Check Out Our Shop
Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 28

Thread: Inaccurate snow reports really suck. Alta 12/2

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    SLC
    Posts
    933

    Inaccurate snow reports really suck. Alta 12/2

    So, this place called Alta is famous for it's plentiful snowfall. Perhaps one should reconsider how they come up with these magical snow totals.

    After sleeping a mere 5 hours, I awoke and checked the snow report on www.alta.com. Wow! 3 inches overnight! This is going to be a great day. I hurried to eat breakfast (got to have energy to shralp 3" of pow) and got on my way. I called DanTheMan to see if got an earlier start than me, and asked to hold a spot in line for me at Collins. When it's this deep, everyone and their 5 mothers comes out to ski. Dan had left and he said he'd hold a spot.

    As I was driving up to Alta, I noticed that it was pouring rain along Wasatch Blvd. How disappointing it would be to ski in the rain. Luckily, the rain changed to snow as I drove up the canyon. I also passed Dan, as he is a sissy driver. (Insert idiotic and overly obnoxious Xover comment here)

    Pulling into the Wildcat parking lot at 8:45, I was shocked to see so few cars. Didn't these people read the snow report? 3 inches of Alta's finest! Hopped into line - got about 6th or 7th chair. It was snowing quite hard at this time - maybe people didn't want to ski while it's snowing?

    How was it skiing 3 inches of Alta fresh, you must be wondering. Let me tell you - those bastards lied. There was no way that it snowed 3 inches. Maybe down low and where the wind blew it all away, but there was more like 6 or 7 inches, plus it was snowing quite hard. That pesky wind kept blowing the snow around, hiding everyone's tracks. If I'd known that Alta would lie on their snow report, I would have certainly stayed home and slept in.

    Alas, Dan and I were already there, so we did what any good citizen would do: we ripped the shit out of it. Several times. And then again. Finally, one more time.

    P.S. - BIG thanks to Alta for underreporting, keeping everyone at home or work or doing whatever they were doing that sucked a lot more than skiing all of the fresh powder at Alta.
    Avoiding the real world since 1979

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Nhampshire
    Posts
    7,873
    Man, you should get a refund on your pass or something for that.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Babylon
    Posts
    13,694
    it wasnt just alta, it was the way the storm came in this am after reporting and before and during lift operation.
    drive up early this am was mellow and then it hammered all morning.
    nice action Z man

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Was UT, AK, now MT
    Posts
    14,540
    How dare those Alta SOB's.

    I thought this was going to be a "It's friggin raining at Alta" thread. Glad to hear otherwise.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    R.O.C.
    Posts
    4,025
    You should know by now that the Bird gives the correct total & Alta always under-reports,or that much more snow fell by the time you got there.

    DTM drives like a sissy? Is it always the big huckers who are most conservative behind the wheel?
    Calmer than you dude

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    9,531
    Nice Z! I don't even live there and I know if it snows you go. 3" at Alta is a solid 6"+ at other areas.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    SLC
    Posts
    1,349
    Go directly to the source and maybe next time you won't have to endure such horrific conditions. Anything over 6" is not worth getting out of bed over. You should have just turnaround at the bypass road.
    12-2-2005> Collins Study Plot > 9,664'

    Month Air 12 Hr Total 1 Hour since
    Day Hour Temp Snow Depth precip 0400

    -------------------------------------------------
    12 1 1500 29 0 46 0 0
    12 1 1600 30 0 46 0 0
    12 1 1700 29 0 46 0 0
    12 1 1800 30 0 45 0 0
    12 1 1900 30 0 45 0 0
    12 1 2000 29 0 45 .04 .04
    12 1 2100 28 0 45 .06 .1
    12 1 2200 27 2 45 .09 .19
    12 1 2300 28 3 46 .07 .26
    12 1 2400 28 3 44 .03 .29
    12 2 100 28 5 46 .02 .31
    12 2 200 28 5 45 .03 .34
    12 2 300 28 6 46 0 .34
    12 2 400 28 6 46 .01 .35
    12 2 500 28 6 46 .03 .03
    12 2 600 28 7 46 .02 .05
    12 2 700 28 7 45 .01 .06
    12 2 800 28 7 46 0 .06
    12 2 900 27 0 46 .14 .2
    12 2 1000 26 2 45 .22 .42
    12 2 1100 26 4 49 .17 .59
    12 2 1200 25 4 49 .08 .67
    12 2 1300 23 6 50 .11 .78
    12 2 1400 23 6 50 .02 .8
    12 2 1500 22 6 51 0 .8

    edit - that didn't copy so well

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Sandy, UT
    Posts
    1,223
    Quote Originally Posted by Foggy_Goggles
    Nice Z! I don't even live there and I know if it snows you go. 3" at Alta is a solid 6"+ at other areas.
    Bingo. As in 6' at Sunset Beach on the North Shore would be double overhead in CA. Just different standards.
    SELECT IQ
    FROM
    Users
    WHERE
    IQ > 0

    0 Row(s) affected.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    2,787
    You need to shut the f* up right right now. Please.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    das heights
    Posts
    2,542
    YOU need to start underreporting.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    tropicana
    Posts
    1,176
    i have one ace...



    and one more ace.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    yewtar
    Posts
    1,816

    Thumbs up

    damn dude. that just sucks. sorry to hear about such bad luck.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    My armchair
    Posts
    4,923
    check the collin's plot
    that is all

    they do the snow report at 5 a.m. so alot can stack up in 4 hours you phuggin' retard
    "... she'll never need a doctor; 'cause I check her out all day"

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    slc
    Posts
    19,090
    Bushes sticking out below the High T really suck too. They make it completely impossible to get to the sick untouched pow waiting below them.

