Universal Numerical Trip Rating System

Just had this idea. Let me know what you guys think and if we can try to use it in our trip reports.

The way I see it, the trip report section of this site is primarily used to determine whether or not to go skiing at a given spot within a few days of the most recent TR post from there. Nothing beats pictures and detailed description combined with a weather forecast for doing this, but sometimes a "yes" or "no" at a glance could be helpful.

I came up with the following scoring system, using a point scale from 0-100, in which a trip earning 100 points would mean something along the lines of "I would call in sick from work, potentially risk my career, and drive 5+ hours in a snowstorm to repeat this day." As a general rule, most mountains that get regular trip reports on here see maybe 1-2 of these days per season on average. It's possible that not a single day from 2011-2012 would have scored a 100.

Obviously, the system can only be used to rate days that have already occurred, but it could still be useful in predicting how worthwhile a trip in the next few days would be.

The main factors to consider are snow conditions, what terrain is actually open/skiable, and crowds (crowds are included as a factor due to lift lines and deterioration of conditions).

I've come up with the following criteria for point values. This is still primitive, so let me know what you think!

Minimum Base (the lower number- if they list a range like 10-18", use 10")- as reported the morning of a normal day OR the day BEFORE a significant storm
0 pts = <6"
5 pts = 6-12"
10 pts = 12-20"
20 pts = >20"

Freshies- recent storm totals, preferably since last tracks the day before
0 pts = <3"
5 pts = 3"
10 pts = 6"
20 pts = 12"
40 pts = 18"+
AUTOMATIC SCORE OF 100 for 24"+ of pure fresh snow

Snow Condition/ Type of Snow
0 pts = less than 50% snow coverage on open trails, last-day-of-season type conditions, OR bullet-proof ice, the kind only    found when temps are below freezing in the days following a large rain event.
3 pts = machine groomed loose/frozen granular, ice present but avoidable or manageable, same point value can also be given for general spring conditions with at least 50% snow coverage on open trails
10 pts = spring snow/ corn snow/ slush but with very good coverage, OR fresh man-made snow, OR machine-groomed packed powder
15 pts = wet/heavy or mixed freshies, at least 3" accumulated
25 pts = quality powder, no ice showing through, at least 6" accumulated consistently all over the mountain and considered the "primary" condition

Crowds
0 pts = midseason weekend, holiday OR very crowded w/ long lift lines on any day
5 pts = early/ late season weekend, uncrowded OR average lift lines on any day
15 pts = midweek non-holiday OR barely anyone there, ski right up to most lifts, regardless of day

Deductions- subtracted from accumulated score in certain situations
-25 pts = important/crucial lifts on wind hold most or all of day
-10 pts = no expert trails open
-10 pts = raining or sleeting all day
-10 pts = less than 20% of terrain open/ skiable



I've come up withe some examples:

Valentine's Day 2007 = 100

A Solid Gore Opening Day with Topridge and a full Gondola run open:
5 (6-12" minimum base) + 0 (0" fresh) + 10 (fresh man-made/ machine-groomed packed powder) + 5 (avg lift lines, early season weekend) - 10 (less than 20% open) = 10 

A Typical Midseason Weekday at Gore:
10 (12-20" minimum base) + 0 (0" fresh) + 10 (fresh man-made/ machine groomed packed powder) + 15 (midweek non-holiday, barely anyone there) - 0 (no deductions) = 35

A Typical Opening Day at Mad River Glen:
0 (<6" minimum base) + 40 (18"+ fresh) + 25 (quality powder all over) + 5 (average lift lines) - 0 (no deductions) = 70

Obviously, average days can still be a lot of fun, but they're going to get relatively low scores. I skewed the scale so that there is a larger point variation the closer you get to an epic day- so a day earning a 60 is going to be a LOT better than a day earning a 35, and a day earning a 100 is going to be TONS better than a day earning a 60 (even disproportionately so).


If everyone is willing to follow this scale with every trip report, I will try to compile data and make some charts that show the distribution of scores annually per mountain- this would allow us to compare different mountains as well as different seasons at the same mountain pretty easily. As I have time, I will try to go back and estimate some numbers from past trip reports from at least one mountain (Gore) from a few seasons.

Are the crowd values relative? Like, a midweek day at Killington would still be a lot more crowded than a weekend day at Whiteface.

And no, I wouldn't be interested in doing this for trip reports. I do enough quantifying in my day job. I don't need to introduce it to my recreational life. I don't even count my ski days.

Good point about the crowds. It would definitely be more dependable in comparing different days at the same mountain.

And fair enough- not all ideas are good ones. Thanks for the input.

