Sunday, November 14, 2010

Computers, guns, and tequila

I happened to notice this morning that something is askew with regards to one of the place names on the Google map image behind the MesoWest plot below (click on it to make it bigger).  Can you find it?


I'll post the answer in a couple of days if nobody figures it out, but backcountry skiers with a tendency to study topo maps and gape at big lines in Little Cottonwood Canyon should find it quickly.

This is a nice little reminder of the Mitch Ratcliffe quote that "a computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history -- with the possible exception of handguns and tequila."
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9 comments:

  1. tcruicksNovember 14, 2010 at 9:02 PM

    I've noticed that "mis-location" some years ago and figured that it was some technicality that we skiers just simply ignored. Who is right? USGS topo or skiers? I dont really know. You gave one hint but another hint is that the "mis-location" has the same name as a road pass in the northern Wasatch.

    This all assumes that I am seeing what you are seeing Jim.

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  2. Jim SNovember 14, 2010 at 9:16 PM

    If you zoom in, you can see it is off by quite a bit. Too much to attribute to skier conventional wisdom. Maybe the resolution of the place names simply isn't that good, but in this case, it seems to be off by nearly 1 km.

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  3. tcruicksNovember 14, 2010 at 9:22 PM

    Well, there are 2 peaks there. The "face" and then the other with a dubious exit. But yeah, zooming in does show it to be off to the west a ways. It was probably labeled by someone like me who got sick and tired of labeling after the 177th peak.

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  4. wendyNovember 15, 2010 at 7:52 AM

    Yep, I'm with tcruicks on both posts .... but the "other" IS higher .....

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  5. RainCountryNovember 15, 2010 at 1:06 PM

    When's the answer coming out, I can't handle the suspense. I am pretty sure I found it too. Skiing the north side of where it is labeled would put me in the wrong drainage from where I have ended up before.

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  6. Jim SNovember 15, 2010 at 1:15 PM

    Well Raincountry I'm just glad that somebody is actually reading these posts! The answer is Superior Peak, which is clearly located too far to the west.

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  7. ChristyNovember 15, 2010 at 3:40 PM

    That's what I was thinking, but I didn't think I could say, since I haven't actually skied it (yet).

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  8. Jim SNovember 15, 2010 at 3:43 PM

    We'll take care of that this year. If this keeps up, Superior will be skiable when the sun angle is low.

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  9. RainCountryNovember 16, 2010 at 12:35 PM

    Ahhhh, finally something on this blog I can wrap my head around with certainty :)

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