Trip Beta: A Big Waste of Time?

[jamesdeluxe]

Here's what I'd like to know...

How many of the people that post threads explaining "I want to go to this region during this time period and will be with this level of skiers who like this kind of terrain, this kind of nightlife and accommodations, and have this amount of money to spend" actually go ahead with it after requesting information months before the trip ?

This absolutely isn't aimed at Ann Marie, who posted a similar thread recently, or the illustrious Gpaul. I'm just curious. From my anecdotal evidence, most encounter some sort of job, logistics, or money snafu and ditch the vacation before they even get out of the starting gate (and often don't tell us). Last week on TGR, a longtime Maggot from Santa Fe asked about living in VT. After getting a bunch of helpful answers, one guy had a meltdown because he felt the OP had no intention of going through with the move and was just wasting everyone's time.

Of course, I jumped on the pile. :lol:

 

[Patrick]

Of course, I jumped on the pile. :lol:

I thought GPaul mainly posted on Epic. :wink:

Not that I have read the thread, is that the VT thread dissappearing thing going on?

 

[Patrick]

How many of the people that post threads explaining "I want to go to this region during this time period and will be with this level of skiers who like this kind of terrain, this kind of nightlife and accommodations, and have this amount of money to spend" actually go ahead with it after requesting information months before the trip ?

Okay, I admit it. You got me.
I never had any intention of going to South America, nor did I go to Colorado ski the WROD last October, I'm going it just to drive Tony crazy. :lol:

 

[Geoff]

Here's what I'd like to know...

How many of the people that post threads explaining "I want to go to this region during this time period and will be with this level of skiers who like this kind of terrain, this kind of nightlife and accommodations, and have this amount of money to spend" actually go ahead with it after requesting information months before the trip ?

I do...

I set up a New Zealand trip that way back in 1999. I hooked up with a now-deceased Kiwi who used to hang on Rec.Skiing.Alpine on Skigrrl's Yahoo message board where the flame war refugees hung out. I got some really good information that got me a day I wouldn't have otherwise done at Ohau Ski Field and he pointed me at Treble Cone as the place I wanted to be other'n Mount Hutt.

I did a Ski Santa Fe / Taos / Wolf Creek trip about 4 years ago and His Editorship was the one who clued me in about Ski Santa Fe. It's now on my 'favorites' list. ...so FirstTracksOnline has been useful to me.

 

[Marc_C]

I think in some instances it's the other way around: a poster asks because they made some spur of the moment decision for some reason with little or no research and are then seeking reassurance that they did the right thing.

 

[Patrick]

who used to hang on Rec.Skiing.Alpine

Not another one. I would curious how many of us bitched at each other back then...wondering if Tony was there also? :lol:

 

[Admin]

You're also not accounting for the countless lurkers who glean nuggets of useful info from other people's beta requests.

 

[Geoff]

who used to hang on Rec.Skiing.Alpine

Not another one. I would curious how many of us bitched at each other back then...wondering if Tony was there also? :lol:

I just lurked through a web interface. That Scott Abraham flame war pretty much scared me away. There were some real gems... SallyDoug who became Doogie on SkiVT-L who now goes by GrilledSteezeSandwich on a bunch of skiing-related message boards was accidentally hilarious. 'Chromer was always good for some high humor. I mostly hung on Skip King's ASC-sponsored web sites and SkiVT-L since I've always been too pathetically lazy to change mountains away from Killington.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

You're also not accounting for the countless lurkers who glean nuggets of useful info from other people's beta requests.

Of course, everyone's done it. I'm wondering how many of the detailed requests end up with the original poster actually going on the trip in question. In my unscientific survey, many drop an "innocent" question on a forum, and are never heard from again while the thread turns into a virtual fistfight as people disagree on the merits of Whistler vs. Vail, Killington vs Sugarbush, SLC vs. Denver, etc.

Not that I have read the thread, is that the VT thread dissappearing thing going on?

Yeah, he pulled it after Iceman started screaming at him. A few others O "good-naturedly" continued the chop-busting.

 

[Tony Crocker]

wondering if Tony was there also?

No. FTO is the first interactive ski forum I've been on, starting around 2001 I think. I posted TR's to Southland Ski Server starting January 1996. Southland had a structured format strictly for ski reports, no provision for responses or introduction of general ski topics.