# Condition Updates



## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

Hey everyone I was just now sitting in my chair thinking about how pissed I am with some of the local resorts and their "condition reports". I travel up to Michigan to do most of my boarding but I thought of an idea I assume everyone could benefit from. My idea is to create a website that allows everyday boarders like us to report the true conditions of different ski areas and resorts. I'm tired of the "we have 20in of groomed snow!" when in reality they barely have 3in. Some people have to travel and without knowing the actual conditions its a waste of gas. With this website we could post pics and share the truth about the conditions or the ski areas as a whole. What does everyone think? Should I create this website?!


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## turbospartan (Oct 27, 2010)

If anything, make an iFin/android app. 

I used to go to skireport.com (they were bought out or something) and underneath each location, people could post comments on the conditions. 

An app would make it easy to access from a phone, or at least have a mobile version of the website.


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

turbospartan said:


> If anything, make an iFin/android app.
> 
> I used to go to skireport.com (they were bought out or something) and underneath each location, people could post comments on the conditions.
> 
> An app would make it easy to access from a phone, or at least have a mobile version of the website.


I meant to say that but yes it would come with an app that is accessible from any phone. Its annoying when it only works for certain phones (like iphone vs droid)


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

Cross reference reports with other weather sources. Take resort reporting with a grain of salt IMO

Who would be up at a resort early enough to report to your site... from all places no less, and accurately?

You'd have to be more consistent than what is already out there. It'd be a tall order


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

No one said it would be easy, but with work it is possible.


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

johnnymac said:


> No one said it would be easy, but with work it is possible.


No kidding.

Just saying it's one of those arm-chair critic type situations unless you go out and do it.


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

Well I would be starting small and local so for not I wouldn't be going beyond michigan. But the sites currently out there just post what the resorts say and its always lies. Local and frequent riders would be able to post the actual conditions.


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## Sick-Pow (May 5, 2008)

sweet idea for the US and beyond.

make it an app, make bank, buy us beers.


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

Sick-Pow said:


> sweet idea for the US and beyond.
> 
> make it an app, make bank, buy us beers.


why thank you and I will be sure to do that haha


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

It's a round-about thing really. You wanna be up there riding, but want to know conditions first... and so do all your friends. So who's going up first to check it out?

I find weather knowledge not too tricky, but snow conditions are another thing.

If you could do it, it'd be amazingly good :thumbsup:


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

Its the locals that would help me out here. My point is I dont want people who dont live close to have to drive up just to see if its worth the extra $40 a lift ticket.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

I drove 4.5 hours this weekend in search of good snow, and had to make decisions based on the official reports. Machine groomed might as well mean machine groomed ice for some of the hills. One resorts website said "powder" when in fact it hadn't had new snow for over a week (as reported by their 0 cm of new snow in the last 7 days) and in fact had rain on parts of the mountain.

I ended up finding "onthesnow.ca" which has a spot at the bottom for comments. Comments also have to be taken with a grain of salt as there are very different riders, riding all different sides of the mountains, and my definition of perfect groomers might be different from somebody elses. The other trouble with the site is some of the comments were a week old or more.

That said, I would love it if there was a popular site for user reported conditions. It would have to be popular enough to have at least 3/4 comments per mountain per day to make it worth while.

I wonder if it'd make more sense to use existing infrastructure for this kind of thing. It'd be easier to make a snow conditions facebook group for your favorite mountain, where people would comment. Every smartphone has a facebook app or social app available to it. It'd be nice to get a realtime feed of conditions at various resorts around my town. I have a love/hate thing with facebook but maybe this is a good use for it??? :dunno:


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

poutanen said:


> I drove 4.5 hours this weekend in search of good snow, and had to make decisions based on the official reports. Machine groomed might as well mean machine groomed ice for some of the hills. One resorts website said "powder" when in fact it hadn't had new snow for over a week (as reported by their 0 cm of new snow in the last 7 days) and in fact had rain on parts of the mountain.
> 
> I ended up finding "onthesnow.ca" which has a spot at the bottom for comments. Comments also have to be taken with a grain of salt as there are very different riders, riding all different sides of the mountains, and my definition of perfect groomers might be different from somebody elses. The other trouble with the site is some of the comments were a week old or more.
> 
> ...


