Super Secret Hidden Waterfall on Ascutney

[Pamola]

A couple of locals have told me of an off-trail waterfall on Ascutney, most likely on the northwest side. I was wondering if UnfrozenCaveman, stevehiker, or anyone else with good knowledge of this peak have heard anything about this and have beta.

 

[kmorgan]

Is this it?

Kevin

 

[SteveHiker]

if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret any more...

I've never heard of one, but there's plenty of untrailed woods. MIght be all kinds of things in there: lost tribes, dinosaurs, pirate gold, alien spacecraft, who knows what else? Would be fun to explore sometime.

As for the one on Kevin's map, I think that is just a poor representation of the location of Cascade Falls, which is certainly no secret. I suppose technically it is off-trail, but not by much.

 

[Pamola]

yeah, that would be cascade, which is nice itself, but not hidden.

as for dinosaurs, I'll keep my eyes peeled.

 

[RoySwkr]

There's an old steam boiler on one of the trails, who knows how much else

 

[SteveHiker]

There's an old steam boiler on one of the trails, who knows how much else

ah yes, the infamous steam donkey. I remember seeing the sign for that when I was 6 or 7 and dreaming about what it was. About 20 years later, I visited it, and was not impressed. What a let down. No steam and no donkey. It's terrible how things don't always turn out how you imagine them when you're a child.

Another disappointment is that the current Google-Earth hi-res imagery ends on the eastern slopes of Ascutney. Not that a small waterfall would show up, but you might be able to find tell-tale signs of one.

 

[dvbl]

...I was wondering if UnfrozenCaveman, stevehiker, or anyone else with good knowledge of this peak have heard anything about this and have beta.

Other than being the letter after alpha, what is beta?

 

[Tom Rankin]

Beta is info particular to a route of any type. Climbers, boaters, hikers all use the term when trying to find out first-hand particulars about something before trying it themselves.

I'm still trying to figure out the derivation of beta myself!

 

[Pamola]

Here's the wiki entry on beta in this context. It even has the origins, for the philologists among us.

For those who don't have the time to click and read, beta comes from the dead betamax tapes. Climbers would tape themselves and others for refinement of technique and route. This eventually was shortened to simply beta

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Sorry I can't help with the waterfall beta. I am always looking for new waterfalls to photograph and so got drawn to this thread.

Other than being the letter after alpha, what is beta?

I had always assumed the term beta had the same meaning/origin as it has in computer (and perhaps other product) testing. Alpha testing is performed by a company's engineers and programmers to ensure the product meets its specifications. A beta test is a field test (reality check) by "real customers" prior to general release to all customers. So in that context, beta is what you get from another hiker who was recently in the field. Perhaps opposed to alpha, the trail specifications you read from a guidebook. BTW, I am not disputing the other posted explanations.

 

[TCD]

The "beta" used by climbers definitely comes from betamax, the idea being that the information was like watching a video of a climber.

"Beta testing" comes from "alpha error" and "beta error", otherwise known as Type I and Type II error, or "Producer's risk" and "Consumer's risk." These are terms from Quality Control sampling, related to the probability that a sampling plan will either mistakenly reject a good lot, or mistakenly accept a bad lot.

TCD

 

[DougPaul]

Type I and Type II error, or "Producer's risk" and "Consumer's risk." These are terms from Quality Control sampling, related to the probability that a sampling plan will either mistakenly reject a good lot, or mistakenly accept a bad lot.

The terms type I error and type II error come from statistical hypothesis testing. A type I error is a false positive (incorrect acceptance of the hypothesis) and a type II error is a false negative (incorrect rejection of the hypothesis). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_I_and_type_II_errors

Quality Control sampling is a specific application of hypothesis testing.

I haven't the foggiest idea what this has to do with some rumored waterfall, unless the hypotheis is that the waterfall exists and a type I error would be...

Doug

 

[Peakbagr]

This brings up an interesting situation - the posting of 'secret' site tracklogs on the site. Pls see the other thread I started.

 

[funkyfreddy]

Sure isn't "super secret" anymore, is it? Maybe while we're at it we could publish pics and GPS coordinates to it in Backpacker magazine....

 

[marchowes]

I don't see any guides or tracks in this post so its location still seems pretty super secret to me!

 

[VT RidgeRunner]

Cascade and Buttermilk Falls

I used to farm organically at the south base of Ascutney Mountain, near Cascade Falls. As I recall, it was actually a series of waterfalls, some of which you had to go a bit off-trail to see. Today (Wednesday) we just had a day-long rain in that area, so I should think the waterfalls would be especially nice over the next few days. If you hiked Ascutney and wanted to see another waterfall in the surrounding area, you might try Buttermilk Falls just north of Ludlow, VT., which lies a few miles to the East.