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.

I buy stickers for my board. It hasn't been many places warranting a sticker in it's life but it does have Snowbird, Park City, Powder Mountain and Breckenridge labelled on their along with stuff that sometimes comes with new gear.

Nice question. I'll have to check my pile of t-shirts tonight. Off the top of my head, I probably have at least 6 t-shirts from Alta. Also have shirts from Snowbasin, Solitude, A-Basin, Taos.

I probably have more t-shirts from bars and brew pubs I have visited on ski trips than from the ski areas themselves. Alcohol tends to get me to spend some coin.

Rumor has it that FishNSki has an online site selling T-Shirts of Mount Porte Crayon.

Got a logo turtleneck from Squaw and Jay Peak, but I do collect hat pins from:

Jay
Stowe
Sugarbush
MRG
Stratton
Killington
Gore
Whiteface
Hunter
Elk
Tremblant
Montage
Great Gorge
Jack Frost
Big Boulder
Shawnee
Camelback
Blue
Blue Knob
Seven Springs
Wisp
Canaan
Timberline
Snowshoe
Winterplace
Wintergreen
Massanutten
Bryce
Whister/Blackcomb
Squaw
Heavenly
Alpine Meadows
Kirkwood
North Star

I may be missing one or two. I'll keep thinking about it..........

T-shirt:

2xSolitude Ski patrol benefit

The story is that, one fine day in Utah I had had enough of the group dynamic and decided to bust off on my own. Tootoototootoot, and I'm at the bottom of Middle Slope heading for Summit lift, right? Well, little did I know that they had all decided to follow me. Some panicked radio exchanges later (and two quick laps for me) and here we are, waiting for ski patrol to rescue Ana and Tony from the icey bump fest that was Milk Run that day:

So I felt all guilty about that and appreciative and all.



Snowbird

Joke T-shirt:

2x Killington

Long sleeve T:

Smuggs

Zip-T:
3x Mont Sutton
2xKicking Horse (and a sticker on the helmet from their first season)
Breckenridge Nordic

Got a "Beaver Liquors" T-shirt in Avon,Co at the base of Beaver Ck...That Count?......I'm Selling "The Grilled Salamander" T-Shirts For the Restaurent at the Summit....With the "Endangered Species" Bar T- shirts to follow...Thanks for the Plug JL!....the final T-shirt for Mount Porte Crayon will tout my Fav Run....EXTINCT!!

Quote:

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Got a "Beaver Liquors" T-shirt in Avon,Co at the base of Beaver Ck...That Count?

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I forgot about that place! In the heart of ski snobbery land, of all places.

OK, after checking my clothing stash, maybe it's time for me to do some housecleaning... Ski area clothing swag consisting of tees, long sleeve shirts, t-necks, sweatshirts, hats, polartec, vests, ball caps:

• Numerous Alta items, including my favorite "Endless Winter" tee. (Takeoff on the "Endless Summer" movie.) Still torn after a rough night at the Bottle and Cork.
• Solitude
• Snowbasin
• Taos Ski Valley
• Jackson Hole
• A-Basin
• Whistler/Blackcomb, including the infamous "Go to heaven, ski like hell" tee.

For ski area brew pubs and nightspots:

• Granville Island Brewery, Vancouver, BC
• Steeps (now something different), Park City, UT
• Snake River Brewery, Jackson, WY
• The Cantina, Aspen, CO
• The Mangy Moose, Jackson Hole, WY
• Gritty's, Portland, ME
• Wasatch Brew Pub, Park City, UT
• Blues at Lou's, SF, CA (Tahoe trip)

Some tees and a real nice vest from the X-Team ski clinics.

And of course, sweatshirt and tee from DCSki.

Also found plently of old Dewey Beach, Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, schools, sports teams, Wolftrap, etc. that haven't seen the light of day in years.