Winter Friendly icon?

[+The Weasel]

Hi All,

 

I live in the heart of the midwest and we get some snow...lots and lots of snow.

 

We have debated what IS winter friendly?? I'm not sure if this has been debated, so forgive me if it has.

 

What I was thinking for those of us that have caches in areas that it snows and have the winter friendly icon, to assign it a number maybe 1-5 that defines it more. For example.....

 

1) Easy, will not be impacted by snow. (I.E--LPC)

 

2) Still pretty easy, may require some snow walking to get it, but still obtainable (I.E--PTC)

 

3) Could be under deeper snow, but should be still obtainable with some digging possibly required.

 

4) Deep snow, walking and digging will be required. Container will be something familiar (ammo can, decon, etc..) and could be found with some time and effort.

 

5) Don't even bother. Snow will be deep, very long walk, under ice/water, and hard placement will make this cache unobtainable until spring.

 

I understand that these numbers are purely subjective, but I think a number rating system will better prepare sombody who is going to go miles out of there way for a cache they might need to get to fill their 81 diff/terr grid, what the nature of the beast might be. TECHNICALLY, all caches could be winter friendly, it's just how bad your willing to work for them. I thought about going through my own caches and just manually entering a number in the description along with my reasoning scale. Just a thought as I pray that the snow will soon be gone!!

[+narcissa]

If someone is thinking about going miles out of their way to find a cache in winter, it's up to them to read the cache page, read logs, check the dates of logs, and ask questions.

 

Attributes are wonderful, but at a certain point the geocacher needs to take responsibility.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Yes, attribute icon requests for various things are posted fairly regularly.

 

You will note that many don't even use attribute icons and some over-use them. Some people pay no attention to those that are used, or perhaps don't understand them.

 

I think that rather than boggle that attribute system any more, it probably would be better served to place exact wording (as the way you propose it) directly into the body of the cache page. That way at least, you know that you have provided cachers with information that would not be misinterpreted.

 

EDIT: I believe the last request was for a "dangerously slippery road -- in winter".

Edited February 26, 2010 by Gitchee-Gummee

[+The Weasel]

If someone is thinking about going miles out of their way to find a cache in winter, it's up to them to read the cache page, read logs, check the dates of logs, and ask questions.

 

Attributes are wonderful, but at a certain point the geocacher needs to take responsibility.

 

TRUE...but what you read in logs might not help, the conditions might be different, the owner may not be around...etc.

 

Trust me, I do my homework before we plan trips and your not always able to reach the owner, or if it's a new cache any logs.

 

This has nothing to do with responsibility but realistic expectations in the winter.

[hoosier guy]

TRUE...but what you read in logs might not help, the conditions might be different, the owner may not be around...etc.

 

Yes particularly if you are caching in areas you don't normally frequent and seldom do I see "cache placed in area subject to 4 foot drifts" included in the owner's comments. It would be hard to describe winter friendly caches without going into too much detail, but I would like to see it done somehow.

[+ChileHead]

We've debated the meaning before ... does not winter accessible mean:

 

- area is not open in the winter

- cache is findable with snow cover

 

I usually think of it as meaning it can be found with snow on the ground.

[+wimseyguy]

I can think of some LPC's in the Baltimore-NYC corridor that were pretty inaccessible a few weeks ago.

 

[+narcissa]

If someone is thinking about going miles out of their way to find a cache in winter, it's up to them to read the cache page, read logs, check the dates of logs, and ask questions.

 

Attributes are wonderful, but at a certain point the geocacher needs to take responsibility.

 

TRUE...but what you read in logs might not help, the conditions might be different, the owner may not be around...etc.

 

Trust me, I do my homework before we plan trips and your not always able to reach the owner, or if it's a new cache any logs.

 

This has nothing to do with responsibility but realistic expectations in the winter.

 

If you aren't sure that a cache is winter friendly and you're going to have to put yourself out to get to it, then don't go. Making the attributes more complicated isn't going to help. Attributes are optional as it is.

[+briansnat]

People can't get simple yes/no attributes right. I can't see making things more complicated as being helpful.

[+BlueDeuce]

I usually think of it as meaning it can be found with snow on the ground.

 

Maybe I'm wrong but I think it's because Available During Winter tries to address both the container position and area accessibility. I have a cache with a snowmobile attribute but I do not consider it winter friendly. It's an ammocan on the ground and I'm not going to keep updating the attributes based on current snowfall and melt.

 

Perhaps the definition of Available During Winter is a bit broad but I consider it that people are able to walk to it regardless of the amount of fallen snow, which means there is regular snow removal and the container doesn't get buried by snow.

[+jackrock]

I'm not sure why the idea of winter friendly or not seems to be only considered as it relates to snow. There is more to winter than snow. The thread topic lists the winter friendly icon but the text of the message seems to only deal with snow, so it sounds like they are suggesting a new icon for snow and not the winter friendly icon which would deal with winter.

[+hamgran]

In my neck of the woods, winter equals snow, at least most of the time. And snow is the biggest obstacle.

To have an attribute that says "available during winter", to me, should mean that it is NOT on the ground. It shouldn't mean that you can't get to GZ during the winter. Theoretically, every cache is available during winter, since we can't disable them for a season anymore.

Sometimes we have a dry spell here and the snow disappears off the ground for a week or two. Those are the winter days that I would go for the caches without the snowflake icon. But if I'm going to cache with heavy snow present, and I see that icon, I expect that cache to be off the ground.

Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that way.