2009-10 Ski-Day Totals

[Tony Crocker]

Although I originally suggested it as a joke, having Tony do an audit of Admin's ski days may be an interesting slow-season exercise.

Been there and done that: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3184 (starting last post on first page)
Also a one season audit of Patrick's first streak season in 2005-06.
Both of the above included in graph partway down page 3 here:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6738&start=45

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Been there and done that

I'm not interested in vertical, powder days, whether Admin should have gone to Snowbird rather than Alta, etc.

You've taken issue with the way he counts multiple-resort days and one-and-done days. I'm suggesting that you analyze Admin's 67 TRs and figure out how many days YOU would have reported if those were YOUR season.

 

[Admin]

Been there and done that

I'm not interested in vertical, powder days, whether Admin should have gone to Snowbird rather than Alta, etc.

You've taken issue with the way he counts multiple-resort days and one-and-done days. I'm suggesting that you analyze Admin's 67 TRs and figure out how many days YOU would have reported if those were YOUR season.

Tony, and now James, you need to go find a hobby or something. Emphasis on the "something."

And FWIW, I think that I had one one-and-done day this winter, maybe two but I don't think so. My process is simple: a calendar day on skis is a day of skiing, no matter how many runs I made or how many resorts I skied at...or the snow depth, or the wind direction, or the phase of the moon, or where so-and-so's girlfriend was at in her menstrual cycle, or...

 

[Tony Crocker]

I have never disputed day count with regard to "one and done days" or a couple of runs racing at a local molehill at night. The 2006-07 audit was informative enough and james' suggested exercise would add nothing to it.

I think that I had one one-and-done day this winter, maybe two but I don't think so.

Yes, and skiing 60+ days a year the effect of those is minimal. Most of the variables average out over that many days where the pattern and priorities of the individual are the same, as is certainly true in admin's case. The "audited season" was a very low snow year by Utah standards, which I noted at the time and estimated what would be more typical. I considered this a public service for anyone who might be contemplating a move to Utah. :lol:

With regard to Patrick, he seems to have at least as much interest in keeping detailed personal ski records as I do, so in his case I think using his vertical watch consistently might provide information he would find useful. Vertical also tends to average out over a long season according to an individual's pattern and priorities. Some might think that the 3 days at Sun Valley would distort my vertical this season, but those were offset by 9 days of snowcat skiing. My vertical/day in 2009-10 is the same as last season and within 1,000 vertical of long term average.

 

[skibum4ever]

Do I dare post in this thread?

60 days so far, all at Mammoth, no one run and no split days. Though I do admit that the first day (when Mammoth opened for a 3 day weekend in October, then closed due to lack of snow) was probably only 4 or 5 runs.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

 

[Admin]

Well, I can finally participate in this topic.

Stop the presses... :-$

 

[Tony Crocker]

I'm done with the Northern Hemisphere:

Area Days Vertical Powder

Mountain High 1 30.2 0
Mammoth 12 281.4 6
Snowbird 8 163.9 30
Alta 4 72.7 8
*Mustang Powder Snowcat 3 50.8 45
Revelstoke 2 46.3 0
Kicking Horse 1 14.8 0
Chatter Creek Snowcat 4 37.9 31
*Kimberley 1 18.2 0
Island Lake Snowcat 2 33.5 27
Castle Mt. 1 22.5 0
Mt. Baldy 3 69.1 10
*Pomerelle 1 11.7 0
*Brundage 2 43.4 10
*Bogus Basin 1 21.2 0
Sun Valley 3 100.8 0

Totals 49 1018.4 167

*New Area, total area count is now 147.

 

[Staley]

Really only 6k of powder vert at Mammoth? I'm guessing you scheduled destination trips just resulted in an unlucky season at Mammoth. Also, why does each cat skiing trip have about 6k of vert that's not powder?