    Completely impossible.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Øøøtahhh
    Posts
    2,780

    Smile

    Yeah. We liked that under reporting over at the Bird today as well. It friggin snowed all morning nonstop. No none was there. It was walk-on, half-filled trams all day. My kind of day. We finally left a little after 1 when Shuge said they were gonna have to stop the tram.

    Highlight of the day was catching the rope drop into the Perv side at about 10:19. Wow that was good. Man-o-man-o-man-o-man-o-man....this was the kind of powder I've been waiting for since last May.

    ColdSmoke finally blew out an edge. Even as careful as he was trying to be he still cracked a rock hard. I've never seen him do that in all the years I've skied with him. I kept telling him to quit skiing like a pansy and get on it--that he just needed to let loose and have some fun. Did he listen? Nooooo. He tore out his edge whilst skiing like an old man picking his was through a mine field.

    Anyways....what a great day today. They'll only keep getting better.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    2,388
    Quote Originally Posted by Dantheman
    Bushes sticking out below the High T really suck too. They make it completely impossible to get to the sick untouched pow waiting below them.

    Completely impossible.
    Yah I really hated that that shit the other day......i mean since it is so unpossible!

  17. #17
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    SLC
    Posts
    933
    Quote Originally Posted by Xover
    check the collin's plot
    that is all

    they do the snow report at 5 a.m. so alot can stack up in 4 hours you phuggin' retard
    Hey dickhole, I do check the Collins plot, and often don't even check the Alta report. The Collins plot had over 5 inches by 2 AM when I went to bed, which is why I got up early to ski. I was quite perplexed by the Alta website report of 3".
    Avoiding the real world since 1979

  18. #18
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    SLC
    Posts
    933
    Quote Originally Posted by alto
    You need to shut the f* up right right now. Please.
    What? Are you trying to be funny? Did you not get that tone and satire of my post? Do you think that my posting will influence people to move to Utah and track up your snow? Are you just a fucking asshole? Did you not like my post in which I shared my skiing experience on a message board for skiers? I'm just curious.
    Avoiding the real world since 1979

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Babylon
    Posts
    13,694
    Quote Originally Posted by Bum Z
    Did you not get that tone and satire of my post? Do you think that my posting will influence people to move to Utah and track up your snow?
    waaaaiiit a minute here, you mean Alta is a good place to ski?
    huh, whoda thunk it.....

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Øøøtahhh
    Posts
    2,780
    Quote Originally Posted by Woodsy
    waaaaiiit a minute here, you mean Alta is a good place to ski?
    No.

    No, it is not.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    SLC
    Posts
    1,349
    Well it looks like they have made up for their under reporting by over reporting today. Alta snow report says 9" new when the Collins plot says only 3" since time of closing yesterday.

    It looks like Snowbird and Alta are reporting 24hr totals for NEW snow. I think that's very misleading since 6" of the 9" fell yesterday and is shred.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Babylon
    Posts
    13,694
    ok genius
    so they/we report what fell overnight only and dont count any snow that fell when lifts are open?
    that might get us down to CO totals, but I doubt it.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    SLC
    Posts
    1,349
    Quote Originally Posted by Woodsy
    ok genius
    so they/we report what fell overnight only and dont count any snow that fell when lifts are open?
    that might get us down to CO totals, but I doubt it.
    Woodsy, put down the bong and re-read my post. That's not what I am saying.


    Go to snowbird's website and look at their snow report. They don't list a 12hr snow total which would be an accurate measure of FRESH snowfall since time of closing the prior day. Alta does list a 12hr snow total but on the main page they are throwing up the 24hr total instead of the 12hr total.

    edit - I see that Solitude is reporting correctly

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Babylon
    Posts
    13,694
    no bong hits at work unfortunately,
    and I understand, but that was nitpicky at best.
    you kow with a little snow and wind action there was fresh tracks today.
    or you could have come to Soli where we opened powderhorn for the first time this year
    cue grizzle's "oh my god" rave......

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    SLC
    Posts
    1,349
    nitpicky at best??? yes, maybe in regards to Alta's reporting since they still report the 12hr total but Snowbird is not reporting a 12hr total.
    I would think this would be a concern to someone like you since your business thrives on snow totals. Doesn't it bother you that Snowbird reports 9" new and Solitude reports 2" new.

    But this is stupid anyway... I'm just upset cause I can't go skiing. And I would love to ski the freedom again. It was my home mountain for 8 years.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •