here and now

August 5, 2013 9:27 am | Category: Longboarding, Quick Update, Summer, WebiGNARs | 7 Comments | Permalink

FamousInternetSnowboarder, Christian the Curmudgeon (AKA “Wayne”), checks in (once again) with a clip of teh sherd from this summer.cover

If you want to check out some more longboarding check out this and that.


On Maximum Average Snow-Depth at the Mount Mansfield Stake

By: Greg
June 26, 2013 12:01 pm | Category: Skiing | 10 Comments | Permalink

Every Vermont Skier who keeps an eye on the snow-weather knows about the Mount Mansfield Stake, and its hallowed records. Thanks to Mr. Wright’s simple and effective database, any Internet user can investigate the snowfall records at Mt. Mansfield dating back to November 1, 1954. We here at FIS particularly enjoy comparing the data to some of our favorite powder skiing adventures, in search of patterns and relationships in the data previously overlooked.

One of the many graphs that can be produced by Mr. Wright’s database, and one that is commonly seen in references to snow-depths on Mansfield, is one like this, which details the snow-depths at The Stake during the 2012-2013 Vermont snow-year (which runs from September 1 to August 31).
snow depths 2012 2013
The thin line represents the snowdepth data from the 2012-2013 ski season. The green area represents the average snow-depth on any given day throughout the year. The odd downward spike of the red line near April 19th is an error in the data.

A common mistake often made in informal discussions (and even some more formal ones) is to infer, based on graphs such as the one above, that the average maximum snowdepth on Mount Mansfield is approximately 74″, or just less than 75″. This mistake is made by basing the analysis of average maximum snow-depth on the fact that the green area appears to achieve a maximum of about 74″ on March 22nd and/or 23rd.

For example, see this discussion from the Time For Tuckerman Forums from February 2007. The chart referenced by Yuckster is reproduced below. We have added a red circle around the timeframe referenced by Yuckster.
snowdepths 2006 2007

Similar mistakes were made in a contest on ski blog Adventureskier.com. In the link, the first question asks “1. What is the average peak snowpack depth for Mount Mansfield, VT?”. Several users–making the same mistake as Yuckster–respond with answers in the mid-70 inch range, and the contest organizer even states the answer as being “75-76″.”

Likewise, ski-weather prognosticator Tim Kelly appears to make the mistake here (although based on his choice of words, it’s not clear).

Even Stowe Mountain Resort seems to have made the mistake in a press release from April 2009. (To their credit, the press release appears to have been deleted from their website, but is still available at various content-regurgitators around the Internet)

If you haven’t figured it out for yourself yet, the mistake being made in all of the above examples (and numerous other locations on the Internet that we have not referenced) is that 75-76″ is merely the average maximum snow-depth on March 22nd and March 23rd, which happen to be the days of the year when the average daily snow-depth achieves a maximum on Mansfield. This however need not be equal (nor is it equal) to the average yearly maximum snow-depth at the Mount Mansfield Stake since it’s unlikely the maximum snow-depth occurs EVERY YEAR on March 22nd and March 23rd.

Shown below is the maximum yearly snow-depth at the Mount Mansfield Stake for each snow-year.

Yr(start)            Max Snow-Depth (in)
1955                 68
1956                 59
1957                 120
1958                 69
1959                 82
1960                 82
1961                 62
1962                 64
1963                 80
1964                 48
1965                 57
1966                 87
1967                 73
1968                 92
1969                 149
1970                 108
1971                 116
1972                 100
1973                 101
1974                 72
1975                 122
1976                 94
1977                 106
1978                 84
1979                 55
1980                 72
1981                 123
1982                 81
1983                 90
1984                 94
1985                 82
1986                 91
1987                 77
1988                 74
1989                 63
1990                 54
1991                 82
1992                 93
1993                 100
1994                 51
1995                 135
1996                 83
1997                 113
1998                 92
1999                 93
2000                 132
2001                 77
2002                 90
2003                 100
2004                 80
2005                 79
2006                 99
2007                 110
2008                 90
2009                 102
2010                 102
2011                 81
2012                 87
               
Average                 88.31
St. Dev.                21.37

The year listed is the STARTING year. So, for instance, the maximum snow-depth during the 1955-1956 snow-year was 68 inches. The maximum snow-depth during the most recent season (2012-2013) was 87″.

The above data set is available here in CSV format (right click, save as). The raw data-set that was used to calculate yearly maximum snow-depth was obtained from Mr. Wright’s Database, and is available either from him, or here in CSV format (right click, save as).

As you can see at the bottom of the data-set, the average maximum snow-depth on Mount Mansfield is 88.31″, much higher than the value of 74-75″ often cited around the Internet. In fact, the cited average is two-thirds of a standard deviation below the true average (mean); z = \frac{74-88.31}{21.37}=-.67. We hope this correct calculation of the average maximum snow-depth at the Mount Mansfield Stake will help skiers and riders assess the state of future snowpacks on Mount Mansfield more accurately in the future.

Corrections are welcomed; either comment below, or feel free to email us.


The Rarest of May Flowers (UPDATED w/ More Pics 5/27)

By: Greg
May 26, 2013 5:49 am | Category: Quick Update, Skiing, WebiGNARs | 13 Comments | Permalink

The rarest of May Flowers is upon us: the Nor’Easter.
the nor'easter

Burying all the other May Flowers (which, incidentally, look amazingly similar to the rarest of May flowers as seen above)…
buried may flowers

…and bringing the May powzez…
may powzez

…it’s time to SCHUSS.
it's time to schuss!

EDIT (noon on Sunday 5/26): Now with video!

EDIT 2 (7am on Monday 5/27): Here’s a few more pictures of the shenanigans unannotated.

skiing 1

skiing 2

skiing 3

skiing 4

Git sum! 80 degree beach weather in New England by next weekend. Fresh snow on Memorial Day. Even if you don’t go skiing, its BEE-AH-YOU-TEA-FULL
Snow on Mount Mansfield Memorial Day

Enjoy your Holiday!


Le Bon Temps

April 16, 2013 9:34 am | Category: Skiing, WebiGNARs | 16 Comments | Permalink

FamousInternetSnowboarder, Christian the Curmudgeon (AKA “Wayne”), checks in with a video TR of our trip to the north.cover photo

Check in later for a photo-TR here on FIS.


How to…

By: Greg
April 4, 2013 4:08 pm | Category: Quick Update, Skiing | 2 Comments | Permalink

That man…
that man

That’s not me.
that's not me

I walk through walls…
i walk through walls

I float down the Liffey.
i float down the Liffey

Strobe lights and blown speakers….
strobe lights and blown speakers

I’m not here…
i'm not here; this isn't happening

This isn’t happening.
how to disappear completely


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