The Gorge is famous for “nuclear winds” which draw kiteboarders and windsurfers from around the world (including ourselves). The high winds are perfect for boosting big airs and carving jibes on wind swell, however they are not perfect for composting opeations. In fact, they can quite easily shut us down (any material we move on a windy day can blow off site, which is a violation of our permit). While high winds are great for our kiteboarding habits, they’re not so good for business.
One way we try to beat the wind is by getting up before dawn and starting work before the wind cranks up for the day. We are particularly cognizant of wind on days when we grind yard debris. Grinding involves perching an excavator on top of a pile of yard debris and loading an 850 horsepower machine capable of turning a four foot diameter tree into four inch wood chips. On one such day this past summer we snapped a photo of our grinding operations at dawn. Through a last minute email conversation with Dan Sullivan, BioCycle Magazine decided to pick up the photo and run it for the cover shot this month. We are stoked and honored to have the photo run in our favorite composting magazine.
Big thanks to our grinding partners D&Z, Dan Sullivan, Nora Goldstein and the art staff at BioCycle.





















