From: mwallace@nyx.cs.du.edu (Mark Wallace)
Subject: The Colorado Skier-Trivia 3-Who really gets the most
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix @ U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 92 13:41:40 GMT



Subject:  THE COLORADO SKIER - TRIVIA 3


Greetings from THE COLORADO SKIER


This is part of a new series on Skiing and Ski Area TRIVIA.  It is
being separated out from our companion series on "The Lost Ski
Areas of Colorado".  That series will continue independently.  This
new series will continue as long as we can think of ski area trivia
questions and as long as you keep reading them and give us
feedback.


THE COLORADO SKIER TRIVIA - EDITION #3


1.  THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE


  A.  TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

    "Which Western Ski areas receive the most snow?"  or, 

    Which western non-Colorado ski areas had the highest average
    snow depth on 1 April over the last 10 years?    We don't have
    all of the data.  Here is what we have:  Most of California,
    most of Utah, plus Mt. Bachelor, Sun Valley, and Taos.  A
    little research suggests that Grand Targhee and Jackson Hole
    are the most likely potential winners we don't have enough data
    on.  Secondary question:  How many, if any, of the other
    western areas will average out higher than Wolf Creek? 

    And the WINNERS are (average depth on 1 April, in inches):

            Alta                 130
            Sugar Bowl           127
            Mt. Bachelor         121
                                             Wolf Creek   118
            Kirkwood             117
            Alpine Meadows       116
            Snowbird             105
            Brighton             104
            Taos                 102
            Mammoth               98
            Mt. Reba              93


  B.  THE GUESSES.  Here are the guesses from Mark, ourselves (yes,
      of course BEFORE we did the research!), a workmate, and some
      network folks (with slight adjustments, see notes):

       COLO SKIER           MARK               WORK - ED
       ----------          ------              ---------
       Sugar Bowl          Alta                Alta
       Mammoth             Taos                Snowbird
       Alta                Mammoth             Park City
                                               Sun Valley


       NET - DAVID         NET - PAUL          NET - STEVE
       -----------         ----------          -----------
       Mt. Baker           Sugar Bowl          Snowbird
                           Mammoth             Sugar Bowl
       NET - JOHN          Mt. Bachelor        Mt. Bachelor
       ----------
       Alta


  NOTE 1:  Since we don't have the data for Jackson Hole and Grand
  Targhee, we deleted them from Steve's guess list.

  NOTE 2:  JACKSON HOLE claims about 400 inches for yearly snowfall
  which is pretty respectable.  We have three years of 1 April snow
  depths for Jackson Hole and for what it is worth, they average to
  102 inches.

  NOTE 3:  We have one year for GRAND TARGHEE.  On 4-1-89 they
  reported a base depth of 177 inches!  THAT YEAR they would have
  ranked #1.  They claim a 505 inch yearly snowfall which is huge.

  NOTE 4:  Steve wanted to use the 8200 foot level for SQUAW VALLEY
  (they report two values).  [We were brought up on the ever
  popular:  "unpacked snow depth at midway";  the "midway"
  elevation at SQUAW is about 7600 feet.]  Actually we used an
  average of the reported 6200 and 8200 figures, which may be
  biasing them low.  Add another 12 inches and they would place
  ninth. 

  NOTE 5:  David, of Seattle, guessed MT. BAKER.  We haven't
  tracked any ski areas in Washington.  CRYSTAL MTN claims a yearly
  snowfall of 300 inches, which is just "good".  David says MT.
  BAKER claims a yearly snowfall of 700 inches which would easily
  be the largest in the country.  "The White Book of Ski Areas"
  shows 500 inches, which is still impressive.  [The other
  Washington areas report yearly Rainfall, not Snowfall!]

  NOTE 6:  Someone guessed that SUN VALLEY would come in "last". 
  Of the 18 areas we analyzed, SUN VALLEY came in (-- pregnant
  pause --) 18th (with a 51 inch average).  Sun Valley is still a
  great area, tho.  It is our favorite resort for a week long trip.

    {Do you think that 6 explanatory "notes" makes the basic data
    look a little flaky?}


C.  AND THE WINNERS ARE:

  It wasn't supposed to be a contest but since we did receive a few
  guesses, we have worked out a scoring system.  We awarded 10
  points for first (Alta), 9 points for second, etc., and added up
  everyones score for their top three picks.  The results:

   Points     Rank          Skier       Comments
   ------    ------         -----       --------

     22      Expert         Steve       CONGRATS!
     21       DNQ           Me          (we modestly decline to 
                                        accept)
     19      Advanced       Paul        (up from Bronze to Silver!)
     15      Intermediate   Mark        (as a staffer, he probably
                                        cheats)
     15      Intermediate   Ed          (also picked Sun Valley!)
     10      Beginner       John        (picked only one but it was
                                        Number 1!) 


2.  The Other Trivia Questions from TRIVIA 2:


  b.  In 1969, the TIMP HAVEN, Utah ski area was renamed.

      1)  What is the new name?
      2)  What famous person owns the area?
      3)  What is the significance of the new name?

    ANSWER:  After starring in the movie "Butch Cassidy and The 
      Sundance Kid", ROBERT REDFORD bought TIMP HAVEN and renamed
      it SUNDANCE, his character name.