I think the facebook thing is a pretty good idea however I absolutely hate facebook. I would like to create a website as popular as facebook in the snowboarding world to create real time updates on conditions. Maybe a text update would be an option to make it more like facebooks phone friendly app?


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

It wouldn't be hard (or maybe it would be) to have an app better than facebook for mobile :laugh:

It blows on Android anyway... actually FB messaging just blows, period


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Yeah I hate facebook too (not sure why I haven't deleted my account yet but my family lives all over the place)... Actually on my Nokia N8 I've got a facebook widget that gives me realtime updates on my main screen. So if I subscribed to pages with condition updates it would show me a scrolling update of conditions at all the resorts I subscribed to.

For the short term I'm going to create a few groups for the mountains I'm at the most often and see if they take off.

In the long run I'd totally back a mountain conditions website. Either a mobile version or dedicated apps, or RSS feeds would work. The main thing is your site would only be as valuable as the people posting conditions, so you'd need it to be popular enough to attract enough people that are willing to take time while they're at the hill, or at the end of their day, to post what they think of the conditions. I wish resorts would actually be honest about conditions... Machine groomed and packed powder seem to be synonymous with hardpack for them, and I'm not a big fan of riding on hardpack.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

thing is...
snow report is in the past
you also need current condition
and future...likely conditions...forecast

so around here folks often...and I mean often, check
dot, nwacc, noaa, hill's website, and a couple of forum threads.

then you digest and based on some historical reference you can have a good idea.

but alot of folks have their on-hill contacts and will call and chat.

But perhaps unlike the upper midwest, we have kind of a micro climate thing; and in some cases a mere difference in 300 ft of vert or wind direction changes snow and weather conditions.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

What's to keep someone from being deceptive?

[Wow, there's 12" fresh pow and hardly any crowds. I hope it stays that way.]

"Conditions up here blow. Don't bother coming!"


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Yeah I totally get it, I use the Weather Network for current and future predictions, and the resorts website for last snowfall and a couple word description of current conditions. Unfortunately (or fortunately!?!) for me I moved 3500 km from my family to live and work in snowboarding country, and I don't have locals I can call at some of the resorts I go to. I've created facebook groups for the 4 resorts I'll frequently go to:

Kimberley Alpine Resort

Fernie Alpine Resort

Lake Louise Ski Area

Nakiska Ski Area

If it catches on, I'll create groups for Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, and Sunshine... Not sure RCR is going to be happy about it but hey, the easiest thing would be for them to post ACTUAL conditions on their website.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Toecutter said:


> What's to keep someone from being deceptive?
> 
> [Wow, there's 12" fresh pow and hardly any crowds. I hope it stays that way.]
> 
> "Conditions up here blow. Don't bother coming!"


You gotta hope that enough people post to show who the jokers are, and then you gotta moderate things. Maybe have a moderator for each hill who could call somebodies bluff and ban them?

It would be nice to have it in this forum but I don't know if you'd get enough people for each hill to make it worth while. Plus I don't care if my info comes from skiers or boarders... info is info!


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Hmmmm...once I'm up on the mountain I know what the conditions are, and the last thing on my agenda is posting about it anywhere.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

I guess you just gotta hope that enough people realize that a few mins at the end of the day, to post how your day was, can come back to help you one day. Not sure if it'll catch on, and you're always dealing with day old info at best. But at the moment I have little to know info to go on when booking hotels, taking time off work, and then driving upwards of 5 hours. Any real info would be better than nothing! :laugh:


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

Toecutter said:


> Hmmmm...once I'm up on the mountain I know what the conditions are, and the last thing on my agenda is posting about it anywhere.


