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Show How do they measure snow? Let me count the ways ... by Teri Gomes Every reporter knows a good news story lies between two extremes bare facts and damn lies. Reporting the story of snow depth, road conditions and current weather has continually proved a challenge to ski resort operators and weather reporters alike. Last Friday at Snowbird the Utah Ski Association hosted a ski media day, inviting representatives of Utah media to an information informa-tion exchange with ski area management personnel in a relaxed, informal atmosphere. atmo-sphere. The greatest debate of the day took place when Channel Four weatherman Clayton Brough challenged the ski industry to standardize its method of measuring snow depth. "If something doesn't happen hap-pen pretty soon to the reporting we get, you can expect to see less coverage of skiing conditions in the future," said Brough. Other media representatives representa-tives stated repeatedly that it made them look foolish to report a new snow depth of six inches at resort A, when down the street at resort B .they, were reporting 12 inches of new snow. And, in fact, Channel Two's Mark Eubank was reported to have remarked on a recent newscast that asking a ski resort operator how much snow he has is like asking a crook not to rob your house. Skiing in Utah is big business. And the industry has made great strides since 1937 when Alta became only the third ski area in North America with a chairlift. According to Danny Richardson, director of the Ski Utah Association, a conservative figure of $140 million represents what the industry means to the state. In most aspects, it is a highly cooperative industry. Wayne Ragland, of the ParkWest Ski Area said, "In fact, the only thing we really compete about is the snow depth." All ski area representatives representa-tives present at the media day admitted there were problems in getting accurate snow measurements each day. Ed Pilkerton, vice president presi-dent of Snowbird, even professed to occassionally using the Pilkerton "Fudge Factor." "I admit we did have a problem reporting just last week," said Pilkerton. "We started out reporting a 67-inch base with seven inches new, the next day we said we had a 50-inch base with two inches new and the third day we had a 50-inch base with 11 new. We discovered our man had used two different sticks, one in meters and one in inches, to measure with, and we didn't catch the problem until the third day." During the conference, industry representatives discussed dis-cussed standardizing measurement mea-surement by always measuring mea-suring from similar points at each ski mountain either the base, mid-mountain or the summit. While that sounds simple, compare these numbers: Park City Ski Area's base is 6,900 ft; Snowbird's base is 7,900 ft.; and Alta's base is 8,500 ft. Park City's summit is 9,400 ft. which is close to Snowbird's mid-mountain point of 10,000 ft. And the highest point at Park City is Jupiter Bowl, around 10,000 ft., or a thousand feet under Snowbird's highest spot of around 11,000 ft. There seems to be no one common point for all the areas to measure from. At present, Park City uses Jupiter Bowl as a measuring point, using the services of a man who actually lives up on the mountain. A stationary stick is used to measure the base depth. And a mobile stick is brushed off and measurements taken several seve-ral times a day to give the area the most current reading. read-ing. Park City, weatherman Brough pointed out, is one of only two areas state-wide which update their 6 a.m. reports at 4 p.m. Since snow measurements turned in to the National Weather Service are based on a 24-hour reporting period from 6 a.m. to 6 a.m., reports given each morning are, in effect, yesterday's weather. Patrick Greenlaugh of Channel Two stated, "It's to your (ski area management) manage-ment) benefit to have the most accurate reports to us possible. We don't want to be reporting old weather." One result of the meeting Friday was the decision of the Utah Ski Association to provide a four o'clock update up-date on snow depth and conditions. Even with the introduction of more frequent updates, skiability at various resorts can't always be guaranteed. What may be adequate snow coverage at one area may not fill the bill at another. For instance, the terrain in other canyons may require a great deal more snowfall to cover than do Park City's grassy, groomed slopes. "We just don't need as much snowfall for great skiing here as some of the other rockier areas do," said Lisa Smith, sales director for the Park City Ski Area. After all is said and done, it appears there will always be fudge factors and human errors. Measurements taken from different elevations at different times of day by different methods will continue con-tinue to produce varying results. With the industry taking steps like last Friday's Fri-day's meeting to regulate itself, the reports may come closer to the extreme of bare facts than tempting damn lies. |