This would be tough for me to pull off.  Most of my TRs are posted close to midnight on the day of the ski.  (I feel like if I wait to long to post, I'll never be able to get it down.  

After getting dinner and family stuff done, Zelda and Neve crash and I'm banging those things out, almost in the dark.

Curious too... do other read TRs for conditions or to fantasize?  I do it because (IMO) they make great summer reading.

They definitely have that aspect, but for me, let's say I'm up at school and a storm moves through the entire northeast on a Thursday night into a Friday morning. I can't ski till Saturday unless I'm skipping class, which I will only do if we get a repeat of Valentine's Day 07, and even then I'd feel pretty bad about it. The TRs on here and elsewhere help me decide whether to pull the trigger on a long drive early Saturday morning or just get in the van and head to Whiteface with the regulars.

As far as the nuisance goes, I get that it's one more thing to add and a bit of a pain, but almost all (maybe even all?) of the numbers needed are posted in the mountains' snow reports every day. All of the info comes from the day you skied- the day you're reporting about.

I'll often think back about a day and how it stacks up against other days I've had, but it's hard to be objective because you can have a fantastic day on lousy snow. Family, friends, and people in general are a huge part of what makes a day on the slopes special, and that element of a trip report makes the whole thing more fun to read- it becomes like a story. That being said, there are times when I just want a raw, unbiased conditions report for practical reasons, and I thought this system would be a quick and easy way to provide that.

I'm certainly not married to the idea. Maybe something much simpler, like at the end of your post, just put a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" to indicate whether the snow is worth getting up at 5am and driving 3 hours for.

its just so subjective to be objective - sounds like a Yogi-ism huh

For instance many times last season i posted marginal conditions at WF and TJF was saying there was knee deep powder on the sides of trails.  One mans dust on crust is others best day of the season especially when you are short.

POKE!  You are the type that would complain about taxes if you hit the lottery.  When your trip reports come out people should remember you are a miserable old man with many an axe to grind.  

HAAAHAAAHHAHAHAHA!  

Since I didn't even make it through the directions on this rating system, I'm pretty sure its overkill in the “enth” degree.  But at least it elicited a funny exchange between TJ and the Angry AusableSkier!

ausable skier wrote

its just so subjective to be objective - sounds like a Yogi-ism huh

For instance many times last season i posted marginal conditions at WF and TJF was saying there was knee deep powder on the sides of trails.  One mans dust on crust is others best day of the season especially when you are short.

unprovoked attack...

ausable skier wrote

For instance many times last season i posted marginal conditions at WF and TJF was saying there was knee deep powder on the sides of trails.  One mans dust on crust is others best day of the season especially when you are short.

That's exactly the point though... this would pretty much eliminate your personal perspective from that part of the TR.



And for christ's sake, I get it, it was a bad idea. Everyone forget about it. Carry on.

tjf1967 wrote

POKE!  You are the type that would complain about taxes if you hit the lottery.  When your trip reports come out people should remember you are a miserable old man with many an axe to grind.

He may be miserable, but if he is who I’m 98% sure I think he is, he’s right around your age.

miker92 wrote

 it was a bad idea. Everyone forget about it. Carry on.

Yes it was; however, I get it. It's 95% degrees in the middle of July and you're trying to come up with something ski related to talk about. Good try...

ScottyJack wrote

HAAAHAAAHHAHAHAHA!  

Since I didn't even make it through the directions on this rating system, I'm pretty sure its overkill in the “enth” degree.  But at least it elicited a funny exchange between TJ and the Angry AusableSkier!

I aim to please.  Come on I thought that was a pretty funny reply but stayed on topic.  Again you guys take me way to seriously.

I agree with HPD this was a good attempt at generating ski talk on a hot summer day with an idea that is conversation provoking.

And TJF your buddies are the ones that suggested that you are short not me I just went with it because you tend to overstate the depth of Pow way a fish always gets bigger for a fly fisherman in the catch and release zone during the post fishing beer session

Aussie gets ganged up on by you guys its only fair that I dish some back

ScottyJack wrote

Since I didn't even make it through the directions on this rating system, I'm pretty sure its overkill in the “enth” degree.

Yeah ... My first thought was ... This guy has WAY too much time on his hands!!!

And I thought I posted long messages!!!!

I would like it if you kept a score of your days out, so we could compare seasonal stats like a baseball card and stuff. If it caught on, the ski blog could have records like Perfect Season (162 days skiing), Consecutive Pow Streaks, Pow+ Created (to see if you effect the weather more than other people), Passed Ops (gf / car problems that prevent skiing a full day when it's good), Avg Vertical, Packed Lunch Pct... and there's always beating your own records to look forward to!