Some people are interested in helping their fellow riders. It would take 2 seconds for people to post and more importantly we would have designated posters for each location. They would be responsible for the main condition report everyday (ie. amount of snow, type of snow)


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

I do this on our local hills *FaceBook *page. They might not be happy with me but I call it as I see it. 
Icy, bad park, slushy, great park conditions, everything. Most people know I'm newer, so my skill isn't advance but I can still tell conditions. Many similar and more detailed posts if conditions called for it.
*
Copied two of my posts:*
Great time riding with Trev and good to see Nate and Nicole. Weather was good not to warm. Base layer and hoodie and all was good.
Conditions: little less than desirable. Very icy, most of the lip and landings in the park were ice. Weather hasn't been kind.

Park Review: 1-4-12
You all know I call it as I see it. AWESOME...the park was the best it's been in 2 years. Decent sized jumps, a little to big for me but from the looks they were in great condition. 3 on Shelter, 1 on Mohawk and a decent beginner-intermediate jump on Alpine. Sorry no boxes, but the mailbox was on Alpine. Mostly rails throughout the park with the take of ramps very well built !! The cannon pipe was reworked and had a great setup. Next to that was a Kink? not sure the name (down-flat-down) that was also in very good shape.
In all the park was in GREAT SHAPE tonight !!!

Lets hope the park crew can keep it up and Thank you Park Crew you've done a great job !!!!


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

Sounds like some people have the right idea but I want to make it easier to access by anybody and stay away from facebook


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

There is also the matter of one person's trash is another's treasure.

I myself love white out puking...can't see a damm thing and personally think bluebird days are hiiiighly over-rated. And a couple of my skier buds love icy groomer days and don't like deeeep pow days.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

wrathfuldeity said:


> There is also the matter of one person's trash is another's treasure.
> 
> I myself love white out puking...can't see a damm thing and personally think bluebird days are hiiiighly over-rated. And a couple of my skier buds love icy groomer days and don't like deeeep pow days.


That's why you want people to report conditions only... I could write hardpack in places, packed powder in others and some people would love it, or I could say 12" of powder and the powder hounds would come out. You'd want to be able to moderate it and keep people from saying things like "absolutely shit today", or "stay home". You could say, a lot of ice on the upper mountain, still early season at the bottom with hazards in several places. Objective instead of subjective kinda thing!?!

I'd love to see this actually working. Johnnymac, if you started a north american website I'd report on my local mountains when I could!


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

I'm sorry, and I'm not purposely trying to be obtuse, but I'm still scratching my head over this idea because I'm not seeing how it would be helpful. 

If conditions are great, such as fresh pow, by the time someone checks their real-time report, gets dressed, gets their gear together, drives to the resort, it's too late; the pow is all gone. If you want fresh pow you have to get to the resort before they open. On big snow days people here line up an hour before the lifts even run because it's all chopped up within the first couple of hours.

If conditions are average then you'd ride anyway, right?

So therefore the main benefit is in telling people in real time that conditions suck, so stay home?


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

wrathfuldeity said:


> There is also the matter of one person's trash is another's treasure.
> 
> I myself love white out puking...can't see a damm thing and personally think bluebird days are hiiiighly over-rated. And a couple of my skier buds love icy groomer days and don't like deeeep pow days.


Yep, too many factors.

It'd have to be a seriously pro effort to work... or a seriously low key deal, like call ya friends who've been up riding already :thumbsup:


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Toecutter said:


> I'm sorry, and I'm not purposely trying to be obtuse, but I'm still scratching my head over this idea because I'm not seeing how it would be helpful.
> 
> If conditions are great, such as fresh pow, by the time someone checks their real-time report, gets dressed, gets their gear together, drives to the resort, it's too late; the pow is all gone. If you want fresh pow you have to get to the resort before they open. On big snow days people here line up an hour before the lifts even run because it's all chopped up within the first couple of hours.
> 
> ...


yup, on a good pow day the goods are mobbed within 1.5 hours...thats why I love pukage...goods all day. And on those days nobody is going to stop and call or text their report because they are too busy drooling over their next line.


