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Show Is fudge an ingredient in snow depth recipe? byJeffHowrey Can you trust the reported snow depths at Utah ski areas? The answer, according to local experts, is yes. Sort of. Park City Ski Resort Communications Director Packy Longfellow, who has worked previously at Snowbird and Snow Basin, says the figures you hear on the radio and TV are generally reliable. "The snow depth reports are relatively accurate," he says. "But it's a really hard thing to monitor. There are some inconsistencies in the way various resorts do their measurements and everybody every-body wants their figures to look the best. But there are no flagrant violations. "We're fortunate that we get adequate snowfall in Utah. There's plenty for everybody," he continues. "But in some states where every inch counts, fudging on snow depths can really be misleading. But it's all a part of the competitive nature of the business." ParkWest General Manager Wayne Ragland agrees that the pressures of competing for skiers' dollars provokes some snow depths to be inflated a bit at certain areas. "The pressure is on to make your area look like it's got the deepest cover," he admits. "It makes it tough for the honest guys like us to keep putting out uninflated figures. "But I just figure," Ragland continues, "That once you get three or four feet of snow on the ground, what does it really matter? Skiing is going to be great everywhere when you get that much snow." Ragland points out that figures can be misleading even when readings are accurate. ac-curate. "It does make some difference dif-ference how high up on the mountain you take your readings," he explains. "At ParkWest we take ours halfway up at mid-mountain mid-mountain at Lookout House in the meadow by the Short Swing lift. "In other words, we take a fair reading about halfway up the mountain. That's why we're putting out figures that are about 10 inches less than everyone else's." Early in the week Park-West Park-West was reporting a snow were very deceiving. It's an exposed area with a lot of wind that tends to either blow snow off or make it drift. Either way, you get an unrealistic reading. "So we chose to relocate our measuring unit to an area that's a little more predictable, higher up," continues con-tinues Longfellow, who admits ad-mits that the unexpected jump in figures a few days ago did look a little strange. "But we qualified the new figures in all our new reports. repor-ts. We used to say where we measured it we'd always say the figures were from "Once you get three or four feet of snow on the ground, what does it really matter? Skiing is going to be great everywhere. 99 Wayne Ragland, Park West depth of 46 inches while Deer Valley had 50 and Park City claimed 59. "We give ourselves the benefit of the doubt," says Park City's Longfellow. "Everybody does." Longfellow admits that Park City's figures shifted upwards fairly dramatically about a week ago, but says the increase which came during a time of no new snowfall resulted from a shift of their measurement location farther up the mountain. "We're now taking our measurements in Jupiter Bowl," says Longfellow. "We used to take it down lower, at Summit House. But we found that those readings the Summit House. On the day we switched, we made it a point to say the figures were from Jupiter. We definitely qualify it. We're not trying to fool anybody." Longfellow admits that snow depths are often the deciding factor when skiers are deciding where to pack their boards. "Some people decide where they're going solely on the basis of who has the most snow," he muses. "So places in Park City are generally at a disadvantage because Big and Little Cot-twodd Cot-twodd Canyons traditionally get heavier accumulations. "But it's unfair to compare com-pare us with them on a pure numbers basis. Since they have so much more dramatic, rugged terrain, they need a lot more snow than we do to cover their slopes. "Five feet of snow at Snowbird is like three feet here, in practical terms," Longfellow explains. "If people would take into account ac-count such factors, they wouldn't judge resorts just on the basis of numbers. But unfortunately, a lot of them don't look at it that closely." Regardless, Longfellow admits that problems are compounded by irregularities from resort to resort in accumulating data. "Someday I hope some uniform system of snow depth dep-th measurement comes about," he says. "At present, there's no governing gover-ning body or uniform set of rules. Everybody has their own rules and regulations. "None of the 16 resorts in Utah are consistent with each other. There's such a diversity of policies," Longfellow contends. "At Alta they have a relatively casual way of measuring, it's not real scientific. They take their measurements in a relatively antiquated way. "But right down the road is Snowbird which is one of the main sites the National Weather Service uses to monitor climactic conditions in the intermountain area. "They have sophisticated equipment and must take accurate readings," Longfellow says. "They can't just go out and stick their fingers in the snow. "As a result, you often get a great discrepancy in reported depths between Snowbird and Alta, even though they're only a mile or so apart. "It all adds up to one big confusing situation." How the City Council wnro Dec. 16 MOTIONS Alvarez s -. Lewis tote ( (lIcilKlll Shellenheruei Wells To postpone the public hearing on a resort communities' com-munities' sales tax To approve the plat for foui condominium units at Snow Haven To approve a plat amendment amen-dment in the Stein Eriksen commercial area To accept the road to Solamere Phase I for a one-year one-year maintenance period To approve an ordinance to impose a 310 of a cent per ounce on light beer To amend ordinance 82-18 to permit holders of Class B license to sell draft beer To require franchise utilities to pay business license fees monthly To approve an agreement detailing conditional use permit requirements for PC Village To accept title to Empire Avenue from Park Avenue to Silver King Drive To accept title to Miiisite Way, Lowed A ve, Silver Kind Dr and Empire Avenue at the base of the resort To postpone action on the Shadow Ridge condominium con-dominium plat To upprove the issuance of $7.3 million in revenue bonds for Silver Mill To award the contract Jor residential refuse collection collec-tion toG&F Disposal To award the contract for an alternative retirement system for city employees to Mutual of New York yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes yes yes yes yes yes abstain yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes Park City News Thursday, December 23, 1982 Page A5 I" i : . : I i ! , 1 1 ' I lil1"iiiM!(MiMl Alcoholics Anonymous Again in Park City This Wednesday at 7 p.m. St. Mary's Catholic Church Parish Hall 115 Park Ave. Corner of King Road Parking in rear. 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