Introducing Reach the Peak

[+Max and 99]

49 minutes ago, mysterion604 said:

As this is a mountain-related challenge, I hope they continue to make earthcaches the highest (or 2nd highest) point-scoring thing, above things like mysteries and multis. 

It really is more thematically appropriate.

 

 

I hope they do this in October, the month of the International Earth Cache Day.

[+barefootjeff]

3 hours ago, mysterion604 said:

As this is a mountain-related challenge, I hope they continue to make earthcaches the highest (or 2nd highest) point-scoring thing, above things like mysteries and multis. 

It really is more thematically appropriate.

 

 

Most of the Earthcaches I've done have been at sea level. My own one goes below sea level at high tide, so not exactly a "peak".

[+CAVinoGal]

On 9/6/2021 at 7:43 PM, CAVinoGal said:

We've got the Basecamp for VInson; and will grab the caches in this area to qualify for the Peak souvenir in the next day or two.  Then wait for the next in early October...

Achieved the Vinson Peak souvenir today, and again, can't claim the "unchallenge" bit - we DID target highly favorited caches to reach it more quickly with fewer finds.  "Vacation"  ends tomorrow when we head home - and we'll go from there.  We will almost HAVE to make a decided effort to reach more of the peaks; whether we will or not, time will tell.

[+Max and 99]

One lucky friend of mine got 1200 points for one cache! 😁 👍

[+CAVinoGal]

On 9/13/2021 at 2:17 PM, Max and 99 said:

One lucky friend of mine got 1200 points for one cache! 😁 👍

 

How so?  I thought 600 was the max for any cache, regardless of type or fav points or whatever....and even if you CAN combine, and EC (500) with >10 fave points (600) is still 1100?!?!

 

Edited September 15, 2021 by CAVinoGal

[+Max and 99]

7 minutes ago, CAVinoGal said:

 

How so?  I thought 600 was the max for any cache, regardless of type or fav points or whatever....and even if you CAN combine, and EC (500) with >10 fave points (600) is still 1100?!?!

 

A glitch, of course! Definitely a glitch. 

[+Viajero Perdido]

I can't believe how many badges I just had to clean up, given I've hardly been caching. 

 

Participation, rah rah! 

[+CAVinoGal]

On 9/13/2021 at 2:17 PM, Max and 99 said:

One lucky friend of mine got 1200 points for one cache! 😁 👍

 

On 9/14/2021 at 8:52 PM, Max and 99 said:

A glitch, of course! Definitely a glitch. 

 

Looking over my friends' lists, and my own, for this promo, I'm seeing 600 pts as the most awarded for any one cache find.  Some glitch!!!

[afe39]

On 9/15/2021 at 5:52 AM, Max and 99 said:

A glitch, of course! Definitely a glitch. 

Talking about glitches: I attended a CITO event last weekend, nobody earned points for that.

[+Max and 99]

The Reach the Peak leaderboard resets on October 4

Many geocachers have made their way up to the icy peak of Vinson and are now getting ready for the leaderboard reset when we set our sights on the slopes and crevasses of Elbrus, the tallest mountain in Europe. Cachers have until October 4 at noon UTC (convert to local time here) to earn the Vinson Basecamp and Summit souvenirs before the leaderboard resets to zero and we begin our ascent of Elbrus.

 

 

Mount Elbrus stands out from the other six mountains in Reach the Peak because it technically has two summits. Two adjacent peaks mark the top of the mountain with the lower one reaching 5,621 meters (18,442 feet) and the higher one reaching 5,642 meters (18,510 feet). The two peaks sit high atop the Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia, where the volcanic mountain attracts mountaineers from all over the world and also offers year-round skiing.

 

Cachers must collect 325 points to earn the Elbrus Basecamp souvenir and 5,642 points to earn the Elbrus Summit souvenir.