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

wrathfuldeity said:


> yup, on a good pow day the goods are mobbed within 1.5 hours...thats why I love pukage...goods all day. And on those days nobody is going to stop and call or text their report because they are too busy drooling over their next line.


So what happens when you aren't local and all you have to rely on is the resorts website? My local websites tell me they have 20in of snow when they barely have 3in of groomers. You guys think it would be our responsibility to post the conditions for others when in fact im saying we would have designated moderators who are locals of each resort posting that days conditions every morning. That way it would be accurate and advance notice.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Toecutter said:


> I'm sorry, and I'm not purposely trying to be obtuse, but I'm still scratching my head over this idea because I'm not seeing how it would be helpful.
> 
> If conditions are great, such as fresh pow, by the time someone checks their real-time report, gets dressed, gets their gear together, drives to the resort, it's too late; the pow is all gone. If you want fresh pow you have to get to the resort before they open. On big snow days people here line up an hour before the lifts even run because it's all chopped up within the first couple of hours.
> 
> ...


I think a powder forecast speaks for itself. I can look at the weather network to figure that one out, and the resorts I have a season pass to have powder alerts when a certain amount falls. What I want to know if if the hills are icy and not worth going to. Even a couple day old comment from somebody is valuable for that.

I was in Kimberley, BC this weekend. We chose to stay there Sunday morning instead of waking up and driving to Fernie partly because of the comments that others have made on the onthesnow.ca site I mentioned. When people on the lifts are telling you they were there a few days before and there were bare patches between the ice, and the official website is telling you packed powder, who do you believe?

It'd be nice to have a little info like that. I will ride in almost any conditions, but the girlfriend's a little bitchy when it's nothing but hardpacked ice, and if I can spend a minute looking on a website to avoid her bitching all day, don't you think it's worth it? :cheeky4: If you're reading this hunny it's not you're fault, you're still new at this. 

Some people have to find this of value, because there are already sites out there that do this, and people post comments. Just not enough at the moment...

Obviously if it snowed 12" the night before the chances are you're going to find powder in the mountains. I don't think that's what we're talking about here.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

So then it's mostly to report bad conditions/stay home?


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

So any self respecting pow hound is going to check several sources no matter where they go. Its only the gapers, noobs and lazy ass'd spoon fed couch chips that need the proposed info they can check from their bed/couch.


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

What they're saying is; that if you are a local, you are out getting the goods already. 

Why post it up when whoever hasn't left home by then is gonna miss out anyway?

I'm not a local, I just make educated decisions about when i'm gonna wake up early, check the weather report(s) and hit it as the lifts open.

It's like a lot of outdoor sports. If you don't get out there under your own steam you're not gonna score


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

poutanen said:


> I think a powder forecast speaks for itself. I can look at the weather network to figure that one out, and the resorts I have a season pass to have powder alerts when a certain amount falls. What I want to know if if the hills are icy and not worth going to. Even a couple day old comment from somebody is valuable for that.
> 
> I was in Kimberley, BC this weekend. We chose to stay there Sunday morning instead of waking up and driving to Fernie partly because of the comments that others have made on the onthesnow.ca site I mentioned. When people on the lifts are telling you they were there a few days before and there were bare patches between the ice, and the official website is telling you packed powder, who do you believe?
> 
> ...


This is a guy that understands my concepts up in michigan where i ride there are very few powder days and like he said the news will tell me that. However neither the news nor the resorts website will tell me when the slopes are icy or bare or how much snow is really on the ground. You guys who are locals dont see the point here but look at it from the drivers point of view. would you really want to travel 2 hours to find out that 20inches of base was really just 3inches and a bunch of mud? I know i wouldnt!


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

wrathfuldeity said:


> So any self respecting pow hound is going to check several sources no matter where they go. Its only the gapers, noobs and lazy ass'd spoon fed couch chips that need the proposed info they can check from their bed/couch.


:laugh:

That's another way of putting it :thumbsup:


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

grafta said:


> What they're saying is; that if you are a local, you are out getting the goods already.
> 
> Why post it up when whoever hasn't left home by then is gonna miss out anyway?
> 
> ...