 

[Staley]

I just did a quick tally of my days and came up with this:


Total Days: 37 days
Powder Days: 23 days

Baldy: 4 days, 2 days of powder
Grand Targhee: 6 days, 2 days of powder
June: 1 day, 1 day of powder
Mammoth: 26 days, 17 days of powder
Waterman: 1 day, 1 day of powder

Powder days were either .5 or 1, so it's nothing too scientific. My definition of powder is definitely broader than most here, also. This easily tops my previous season high of 6 days. I didn't experience conditions as good as last years spring break trip to Altabird, but I still had a ton of great days. In particular, a 2000 vert, untracked, chest-deep, light powder sidecountry run at June was undoubtedly my best ever run. Also, I hit 30K of powder one day at Mammoth and probably surpassed 20K of powder at Mammoth at least 5 more times.

 

[Tony Crocker]

My Mammoth trips were all scheduled: Jan. 1-3, Apr. 2-4, Apr. 17-18, May 25-27, June 19. My Mammoth skiing is historically biased to late season (thus only 6% lifetime powder by my definition), and even more so in recent years when I have been doing 3-4 weeks of mid-season destination trips. In general I do not believe Mammoth is a reliable place for powder skiing due to wind effect upon both the new snow and lift operations. 2009-10 was an exceptionally good season for powder at Mammoth due to lower water content (~10% vs. average 13%) and the middle tier of lifts (3, 5 and 22) being open during storms more often than in many seasons.

The definition of powder days is subjective, and was previously debated here: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6878

Since my primary method of counting is by vertical, I make my powder estimates that way. It is a stricter standard than most people's because I exclude the traverses and runouts. For example an untracked run in South Bowl is powder for about 3/4 of the Thunder chair's 1,000 vertical and a run out to Dragon's Tail would yield less than half of chair 9's vertical as powder. Even cat/heli places often have traverses and some common pickup zones that get tracked, thus I tend to count the better days there in the 90% range.

I know some people disagree with this, but I don't see a full day of lift service staying over 80% even on uncrowded and stormy days. Adam's powder definition tends to be even stricter than mine. He got a few of the big midweek Mammoth storm days in January. Those were in the 80% range because he got out early and hammered chair 22 nonstop for typically 25K or so and then quit around 1PM. His view was that even then it was getting somewhat tracked, so why not call it a day, then get out the next morning when he knew it would be deep and untracked again. I'm typically skiing the whole day, so a morning might be 70-80% powder, but after lunch you usually need to hit the Dragon's Tail/Bookends/Catherine's type places if you want untracked, so the day as a whole more often comes in at 50-60%.

By my strict definition about 15% of my 2009-10 vertical was powder. By previous discussions I've found where I count ~6K or more of powder, most people would consider that a powder day. There were 14 of those for me this season. In most seasons that percentage of days is typically about double the percentage of vertical and in line with the way most people look at it.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Finishing up 2009-10:

Area Days Vertical Powder

Mt. Hutt 1 21.1 0
*Mt. Olympus 1 10.2 0
*Porters 1 19.9 0
*Broken River 1 9.0 6

Totals 53 1,078.5 173

*New Area, total area count is now 150.

 

[snowboard247]

I finished my season with 151 days on the hill (mammoth, june, tahoe), and 2 days off the hill, consisting of hiking the sherwins. I would say I got about 30 powder days this year (6" or more new snow), which is easily the most I've had in a season.

I still plan however to get some turns in in August, and hoping for September as well, as that would give me 12 consecutive months.

 

[Patrick]

I still plan however to get some turns in in August, and hoping for September as well, as that would give me 12 consecutive months.

You're in trouble now...(not saying that you won't do it, but it get addictive)...Started looking for 12 in a row went I easily got October to start off one season and made it month 1...then I went for 13 to bridge into the new season and I've been adding one month at a time without any objective except trying to bag the following month. Some people call me crazy, but I like going it. Keep me active and travelling. :mrgreen:

Oh yeah, I'm up to 48 days this season. The event after Day 40 totally charged my priorities and drained my time: 2 in April, 1 in May, 2 in June and 3 in July. Looking at my next day in August and wondering where I'll go. I've taken an option on SA again due to time and financial constraint + desire for revenge. :twisted:

 

[Tony Crocker]

desire for revenge. :twisted:

As I noted in the Las Lenas thread, Patrick's experience in Argentina was far from unique. The following quote from one of the eclipse chasers is quite apropos for skiers as well.

