain
Mostly cloudy and
cooler
Mostly cloudy, a
fl urry possible
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
53° 31°
43° 28°
42° 23°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
58° 42°
53° 39°
50° 31°
46° 29°
46° 26°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
48/39
39/34
54/31
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
52/39
Lewiston
50/41
59/45
Astoria
50/38
Pullman
Yakima 54/39
47/37
47/39
Portland
Hermiston
49/40
The Dalles 58/42
Salem
Corvallis
49/37
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
38/37
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
50/40
44/34
41/39
Ontario
41/37
Caldwell
Burns
49°
31°
42°
29°
68° (2014) -11° (1972)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
49/40
0.00"
0.04"
0.32"
5.11"
3.94"
7.84"
WINDS (in mph)
39/37
41/31
Trace
0.24"
0.45"
7.62"
12.27"
12.18"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 37/35
50/41
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
52/39
55/39
45°
33°
41°
28°
67° (1933) -13° (1972)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
47/36
Aberdeen
41/33
48/32
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
47/37
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
45/39
Sun.
SW 12-25
SSW 15-25
SW 7-14
WSW 8-16
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
40/30
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:26 a.m.
4:11 p.m.
12:57 p.m.
none
Full
Last
New
First
Dec 18
Dec 26
Jan 2
Jan 9
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 95° in Carrizo Springs, Texas Low -16° in Estcourt Station, Maine
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
70s
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90s
100s
warm front stationary front
PORTLAN D — A n
Oregon environmental group
is suing the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, claiming the
agency pollutes the Colum-
bia River with heated water,
oil and other toxic chemicals
at three hydroelectric dams
between Portland and the
Tri-Cities in southeast Wash-
ington.
Columbia Riverkeeper
filed the lawsuit on Dec. 8. It
alleges the Corps has failed
to obtain permits regulat-
ing pollutants discharged
into the Columbia River at
The Dalles, John Day and
McNary dams, in violation of
the federal Clean Water Act.
Miles Johnson, senior
attorney for Columbia River-
keeper, said the dams are
making the river too warm
for endangered salmon and
steelhead.
“Our runs of salmon and
steelhead in the Columbia
Basin are in serious trouble,”
Johnson said. “It’s really
disappointing to see the
Army Corps refuse to even
comply with our basic laws
for protecting clean water.”
According to the lawsuit,
pollution is occurring daily
at the dams, threatening the
health and survival of anad-
romous fish.
Columbia Riverkeeper
initially sued the Corps in
2013 over discharges. The
lawsuit was dropped a year
later after the agency agreed
to apply for Clean Water Act
permits through the Environ-
mental Protection Agency.
Those permits still have
not been issued seven years
later, Johnson said.
“We don’t think anyone,
especially the federal govern-
ment, is above the law,” he
said. “We’re asking for the
Army Corps to follow the law
and reduce pollution going
into the river.”
Matt Rabe, spokesper-
110s
high
low
Circulation Dept.
For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops
or delivery concerns call 800-781-3214
son for the Corps’ Northwest
Division, said the agency
applied for the EPA permits
in 2015 and takes its Clean
Water Act obligations seri-
ously.
“Our team is working tire-
lessly to find solutions that
balance all of the purposes
of the system, including the
needs of fish and wildlife,
flood risk management, navi-
gation, power generation,
recreation, water supply and
water quality,” Rabe said.
Water temperature is one
of the “pollutants” regulated
by the EPA under the Clean
Water Act. Both Oregon and
Washington have established
a maximum temperature of
68 degrees Fahrenheit for the
Columbia River to protect
salmon and steelhead runs.
Temperatures higher than
68 degrees can cause stress
and disease among salmo-
nids, leading to significant
die-offs.
A recent EPA report for
the Columbia and Snake
rivers concluded that water
temperat ures regularly
exceed 68 degrees at the
dams between July and Octo-
ber.
Johnson said Clean Water
Act permits could address
this problem several ways.
They might require the Corps
to improve fish ladders at
the dam, or draw down the
reservoirs during the warm
summer months to keep
cooler water moving quickly
through the system — rather
than sitting stagnant and
absorbing sunlight.
However, Rabe said that
though the pools behind the
lower Columbia River dams
are considered reservoirs,
they are largely not storage
reservoirs but rather run-of-
river facilities.
“This limits our ability to
impact water temperatures
by drawing down water
levels in the spring,” he said.
Other users of the Colum-
bia River system have ques-
tioned the temperature
standard for salmon, arguing
it is not realistically achiev-
able and threatens the dams’
continued operations for
navigation, hydropower and
water supplies.
Kurt Miller, executive
director of Northwest River-
Partners, said the tempera-
ture standard adopted in
Oregon and Washington is
setting the dams up for fail-
ure.
Northwest RiverPartners
is a group based in Vancou-
ver, Washington, that advo-
cates for hydroelectricity,
transportation and agricul-
ture within the Columbia
River system.
Looking at the EPA’s
report released last year,
Miller said water coming
into the system from farther
upst ream was already
warmer than 68 degrees —
suggesting there is nothing
dam operators can do to meet
the target.
While the lawsuit does
not specifically mention
breaching dams, Miller said
unachievable temperature
standards could be used as a
mechanism to further argue
for dam removal.
“I think it gets at the moti-
vation they’re going for,” he
said.
Scientific research into
the effect of dams on river
temperatures is also mixed.
In 2002, the Pacific North-
west National Laboratory
in Richland, Washington,
published a study indicating
dams might actually offer a
degree of protection, since it
takes longer for larger bodies
of water to heat than smaller
waterways.
Combined with produc-
ing carbon-free electricity,
Miller said productive hydro-
electric dams should be part
of the solution to combating
climate change and keeping
waters cool for fish.
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In the App Store:
80s
the “carpet,” which conveyed
skiers up the hill, with a
covered conveyor nicknamed
the Caterpillar (hence the
reference to Lewis Carroll’s
beloved fantasy tale).
Judy said visitors whose
skills surpass the challenge
of Alice’s Wonderland can
move on to the Mad Hatter
Handle Tow, previously
In place of Anthony
Lakes’ previous half-price
Thursday lift ticket promo-
tion, the resort is offering $25
lift tickets on Thursdays —
the usual price is $45 — for
visitors who bring a receipt
showing they had spent at
least $40 in the previous
week at a locally owned
restaurant or shop in Baker,
Union, Grant or Wallowa
counties.
“We’re encou raging
people to get out and shop
locally,” Judy said.
She encourages people to
check the resort’s website,
anthonylakes.com, for the
latest snow conditions,
schedules and other updates.
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