This...I'll call my kids that were too lazy or hung over to crawl in the car...and go hahahaha....fucking waist deep and faceshots...got go at the top of chair 1 and hitting dolphy's...bye.


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

I know you hated the FB idea but our hill always has realistic conditions posted by riders.
Wouldn't this be common on other hills FB pages???
I don't want to go to another site that lists hundreds of hills. I can go right to FB and see the real conditions from real riders


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

wrathfuldeity said:


> So any self respecting pow hound is going to check several sources no matter where they go. Its only the gapers, noobs and lazy ass'd spoon fed couch chips that need the proposed info they can check from their bed/couch.


What do you not get about the fact that if you are not local there is NO WAY to find out about the conditions of a slope other than the false advertising on the resorts website?! Yes the weather will tell you if it is going to snow. Very good. I understand that too. Who is going to tell me when the slopes are or arent worth going to when the weather is questionable and the resorts website can not be depended on? Now do you see the point!?


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

Hit up facebook or get some friends who ride your hill?


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## johnnymac (Jul 14, 2011)

slyder said:


> I know you hated the FB idea but our hill always has realistic conditions posted by riders.
> Wouldn't this be common on other hills FB pages???
> I don't want to go to another site that lists hundreds of hills. I can go right to FB and see the real conditions from real riders


I didnt hate the facebook suggestion it is actually a good suggestion. It just doesnt solve all of the problems. The having hundreds of slopes listed wouldnt be a problem because you would either suscribe to locations or it would show local resorts based on your location and their conditions. And the real conditions from real riders is the whole concept behind this? Real people who arent lying about the base depth or conditions would report them every morning for other riders to check.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

I guess there are some folks who would find such real time info useful, but it seems like those folks would run a day late and a dollar short. By the time they get to the resort wouldn't it be afternoon? Some folks operate like that I suppose, but core riders/skiers quickly learn how to anticipate the conditions by the time they go to bed the night before based on weather patterns. Plus, if it's not exactly how they anticipated then they ride anyway.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

I get your point. Just where I live and ride we already have quite excellent sources of information and for me 30 seconds on the webz and I got a good picture of what its going to be like. However our weather changes really fast from day to day...but thats why its known as a local's hill.


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

I think you've gotta understand that this idea of "real conditions from real riders" is happening already. You just don't have it hooked up for yourself? It'd be a great place to start. Find out where it is happening and tap into that.

Or if you want to make money off your idea then I guess find where its happening, add a push stick/hole in the back or take the bindings off and call it a 'new invention'?


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Considering I live within a 4.5 hour drive of 10 big hills, there are a lot of things I take into consideration before heading to the mountains. Do you not want to head to where your favorite snow would be? The rocky mountains create some weird weather patterns and a mountain only 15-20 minutes away from another mountain may have totally different conditions... the more info I can get the better. I'm also planning some multi-mountain trips this year and might not decide until I'm heading to bed what hill I'll hit in the morning.

Didn't know it was such a heated topic as to get me called a "gaper" (what's a gaper?)... :laugh:


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## Racer20 (Feb 5, 2010)

OnTheSnow's iPhone App ("Ski Report") lets anybody post first hand conditions reports for any resort, in addition to linking to the NOAA forecast and the resorts Twitter feed. How has nobody mentioned this yet?


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Toecutter said:


> I guess there are some folks who would find such real time info useful, but it seems like those folks would run a day late and a dollar short. By the time they get to the resort wouldn't it be afternoon? Some folks operate like that I suppose, but core riders/skiers quickly learn how to anticipate the conditions by the time they go to bed the night before based on weather patterns. Plus, if it's not exactly how they anticipated then they ride anyway.


Brings up a good point...you are either going to ride or not...and if your are addicted you are going to make the best of it...if icy-blast groomers, if slushy-park and switch practice, if packed and chop-moguls, if deep-steep, if raining-plastic garbage bags and/or beers.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

johnnymac said:


> What do you not get about the fact that if you are not local there is NO WAY to find out about the conditions of a slope other than the false advertising on the resorts website?! Yes the weather will tell you if it is going to snow. Very good. I understand that too. Who is going to tell me when the slopes are or arent worth going to when the weather is questionable and the resorts website can not be depended on? Now do you see the point!?


