First Descents versus Non First Descents

It also seems like the attitude is once something has been done, it's like who cares.

Depends on why you ski, eh? I don't really care what others think of my tours. I'm happy if I have fun, a sense of accomplishment, maybe some good cameraderie, some personal challenges overcome, that sort of thing. There are plenty of ski lines to be "discovered" in the Cascades for me, even if many have already left some p-tex on them. The guidebooks and trip reports only cover a fraction of what's available, and you of course don't even need to read them if you want to increase your own personal discovery zone. Some of my best fun this winter followed the sentences "Do you think that goes? I dunno, looks like it, let's go see!"

The Whittakers along with Eddie Bauer have developed a line of 1st Ascent/!st Descent clothing for bc activities; so now you can have a first ascent/descent anytime you want, by mail order or stopping in Ashford.

....    or, check out Steep and Cheep for First Descents...  be warned though-  this site is addictive  www.steepandcheap.com/

It's hard to say what is a first descent.  Alot of stuff that people call a first ascent or descent may or may not be.  Not everyone sprays their exploits all over the internet or writes them up for journals.  There are things that I've seen claimed as first ascents/descents that were done decades ago, by people that didn't feel the need to talk about it much.

Very good observation.
I worked with an old German, who used to tell me stories of he and his Euro buddies skiing many slopes that I read about here on TAY claimed as a first decents. Old Karl has passed, but it would be great to hear him regal his stories again with such passion.
I like are the ones that have been already skied, but are said to be the first "Snowboard Decent" of a known skied slope. If you take out a Monoboard or Snow Blades, I'm sure there is an unlimited amount of first descents left right out your backdoor.

I like are the ones that have been already skied, but are said to be the first "Snowboard Decent" of a known skied slope. If you take out a Monoboard or Snow Blades, I'm sure there is an unlimited amount of first descents left right out your backdoor. 

Made me laugh out loud. Snowskate Liberty Ridge!

I made the first Sidetepping descent of Braindamage last season. Sidestepped the whole way down.
It was tough and had to resist the urge to do a snowplow about 2/3 down.

Most people who post reports about potential first descents don't claim them as such. The community makes that claim, based on the best available information. I've been doing my best for over a decade to record this information in Washington. I think history is interesting and valuable. We don't always get it right, but we do the best we can.

If somebody previously did a route and chose not to talk about it, that's fine. If they decide to speak up later, and are credible, then history changes. If they don't care to speak up, then they have little justification for complaining. A number of entries on my website are listed as "strawman" because I suspect they may not have been firsts. I've omitted countless ski routes because I figure we'll never know who did them first.

alpenglow.org/ski-history/