ole trout Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 hi all, (great forum) i am new at geocaching and i would like to know why when people list a geocach that they neglect to say that we have to tread through three feet of snow . I have seen the symbols that include the "available in winter" snowflake but there is never any mention of roughly how much snow to expect. Thanks. Quote Link to comment
+gmcpower98 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 That would be kinda hard as it depends on the recent weather. We have a few that are winter friendly. It may just raise the difficulty level a bit. Quote Link to comment
+Walkworthy & Wife Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 (edited) I have seen the symbols that include the "available in winter" snowflake but there is never any mention of roughly how much snow to expect. Thanks. Welcome to The Wonderful White World Of Geocaching I would say that a good rule of thumb to follow would be, "What ever the weather is at your house, you can expect the same if you are cache hunting close by." You can't expect cache hiders to edit their hides everytime the weather changes. Don't worry you'll learn with experience. Edited January 12, 2009 by Walkworthy Quote Link to comment
Roadtorque Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 its up to the weather man to tell you that info Quote Link to comment
+undertree Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Personaly it is much more fun in the snow. I have dug a few out of the snow this winter. I also like the fact that many of the locations for caches in parks are empty and void of any muggles. Quote Link to comment
+buttaskotch Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 hi all, (great forum) i am new at geocaching and i would like to know why when people list a geocach that they neglect to say that we have to tread through three feet of snow . I have seen the symbols that include the "available in winter" snowflake but there is never any mention of roughly how much snow to expect. Thanks. Ummm, that's what the news is for, or if you want to see a trend, pick up old Richard's Almanack. But, isn't asking this, kind of like asking if you should expect it to be warm in the summer, and just how warm it is? Quote Link to comment
Influence Waterfowl Calls Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Remember... When you get to the parking area and where the "arrow" points there are footprints in the snow... Follow the prints with the toes pointing at you! Then you will go right to it where the other prints will lead you where ever they went as they were looking for the container. Quote Link to comment
ole trout Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 I wouldnt expect everyone to change their information as the weather changes, but it would be nice if more people indicated if the cache is accesible in the winter. I appreciate those who do. I guess i am getting cabin fever, it seems that i may need to invest in a pair of snowshoes. Thanks everyone. Happy geocaching! Quote Link to comment
+smilealot Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 We are in snow country and have resolved to the fact that we look for caches that have been found recently. If there has been little or no activity on a cache then it is probably in hibernation till spring.. Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 hi all, (great forum) i am new at geocaching and i would like to know why when people list a geocach that they neglect to say that we have to tread through three feet of snow . I have seen the symbols that include the "available in winter" snowflake but there is never any mention of roughly how much snow to expect.Thanks. Any geocaching meteorologists out there? If so, PLEASE state on your cache pages how much snow we are to expect, OK? Seriously, "Available in winter" (or, "winter-friendly" is what we call it around here) simply means that the cache is unlikely to be buried beneath the snow. It does not make any comment about how much trudging you may have to do to get to it. Quote Link to comment
+parmachenee Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 (edited) Sorry. Edited January 14, 2009 by parmachenee Quote Link to comment
+parmachenee Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Seriously, "Available in winter" (or, "winter-friendly" is what we call it around here) simply means that the cache is unlikely to be buried beneath the snow. It does not make any comment about how much trudging you may have to do to get to it. THAT seems to be the problem. The difference between getting THERE and getting TO the cache. Some feel a snowflake means you can get THERE although it might be buried beneath 3ft of snow/ice. Others feel you can get THERE and get TO the cache which would place it above snow level or unaffected by snow level. Maybe that should be clarified?? Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Seriously, "Available in winter" (or, "winter-friendly" is what we call it around here) simply means that the cache is unlikely to be buried beneath the snow. It does not make any comment about how much trudging you may have to do to get to it. THAT seems to be the problem. The difference between getting THERE and getting TO the cache. Some feel a snowflake means you can get THERE although it might be buried beneath 3ft of snow/ice. Others feel you can get THERE and get TO the cache which would place it above snow level or unaffected by snow level. Maybe that should be clarified?? Must be a regional thing. I've never seen or heard of any confusion regarding the definition of it around here. Winter-friendly means that it isn't on the ground. In fact, some cachers deliberately do NOT use that attribute when their cache is off the ground, but they don't want to give any hints to that effect. One of the first things cachers around here will do if the cache can't be found, is to ask (in the summertime), "Is it winter-friendly?" If we can find out that it is, we won't waste time looking on the ground. Quote Link to comment
+The Hipster Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I put out 4 caches for the 2008 Holidays - all are winter friendly & have the winter snowflake attribute. I specifically mentioned they are obtainable in the winter on the cache pages. One utilizes a decon container & I gave advice on opening/closing the bugger when its well below freezing. (-38° F Tues Morn) We've had a lot of snow this year & it does raise the terrain rating a notch. Dec. 22, 2008 Placing a stage in "Whopper John" GC1K1TG: Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Seriously, "Available in winter" (or, "winter-friendly" is what we call it around here) simply means that the cache is unlikely to be buried beneath the snow. It does not make any comment about how much trudging you may have to do to get to it. THAT seems to be the problem. The difference between getting THERE and getting TO the cache. Some feel a snowflake means you can get THERE although it might be buried beneath 3ft of snow/ice. Others feel you can get THERE and get TO the cache which would place it above snow level or unaffected by snow level. Maybe that should be clarified?? I've always understood it to mean that you have a reasonable chance of finding the cache with snow on the ground. That means both getting there and finding it. Being that you can get to the overwhelming majority of caches with snow on the ground I don't see why the attribute would be needed to address just getting there. Quote Link to comment
+KJcachers Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I put out 4 caches for the 2008 Holidays - all are winter friendly & have the winter snowflake attribute. I specifically mentioned they are obtainable in the winter on the cache pages. One utilizes a decon container & I gave advice on opening/closing the bugger when its well below freezing. (-38° F Tues Morn) We've had a lot of snow this year & it does raise the terrain rating a notch. Dec. 22, 2008 Placing a stage in "Whopper John" GC1K1TG: Nice UPS you got there! Quote Link to comment
+MnStar Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Sorry, I can't resist......is the next picture of you lying on the ground with a big pile of logs on top of you? What is that thing? Don't you worry about it falling on top of someone? Quote Link to comment
+The Hipster Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 (edited) (Warning - spoiler for northeast ND & northwest MN cachers - close your eyes right now - Grin) Nice UPS you got there! LOL - Yup, I thought them quite appropriate & I didn't even have to do the stacking! From GeoLex: "UPS – “Unnatural Pile of Sticks”. A common telltale sign of a hidden cache". Sorry, I can't resist......is the next picture of you lying on the ground with a big pile of logs on top of you? What is that thing? Don't you worry about it falling on top of someone? Actually that old tree house is very solid. They must have used a lot of long spikes to build it. My 2nd stage is contained within the lighter colored log section - the bottom 1' of our 2008 Christmas tree - above & to the left of my head. Here is picture taken 20 minutes later - my beta tester arriving at GZ: Edited January 15, 2009 by The Hipster Quote Link to comment
GOF and Bacall Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I'll be going out with a couple of friends to get a cache that is only available by boat, or in the dead of winter. I can't wait. On the other side of the coin I have a couple of caches that should not be found in the winter. One of them can be suicidal to attempt if the temps have been below freezing for a few days. Think tons of precariously perched ice directly over your head. Or a paper thin sheet of ice 6-8 feet over the rocky creek bed. I've seen that and still don't understand how it happens. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.