I don't want to harp on the idea too long, so I'll just say I don't think I would find it that helpful. I'm sure there are people who would, so let 'er rip!

Here's my personal algorithm:

If it snows, then I ride
If the conditions suck and I feel like riding, then I go ride
If the conditions suck and I don't feel like riding, then I don't go 
If it's questionable and I feel like riding, I go ride
If it's questionable and I'm not sure if I feel like riding, I don't go


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

grafta said:


> I think you've gotta understand that this idea of "real conditions from real riders" is happening already. You just don't have it hooked up for yourself? It'd be a great place to start. Find out where it is happening and tap into that.
> 
> Or if you want to make money off your idea then I guess find where its happening, add a push stick/hole in the back or take the bindings off and call it a 'new invention'?


Maybe in Vancouver... Useless info for the mountains I go to on their FB pages. Onthesnow isn't much better...

Then what happens if you decide to go somewhere you don't normally go? Search all over the place to find the info? Take a chance? I like the idea of having it all in one place, it would take a LOT of work though.

To the people that say they'll go on any day if your a die hard boarder, you've never tried to teach somebody to snowboard. Taking a newbie on an icy day could get them hurt and turn them off the sport for good. I suppose that would make you happy though cause that's one less person that could show you up one day! I smell trolls. :cheeky4:

What about the people with a quiver of boards? (I'm not one of them, I'm a one stick rider and big proponent of it) Wouldn't they want to know the conditions so they could choose which board(s) to bring?

And not to beat a dead horse, but to the people that say that info at the end of the day is too late, you probably have never had to make a several hundred dollar lodging reservation decision based on a hunch before. Having info even a couple days old is better than no info at all. Not sure about anybody else here but I don't have an infinite supply of money. If the conditions are questionable, I'm going to stay in town and drive an hour to my closest mountain or maybe two hours to lake louise. If conditions are great I'll take a few days off and book a room in Fernie and live the life for a couple days. I don't get how info could ever be seen as a bad thing? Unless you're the catholic church and the proof of the theory of evolution is putting you out of business.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

^ that is why I live where I live...don't have to travel and if its not good here its probably not all that much better at the other 10-12 hills within 5-6 hour drive. And I get to bring the 4 board quiver.


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## Sick-Pow (May 5, 2008)

Toecutter said:


> I don't want to harp on the idea too long, so I'll just say I don't think I would find it that helpful. I'm sure there are people who would, so let 'er rip!
> 
> Here's my personal algorithm:
> 
> ...


Yep. This year has followed that, without being anxious to get in x number of days, and I am somewhat satisfied .

I have a HEAVY 3 foot pow day under my belt so far this year, and a bunch of beautiful bluebird spring days in Oct and November. Last season was so fun, I was not worried about this year.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

poutanen said:


> To the people that say they'll go on any day if your a die hard boarder, you've never tried to teach somebody to snowboard. Taking a newbie on an icy day could get them hurt and turn them off the sport for good. I suppose that would make you happy though cause that's one less person that could show you up one day! I smell trolls. :cheeky4:


 I leave teaching to the pros. I'm done teaching newbies.



poutanen said:


> What about the people with a quiver of boards? (I'm not one of them, I'm a one stick rider and big proponent of it) Wouldn't they want to know the conditions so they could choose which board(s) to bring?


 I bring multiple pieces of equipment with me to the resort and switch out gear based on conditions.



poutanen said:


> And not to beat a dead horse, but to the people that say that info at the end of the day is too late, you probably have never had to make a several hundred dollar lodging reservation decision based on a hunch before. Having info even a couple days old is better than no info at all. Not sure about anybody else here but I don't have an infinite supply of money. If the conditions are questionable, I'm going to stay in town and drive an hour to my closest mountain or maybe two hours to lake louise. If conditions are great I'll take a few days off and book a room in Fernie and live the life for a couple days. I don't get how info could ever be seen as a bad thing? Unless you're the catholic church and the proof of the theory of evolution is putting you out of business.


