The study found that while deceiving skiers can result in lost business, Zitzewitz and Zinman noted that on "a one-shot basis" switching resorts even between "neighboring resorts" can be more trouble than it's worth. "But more importantly, to the extent there is a systematic difference, it shouldn't be any larger on the weekend," he said in a subsequent e-mail. Asked whether that distance between a weather station and a resort could explain a difference in reporting totals, Zitzewitz said the difference shouldn't be systematic, especially since there are on average an equal number of weather stations in all directions. The report used data from weather stations that on average were 26 miles from resorts in the East and 160 feet below the summit. He added that there can be significant differences in snowfall between what is reported by resorts and weather stations. Riehle also criticized the report because it throws together all eastern resorts. He also said if ski areas were going to inflate snowfall it would make more sense to do that during the week "when you're trying to create and generate buzz and excitement for the coming weekend." He said exaggerating snowfall on the weekend doesn't make sense because skiers and riders are already on the mountain or planning to come. "Given the customer feedback and the peer review from competing ski areas, there's just a lot of innate pressure to get it right," said Riehle, president of the VSAA. Riehle said snowfall can also vary from trail to trail at a particular resort. Parker Riehle of the Vermont Ski Areas Association said the state's ski areas take great care in reporting precise snowfall amounts, taking measurements around the base and the summit. ![]() Vermont ski industry representatives took issue with the report. Zitzewitz said the application "had a real powerful disciplining effect" at resorts that had good iPhone reception. The study also found that the exaggerated snowfall reports fell sharply toward the end of the study period with the introduction of an iPhone application that allows skiers to comment and report snow conditions in real time. Zitzewitz said the inflated snowfall reports applied to Vermont ski areas as well. The report is broken down by region and no individual resorts are mentioned. The report covers 2004-2008 using data from and, private archived Internet sites and government data. "So, New England, Lake Tahoe, you see more of this weekend effect than you would in Montana," Zitzewitz said Wednesday. Zitzewitz said the "weekend effect" was more pronounced at ski areas with more expert terrain and at ski areas within 150 miles of a major city. "Overall, the resorts report an inch or more of additional fresh snow on weekends when exaggerating," according to the 29-page report. The report, co-authored by Eric Zitzewitz and Jonathan Zinman, concluded that ski areas inflated snowfall totals, especially on weekends, which are the more profitable days of the week. ![]() The study, "Wintertime for Deceptive Advertising?," compares snowfall reports from eastern and western resorts with totals recorded by nearby government weather stations. Two Dartmouth College professors have come out with a report that accuses ski areas across the country of fudging snowfall totals. Study claims ski areas inflate snowfall totals
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