In a recent hardcopy issue of Skipressworld magazine one of the articles cited the t-shirt rule for evaluating ski areas (couldn't find article at their website:
http://3w.skipressworld.com ) I thought this was a humorous and curiously accurate rating method.
Forget all the statistical analysis, field research, accounting techniques, verbiage, braggadocio, BS, etc.; which ski areas have you thought enough of, at least at the time of your visit, to acquire a t-shirt from the place for your personal use?!?
T-shirts:
Snowbird, UT
Wildcat, NH
Aspen, CO
Blue Knob, PA
Stretching the t-shirt rule:
Hats with logo for personal use:
Taos, NM
Loveland, CO
Bad Hofgastein, Austria
Surprisingly short list after 40 years.
Although, I've also bought lots of stuff (e.g., Killingon hats, pins) for others, and received many things from family (e.g., Charnita parka patch, 1980 Lake Placid Olympics hat).
Some people buy clothing, pins or patches from every place they've ever been, thereby skewing the t-shirt rule. This leads to grade creep, but makes for good conversation starters on chairlifts.
Edit: just thought of Bad Hofgastein, probably gonna be a lot of others as my fading memory kicks in.