 I make my travel plans weeks to months in advance, so I go regardless of the conditions. For example, I'm going to Big Sky this week even though they're having the same meager snow as we are at home. I planned the trip in September and I'm going no matter what. I'll take my quiver, even though I expect nothing but groomers. I've booked a trip to Park City in March and I don't have any idea what it'll be like then. I'm going no matter what though.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Toecutter said:


> I leave teaching to the pros. I'm done teaching newbies.


No girlfriend?  lol Actually she's much better off with a teacher than with me...



> I bring multiple pieces of equipment with me to the resort and switch out gear based on conditions.
> I make my travel plans weeks to months in advance, so I go regardless of the conditions. For example, I'm going to Big Sky this week even though they're having the same meager snow as we are at home. I planned the trip in September and I'm going no matter what. I'll take my quiver, even though I expect nothing but groomers. I've booked a trip to Park City in March and I don't have any idea what it'll be like then. I'm going no matter what though.


Yeah I have some of those too, I usually book a few trips when they offer lodging deals for season pass holders early in the year (stayed at Fernie for $50 a night in December). And for those you take what you can get. But I'm also lucky enough to be able to take a few days off almost whenever I want, and so if I hear that a mountain is having a great day I might just see if I can get a last minute deal somewhere and stay. Or just take the day off to go to Lake Louise and head home.

Planning on heading to Revelstoke this year and probably adding Kicking Horse to my season pass next year, but they're 4.5 and 3 hours away so I don't want to spend the money if they're having an ice fest.

If I could afford it I'd just go cat boarding or heli-boarding, but I've got a $300k mortgage to pay off first!


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

mpdsnowman said:


> Its all about money. You see these resorts need our money. Unfortunately the snowmobiling,skiing, ice fishing industries are suffering right now. these conditions they say they have are the ONLY thing they have to get you to come out and ride their mountains...their is no snow anywhere. but they are going to make the best presentation possible.


Yeah that's the frustrating part (although the Alberta economy is one of the strongest in the world right now). It leaves a bad taste in my mouth when mountains don't report actual conditions. And in fact they have their VP of marketing create a "blog" about how great the conditions are at their 4 resorts. When in fact the resorts are bordering on icy at the moment.

When there's many other top class mountains within a reasonable drive, you'd think they'd want people to enjoy their day and keep coming back to them, and poor reporting of actual conditions doesn't help.

It's too bad because I'm one of the guys (plus my GF) that spends thousands and thousands every year on season passes, lodging, meals, etc. You think you'd want to keep me happy? I know the hill can't do much about the snow, I don't hold the conditions against them, just the lack of honest reporting. Anyway, guess there's no easy or quick solution at the moment. Lets see how these other options play out...


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

poutanen said:


> No girlfriend?  lol Actually she's much better off with a teacher than with me...


Ha! No girlfriend for me. I'm content with my wife, thanks.

I don't try to teach her (or my daughters) too much; it's too aggravating and I don't want to kill their joy. I've paid the ski school handsomely over the years.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Toecutter said:


> Ha! No girlfriend for me. I'm content with my wife, thanks.
> 
> I don't try to teach her (or my daughters) too much; it's too aggravating and I don't want to kill their joy. I've paid the ski school handsomely over the years.


Yeah my girlfriend learning to board was a turning point in our relationship. That's when I learned that sometimes it's better for me to be FAR FAR AWAY from her. Actually that's the great thing about snowboarding; She's in her second full season and doing great, spends most of her time on intermediate groomers, and I go hurl myself off a cliff and play in the powder filled forests. We meet up at the end of the day for hot tubs and wine lol 

I just gotta meet up with some more extreme riders out in my new home town so I have somebody to watch my back in the glades. I'm pretty stupid riding some of the runs I do by myself.

She says she does like riding with me sometimes, she says I "push" her.


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