    We received two correct answers:  Steve from Boulder, and John
    from Minneapolis.  Mark also knew, but he is from Utah. 
    (someone here at work, in CO, guessed Paul Newman!)


  c.  Somewhere between Colorado and the Appalachians is a ski area
      called HIDDEN VALLEY.  In what unlikely state is it located? 

    How embarrassing!  After carefully moving the Western boundary
    of the question from the "Rockies" to "Colorado", to eliminate
    the HIDDEN VALLEY ski area at Estes Park, we never thought
    about the Eastern boundary.  So sure enough there is a HIDDEN
    VALLEY ski area in Pennsylvania AND it is west of the
    Appalachians.  However, it is no way in an "unlikely state" so
    couldn't possibly have been the correct answer!

    The correct answer is MISSOURI.

    HIDDEN VALLEY - Located near Eureka, MO, which is 20 miles west
    of St. Louis, near "Six Flags over Flatlands".  It has 282 feet
    of vertical and two triple chairs and four rope tows.  We
    inadvertently used past tense in the original question but both
    "The White Book of Ski Areas" and our winner Drew, confirm that
    the area is still open.

    The Winners:  Drew, who actually skied there, and Jon, who,
    while in St. Louis, knew about it but was too embarrassed to
    ski there.  No, Jon, Drew gets the hearty handshake, because he
    actually skied there.  Since you wouldn't lower yourself, we
    will have to reward you with a "low five".  

    The Loser:  John, who said:  "It is in Illinois, just across
    the border from St. Louis."  "Border", John?  There is a really
    Big River there - didn't you notice it?  And the ski area is
    west of St. Louis, John, not east.  How many bota bags did you
    carry that day?



3.  NEW TRIVIA QUESTIONS

  a.  Name any ski area in Kansas (The Land of Ah's).

  b.  What is the most new snowfall ever recorded at a ski area
      during a single storm (when, where, how much)?  [Thanks to
      Steve of Boulder for suggesting this excellent trivia
      question.]

  c.  Which ski area had/has a steam powered train transporting
      guests between its two base areas?  [very obscure hint:  The
      Colorado Skier has ridden said train.]

  d.  Which three states have the MOST operational ski areas?

  e.  What is the LOWEST base altitude of any U.S. ski area?



4.  WE'VE CREATED A FRANKINCENSE!

    In TRIVIA - 1 and TRIVIA - 2 we asked you folks to send in your
    candidate trivia questions.  Maybe we shouldn't have.  Do the
    words "Inundated" and "Overwhelmed" mean anything to you?  We
    thank you, of course.  Let's us know that there is still some
    interest out there.  But, unfortunately, no one took our
    suggestion about questions like:  "Name the five largest ski
    areas in New Hampshire" - which we could research in 5 minutes. 
    Instead we get questions like:  "Which ski area has the
    shortest average lift lines?"  (and that was one of the easy
    ones!)

    So, it looks like some serious research is in order, or at
    least a little thought (if we decide, for expediency, to MAKE
    UP the answers).  And, in one case, it looked like the writer
    knew the answers and was just challenging (or baiting?) us. 
    However, we will do the best we can.  Some suggestions will
    become Trivia Questions for you folks (see 3b above) and some
    we will just expound on.  {NOTE:  We are travelling again so it
    may take a while before TRIVIA - 4 appears.}



5.  LATE BREAKING NEWS

  a.  KILLINGTON became the first area in the country to open, on
      30 Sep.  And, as we have been discussing in the "KEY-KILL"
      series, Killington CLOSED AGAIN on 3 Oct.  As of 8 Oct they
      are still closed.  [and Mammoth is still closed! (old joke)]

  b.  COLORADO SNOWMAKERS:  STEAMBOAT (not an early opener) started
      making snow on 25 Sep.  The Summit County areas fired up on
      30 Sep.

  c.  THE COLORADO SKIER has just returned from a tour of eight
      "Lost Ski Areas" in southwestern Colorado.  That's what we do
      on our vacation?  Sure, a hobby is a hobby.  We found one
      area that operated from 1936 to 1938.  Neato.  Anyway the
      weather was delightful, clear blue skis, gorgeous aspen
      foliage, and High 75, Low 25 in Alamosa and Gunnison, the
      notorious Colorado cold spots.  The weather was great for us,
      but not for the SNOWMAKERS.  As we write this, however, the
      heat wave has broken and it is snowing in the high country. 
      In fact it is snowing on that steep, 200 foot of vertical
      (OK, 150 feet), COLORADO SKIER Publishing Headquarters
      driveway.  So we may spend the night.  Wax 'em up.  It won't
      be long now! 



6.  How about suggesting some (easy) trivia questions (but don't
    worry, WE will never run out).  Maybe something you have always
    wondered about or just something that you think would be a good
    trivia question.  Please try to make it a question that might,
    just might, have a real, determinable answer. 


       ***  LOVELAND opens in 2 weeks!  ***


    Cheers from THE COLORADO SKIER


    "Time has a wonderful way of weeding out the trivial."
        Richard Ben Sapir

    [Not around here!  To us, the older it is, the more important
    the trivia!]