Back before New Years I was wondering why this thread was still active so piped in on page #5 at post #90 with some humor making fun of the blabberings. Monique was amused enough to call that grumping haha.
So was curious this morning since I haven't opened the thread since, what all the rest of you might be still be talking about 7 weeks later since it now shows 23 pages haha. Thus went in and found this discussion about interpreting and trusting snow depths. Aha, a subject worth adding some summary two cents to.
Tossing out a nugget of wisdom, only a newbie or fool ought to blindly trust official resort reported new snow or base depths when conditions are low because marketing guys at resorts have a decades long history of influencing such numbers sometimes. That is despite any supposed industry or whatever guidelines. When a resort is not making enough money from walk up lift ticket purchasers due to (usually early season) mediocre conditions, it is a sure way of suckering in a few more of those that are at a threshold considering going up to visit a resort that don't use any better way of making an assessment. The same groups versus we season pass dirt bags, most likely to also spend a lot more money on rentals, lodging, slope restaurants, and ski shops. In other word the sought after prey.
And G as an older guy has obviously been around enough, and as a smart guy, knows how to get around BS and at something closer to reality. Remote gauges with online Internet presence, weather sites, resort and regional web cams, personal reports of others on this board, a resort Facebook page comments, and poking around on regional enthusiast boards for reports. In any case at best when snow depths are low, one ought expect there will be lots of obstacles poking up, especially off groomed runs and where sun, trees, terrain forms, and winds tend to make depths lower than average while less wind and sun exposed areas will have less obstacles. Even 20 foot depths don't cover up trees. Its all vague, relative and variable increasingly better understood with more experience.
After even a couple inches of fresh powder, one can also always be sure that some skiers without common sense not on rentals, without rock skis, will grinning take their expensive shiny skis into places where they are sure to gouge core shots and gash edges impossible to ever fix and then whine about it publicly. An experienced savvy skier even at resorts they are not familiar with, can deal with low snow conditions by skiing on groomed runs while keeping one's eyes open and only going off such trails where they understand the basic tendencies of snow deposition, can ski in control, and patiently stop to assess areas that are bony. I've got 13 long skiing days in this very bony low base so far winter while having to ptex my bases just in a couple minor spots and have stoned out with a few easy passes minor edge dings. I also resisted the temptation to join all mountain oriented skiers at times when I knew better.
So was curious this morning since I haven't opened the thread since, what all the rest of you might be still be talking about 7 weeks later since it now shows 23 pages haha. Thus went in and found this discussion about interpreting and trusting snow depths. Aha, a subject worth adding some summary two cents to.
Tossing out a nugget of wisdom, only a newbie or fool ought to blindly trust official resort reported new snow or base depths when conditions are low because marketing guys at resorts have a decades long history of influencing such numbers sometimes. That is despite any supposed industry or whatever guidelines. When a resort is not making enough money from walk up lift ticket purchasers due to (usually early season) mediocre conditions, it is a sure way of suckering in a few more of those that are at a threshold considering going up to visit a resort that don't use any better way of making an assessment. The same groups versus we season pass dirt bags, most likely to also spend a lot more money on rentals, lodging, slope restaurants, and ski shops. In other word the sought after prey.
And G as an older guy has obviously been around enough, and as a smart guy, knows how to get around BS and at something closer to reality. Remote gauges with online Internet presence, weather sites, resort and regional web cams, personal reports of others on this board, a resort Facebook page comments, and poking around on regional enthusiast boards for reports. In any case at best when snow depths are low, one ought expect there will be lots of obstacles poking up, especially off groomed runs and where sun, trees, terrain forms, and winds tend to make depths lower than average while less wind and sun exposed areas will have less obstacles. Even 20 foot depths don't cover up trees. Its all vague, relative and variable increasingly better understood with more experience.
After even a couple inches of fresh powder, one can also always be sure that some skiers without common sense not on rentals, without rock skis, will grinning take their expensive shiny skis into places where they are sure to gouge core shots and gash edges impossible to ever fix and then whine about it publicly. An experienced savvy skier even at resorts they are not familiar with, can deal with low snow conditions by skiing on groomed runs while keeping one's eyes open and only going off such trails where they understand the basic tendencies of snow deposition, can ski in control, and patiently stop to assess areas that are bony. I've got 13 long skiing days in this very bony low base so far winter while having to ptex my bases just in a couple minor spots and have stoned out with a few easy passes minor edge dings. I also resisted the temptation to join all mountain oriented skiers at times when I knew better.
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