David's comments, remind me that one of the risks associated with eclipse chasing, is "social weather", including culture. Honoring obligations and doing one's job is not considered important way too often in Argentina. This needs to be taken into account because that country has just had the first of five central eclipses (3 total, 2 annular) in a span of 17 years..........Argentines need to understand that it will be competing with Chile for four upcoming eclipses, including the total eclipses of 2019 and 2020. This country will have opportunities to change its collective attitude. I hate to say this, but the stories I read here are typical of what I heard about Argentina going well back into the last century. (These stories would be off-topic for this forum.)

5 years ago I was where snowboard247 is now, going for the 12-month season. I resisted the temptation to fly off just to ski a WROD in October for a 13th month. I knew that the longer the streak went, the more crazy stuff I would probably do to keep it going. Most people probably think my recent trip (diving, eclipse cruise and then skiing) was crazy enough. Since snowboard247 lives in the mountains and is young and fit, he has a fair chance to keep a streak going via earned turns with just modest cooperation from the weather.

 

[snowboard247]

Heh i know I wont do anything crazy...like flying to the southern hemisphere just to get a day in to keep a consecutive month streak alive. My life is shifting and I will be getting a more serious job in the very near future which will unfortunately hamper the amount of days I get per season (I think half). I would love to be able to get at least 1 day every month of the year at least once in my life, and I think this is the year, before I gain way more responsibility, and a lot less free time.

 

[Patrick]

Heh i know I wont do anything crazy...

Not crazy at all. It would seem that I'm an inspiration for colleague at work. :lol:

like flying to the southern hemisphere just to get a day in to keep a consecutive month streak alive.

I wanted to go in the Southern Hemisphere even before Billy Johnson won his first World Cup race... The streak can around many years afterward. The streak is a way into 'not' putting those trips later on. In the last 3 trips down South, I haven't even sleep twice in the same town and ski the same area from one year to the next. This year would potential be the first repeat after sseekiing 13 different areas. As long as I'm having fun and not bored, and there is a desire to continue, I'll try.

My life is shifting and I will be getting a more serious job in the very near future which will unfortunately hamper the amount of days I get per season (I think half).

I hear you, I went through that, however at one point in your life, you'll have to decide what you really want to do.

I would love to be able to get at least 1 day every month of the year at least once in my life, and I think this is the year, before I gain way more responsibility, and a lot less free time.

If you look back in the old posts from FTO, probably around 2003, I mentioned that I wanted to do it once in my life. Never would have thought for a million bucks that 7 years later, I would be closing in on 5 years.

 

[snowboard247]

5 years is pretty awesome, and very respectable. Who knows how long a streak I'll be able to keep alive...but I'm gonna do it staying local.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I have skied in the Southern Hemisphere 4 of the past 6 years. But some of these trips were opportunistic: I was offered a great deal by NASJA in one case and I was "in the neighborhood" for something else I wanted to do (Inca Trail, the recent eclipse) in other examples. Locking into a narrow "streak" time frame for exotic travel reduces flexibility, though in fairness to Patrick his late August/early September requirement is on average the safest for snow coverage/conditions for most ski areas in both SA and NZ.

The eclipse trips are Exhibit A of no flexibility. Sometimes they coincide nicely with when you would want to visit a country (Egypt in March) and sometimes they are when weather is thoroughly unpleasant (China in July). Sometimes like last year I can modify the itinerary to something I like better, but there will be times when the timing, expense and/or inconvenience is not worth it. My eclipse "streak" is at 4 consecutive now, pretty sure to make 5 but very unlikely to still be going by the time I start lobbying you here for the Oregon to South Carolina eclipse on August 21, 2017.