Can somebody start a good argument please??

You're totally off base on ALL fronts.

Horses. You gotta be kidding me. Are all horseback riders fat and is it really necessary to bring a hacksaw and shovel. You'd figure a chainsaw and backhoe would work better? And fires, they work great right in front of my tent on the rocks w/in 3 ft of a high lake. You'd figure with a torch they could get it going, the camelfloge hinted at cromagnum fire-abilities, but I digress, at least they failed. I used the shovel they left behind to clean it up and took a swig out of their canteen they left behind and walked through piles of crap back to my tent where they left their horses to range 'bout. After filtering more water in their fishguts, I thought "What a wilderness experience." Tread lightly and leave no trace. Yeah, I think that only applies to some. Kind of like user fees on Saint Helens. Now there's a titty twister!

Why do you fail to note that TRs can be valuable as entertainment and inspiration without any precise location?  I like to read clever descriptions and see quality photography; I don't need someone to help me with when and where to ski.  I post and browse TRs purely for entertainment.  The BETA aspect is only incidental for me.  It happens, but it was never the goal.

I don't fail to notice, that's what I meant by " record the event". You are taking it out of context as we where talking about "secret stashes" where somebody posts specifically boasting that they where at their secret stash and had great conditions/etc but I ain't going to share. I post and browse for entertainment too just like you, and find many of your posts regarding your adventures very inspirational so no argument there.

Well I for one don't really care for the "secret location" TRs. I absolutely respect anyone's right to keep their stash secret if they want. Here's a suggestion - DON'T POST THE TR! Maybe add a post in another TR saying "we skied nearby" or "we skied a similar aspect in the general area" etc etc. If someone has great pictures that you want to show but don't want to reveal the location, why not put them in Random Tracks as "Some recent photos" or "Some stoke for you all" or something like that.

In short, I think there are ways to get the info out there other than a full-blown TR that reveals nothing. I suppose there are shades of grey, something like "we skied west aspects around Stevens pass and found sloughing on steeper slopes but not on south aspects" could provide some useful info without giving away the stash but I still think the same thing could be achieved as an add-on to a similar TR or as a blurb in Random Tracks.

I often find the gray area trip reports to be of use in selecting safe and fun terrain, so I choose to write them as well. The NWAC folks make use of the trip reports, and they're seen by a wider audience on TAY than the NWAC info exchange. To me, the trip report is the place for stoke, so if I've got some stoke-laden photos, I'll put them into a gray trip report without hesitation (unless it gives away a friend's stash). Furthermore, I think vague trip reports encourage all of us to spread out and sample new places.

If the location is common, yet utterly alone and sublime, then it doesn't get a TR from me.

(Is this a case of a 'Hey, y'all - let's argue!' thread turning into something useful?)