How To Tweet A Ski Trail Report
Twitter Ski Reports Are as Simple As 1, 2, 3.
- If you don't already have one, sign up for a Twitter account. No charge. Sign up now.
- Email your Twitter user name to
. Your user name is located on the upper right of your Twitter home page. You may also use the feedback page and send Ray your Twitter User Name. Once your Twitter User Name is received I'll add it to a list and your trail reports will show up on the of the Zillmer and/or Greenbush pages. You will be added in a day or less. - Type your trail report into the "What’s happening?" box near the top of your Twitter home page. Be sure to type the trail code as the first five letters you enter. For Greenbush type gball (means Greenbush all trails). For Zillmer type ziall (means Zillmer all trails). For the individual loop codes, see the valid trail list here.
So how does it work? By typing in the 5 letter code, if Ray has your twitter user name, your trail report will automatically be posted on the appropriate page on this site (with a slight time delay):
1. For Greenbush it will appear on www.greenbushtrails.com/GreenbushTrails.html
2. For Zillmer it will appear on www.greenbushtrails.com/ZillmerTrails.html
Sign up now to help your fellow skiers find the best snow... or even when it's not wise to risk your best skis in marginal conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I enter a trail report?
You can send a report tweet by logging into your Twitter account from any computer and entering a report into the What's happing box.
You may also send a report tweet from your cell phone. Visit this page for more information and send and receive tweets from your mobile phone. Your service providers standard text messaging rates and fees do apply. Consult your service provider to ensure that your text plan covers your Twitter usage. Twitter phone FAQs.
Can you explain how a trail report works and looks?
A typical report looks like this:
There are three parts to a trail report a valid trail name, the report, and a rating. See the Valid Trail List for all valid trail names.
The first part of the report must always be a valid trail. The above tweet is for the Zillmer(zi) Green(gre) trail.
The second part of the report should be a brief description of the trail conditions. Be specific and concise. Twitter only allows a total of 140 characters. Try to make your report helpful for others.
The third part of the report (r5) is a rating of 1-5 stars. With 1 being poor conditions, but still skiable and 5 being excellent conditions. This part must always be the last part of the report. The rating is optional, but recommended. A star rating will help others make a quick judgment of current conditions. All the following ratings are expectable. r1 r2 r3 r4 r5
Is there an easy way to determine what the valid trail codes are?
Yes! Every trail system has a two letter code. Zillmer is zi and Greenbush is gb Kiekhaefer is kk. Use these two letters for the first part of a valid trail name. The next three letters of a valid trail name are the trail color. The trail color letters are always the first 3 letters of the trail color. red is red, brown is bro, green is gre, purple is pur, and so on. So, the valid trail name for the Greenbush Brown trail would be gbbro. See Valid Trail List for all valid trails.
I want to send a report tweet that covers all the trails at Zillmer. How do I do That?
Zillmer, Greenbush and Kiekhaefer have an 'All' trail option. Use the valid trail ziall or gball or kkall for your report tweet. Note: If you want to enter a ski trail condition report for other trail system loops, you still need to send a report tweet for each of the valid trails. See the Valid Trail List below.
Why hasn't my report tweet been displayed on the page?
The report pages are typically updated with all new report tweets every 10 minutes to 1 hour. If your tweet hasn't appeared after a reasonable amount of time, be sure you entered a valid trail as the first part of your tweet. If you made a mistake, just correct it and tweet the report again. All valid trails are shown below.
Another reason your tweet may not appear would be, an unusually high volume of tweets for one valid trail. If a large number of report tweets are entered in a short time, your report tweet may not show on the page. This site only displays the newest 5-10 report tweets your tweet may already be considered outdated.
List of All Valid Trails
| Valid Trail | Trail System | Trail Color |
|---|---|---|
| gball | Greenbush | All |
| gbbla | Greenbush | Black |
| gbbro | Greenbush | Brown |
| gbgre | Greenbush | Green |
| gbmsg | Greenbush | Message |
| gbpin | Greenbush | Pink |
| gbpur | Greenbush | Purple |
| gbred | Greenbush | Red |
| kkall | Kiekhaefer | All |
| kkmsg | Kiekhaefer | Message |
| ziall | Zillmer | All |
| zibro | Zillmer | Brown |
| zigre | Zillmer | Green |
| zimsg | Zillmer | Message |
| zired | Zillmer | Red |
| ziyel | Zillmer | Yellow |
Use the entries in the first column (Valid Trail) for the valid trail name in your report tweets.
I sent two report tweets for Greenbush Purple trail (gbpur) and only one is displayed on your site. Why?
You are only allowed to enter one report for each valid trail per hour. Only the most current report you entered for each valid trail will be displayed. So for Greenbush, you may enter one report every hour for each of the valid trails. See the Valid Trail List above.
