Thoughts on Posting Trip Reports

[Veory]

I have a couple of trips I've done that don't really have any info online that I've been thinking about writing up some TRs for (particularly Antora ski descent and Electric Pass Peak -> Castle Peak ridge traverse), but I'm somewhat conflicted on if I should post or not.

Part of what made both of these particular advenutres so rewarding was the unknown of it. When I skied Antora I had no idea where the road closure was, or if there was even going to be a continuous descent. Topping out on Conundrum after a long stretch or unknown-to-me scrambling really amazing, although I'm sure people have done that whole ridge before.

On the other hand, I certaintly use TRs when they are available, and especially when I was pushing into new types of climbs.

All in all not really sure if I should write them out of principle and let others savor the adventure the way I did, but I also know TRs can be super helpful and let people know what to expect. Would be curious to head the forum's thoughts on the matter in general.

[daway8]

I say go ahead and post!

While I certainly understand where you're coming from in terms of liking the mystery of the unknown - I myself over the last year or so have increasingly come to appreciate taking on the unknown, now that I have decent enough abilities to usually be able to handle it - there's also a very simple solution to that problem which I've employed:

If you don't want beta on a route: don't read it!

I've a time or two bypassed looking at beta I knew was available just to keep things fresh, then afterwards went and read what some others had posted and was like "dang, would've been nice to know that in advance..."

So by posting you make the beta available to those who prefer to know before they go but it's still tucked away in a report where those who prefer to preserve the rawness of the experience can ignore it until if/when they're ready to read it.

[wineguy]

I hope this doesn't sound too narcissistic, but on those cold winter nights when I'm stuck in the flatlands, I enjoy reading my old TRs. So indulge yourself and post (I contribute to this site, so don't feel guilty about littering here, and memory is cheap these days).

[JROSKA]

For what it’s worth, whenever I’m internally debating whether to post a trip report that will inevitably be somewhat wordy and incredibly long winded, and probably boring for most of the forum, the deciding factor for me is always, can the trip report help someone in the future. So my vote would be yes, post the TR.

[nyker]

You can always post the report and show most of your details, but if there's one or two points that you don't want to share publicly for the reason you cite, you can always gloss over those more broadly and if anyone really wants to know that specific detail and repeat that line they can ping you directly.

[susanjoypaul]

I say go ahead and post! As others have mentioned, people don't have to read them.

You do a LOT of peaks (yes, I check the LoJ Recent Ascents page daily) and I love finding out that someone just did a peak I've been looking at. Right now, that's anything in Fremont, Park, or Douglas County. Just knowing they got up there lets me know it's doable... Like, there's somewhere to park, and if there are private property issues there's a way around them, and if there's a lot of snow, there's a track. That kind of stuff. If they upload a GPS track, even better. If you have just one day to get out and get a peak, you might not have time to figure it out along the way. This is especially true if you're a slow hiker like me (though I've done my share of "figuring it out" for many, many hikes). You could even post two versions in one report: 1) a track along with a short summary and bullet points of "what to look out for" to point people to potential dangers; followed by a 2) "Okay, so here's my complete trip report with all the spoilers. Read at your discretion - you've been warned!"

[greenonion]

I say go ahead and post! As others have mentioned, people don't have to read them.

You do a LOT of peaks (yes, I check the LoJ Recent Ascents page daily) and I love finding out that someone just did a peak I've been looking at. Right now, that's anything in Fremont, Park, or Douglas County. Just knowing they got up there lets me know it's doable... Like, there's somewhere to park, and if there are private property issues there's a way around them, and if there's a lot of snow, there's a track. That kind of stuff. If they upload a GPS track, even better. If you have just one day to get out and get a peak, you might not have time to figure it out along the way. This is especially true if you're a slow hiker like me (though I've done my share of "figuring it out" for many, many hikes). You could even post two versions in one report: 1) a track along with a short summary and bullet points of "what to look out for" to point people to potential dangers; followed by a 2) "Okay, so here's my complete trip report with all the spoilers. Read at your discretion - you've been warned!"

Good idea. Aligns with the Mini and Full TR types of reports.

[d_baker]

For the most part, the reports that I have posted, started in part, because I wanted to tell a story. As time goes by, it's fun to go back and reread/relive those trips.
I suppose some of mine may help others, but my intent wasn't necessarily to paint a picture on how to get from point A to point B.
I have tried to include beneficial info, but I don't think all or maybe even most aren't beta filled.

So, depends on the style of your writing and what and how you want to share, but my opinion is that if you want to then do it. That's one of the great aspects to this site and Bill M's openness to allowing reports to be posted here.

[ekalina]

I love reading the trip reports on this website. I'll probably only climb a small fraction of the mountains featured in them, but that doesn't matter. I still like to hear about someone else's adventure and imagine what it would be like to be there. So not everyone is perusing TRs to get just the right amount of beta for an upcoming climb.

[greenonion]

I have a couple of trips I've done that don't really have any info online that I've been thinking about writing up some TRs for (particularly Antora ski descent and Electric Pass Peak -> Castle Peak ridge traverse), but I'm somewhat conflicted on if I should post or not.

Part of what made both of these particular advenutres so rewarding was the unknown of it. When I skied Antora I had no idea where the road closure was, or if there was even going to be a continuous descent. Topping out on Conundrum after a long stretch or unknown-to-me scrambling really amazing, although I'm sure people have done that whole ridge before.

On the other hand, I certaintly use TRs when they are available, and especially when I was pushing into new types of climbs.

All in all not really sure if I should write them out of principle and let others savor the adventure the way I did, but I also know TRs can be super helpful and let people know what to expect. Would be curious to head the forum's thoughts on the matter in general.

One thing is for sure… you must write a TR for the trip you do your first back flip on skis!


…and NOT from a hospital bed!

[seano]

I say post something that's not paint-by-numbers. Write something that will inspire people to go out and explore.

[SchralpTheGnar]

Don’t do it, not everything needs to end up online