 

Each month of Reach the Peak has different point values for finding geocaches and Adventures. To celebrate International EarthCache Day, which takes place the second weekend of every October, and the fascinating geology of Elbrus, finding an EarthCache during the hike up Elbrus will earn geocachers 750 points. Here are the point values for making the climb to the top of Elbrus:

 

Found and EarthCache 750

Found a Mystery Cache 600

Found a Letterbox Hybrid 550

Found a Multi-Cache 450

Found a cache with 10+ Favorite points 450

Found and Adventure Lab Cache (Adventure Location) 350

Found it* 325

*Log a Found it on any other cache type

 

The maximum number of points you can earn for any cache log is 750 points.

 

Read our Reach the Peak announcement blog post for FAQs and more information about the challenge.

 

 

[+Max and 99]

On 9/7/2021 at 1:30 PM, mysterion604 said:

As this is a mountain-related challenge, I hope they continue to make earthcaches the highest (or 2nd highest) point-scoring thing, above things like mysteries and multis. 

It really is more thematically appropriate.

 

 

Highest! 750 for the "October" summit.

[L80MMM]

Maybe for one of the next Reach the Peak challenges, an emphasis could be put on to caches with 0 Favourite points? It's easy to steer people to already popular caches, but what about those that get overlooked - they may be brilliant, new, or basic, but if you had a choice of getting 325 for a 'Found it' or 450+ for a more popular cache in pursuit of Peak goals, which would you chose? Just a thought...

[+Chrysalides]

On 9/30/2021 at 4:33 AM, L80MMM said:

Maybe for one of the next Reach the Peak challenges, an emphasis could be put on to caches with 0 Favourite points? It's easy to steer people to already popular caches, but what about those that get overlooked - they may be brilliant, new, or basic, but if you had a choice of getting 325 for a 'Found it' or 450+ for a more popular cache in pursuit of Peak goals, which would you chose? Just a thought...

 

A cache with 0 favorite points could be an under-appreciated one, or just one that nobody really liked.

 

I thought what would be nice is if a cache you logged and favorited (is that a word?) but doesn't have 10 favorite points yet, gets to 10 FP within that month, you should get some bonus points. But that would seem a bit cumbersome to implement.

[+barefootjeff]

On 9/30/2021 at 9:33 PM, L80MMM said:

Maybe for one of the next Reach the Peak challenges, an emphasis could be put on to caches with 0 Favourite points? It's easy to steer people to already popular caches, but what about those that get overlooked - they may be brilliant, new, or basic, but if you had a choice of getting 325 for a 'Found it' or 450+ for a more popular cache in pursuit of Peak goals, which would you chose? Just a thought...

 

The number of FPs is certainly heavily biased in favour of older caches in urban locations with high cacher populations and/or lots of tourists. Of the 15 caches I've placed in the last two years, only one has received 10 or more FPs (and that one isn't even in my region, it's on the northern fringes of Sydney), but only four of those caches have had over 20 finders so the rest would have to be pretty exceptional to get 10+ FPs.

 

Around here, not getting any FPs doesn't mean a cache is decrepit or unliked, for example GC847RH which has had 84 finds in almost three years but no FPs. It's a good quality container in a nice location:

 

 

It has an attentive CO and people enjoy it, with logs like "TFTC. Found after I gazed at the rocks in awe. The formations here are amazing. Thanks for bringing me here" but it's just not awesome enough to be in anyone's top ten percent yet. In an area with few cachers, no LPCs, few micros and a relative abundance of good caches like this one, getting any FPs can be tough at times, let alone ten or more of them.

Edited October 2, 2021 by barefootjeff

[+Twinklekitkat]

So I found 1 cache today to reach the basecamp of Elbron. A mystery with 16 FPs.  I thought I would get 650 points for finding a mystery but I only received 450 because the cache had more than 10 FPs. I'll now have to work harder to find caches that have less than 10 FPs if their cache type base value is higher than 450.  I think the code should be adjusted where if you find a mystery (or EC or LB) with more than 10 FPs you still get the full 600 points (or 750 or 550).  The EC I have on my hit list for Saturday has 12 FPs so I am going to lose another 300 points.  Can this be adjusted please?

[+Max and 99]

8 minutes ago, Twinklekitkat said:

So I found 1 cache today to reach the basecamp of Elbron. A mystery with 16 FPs.  I thought I would get 650 points for finding a mystery but I only received 450 because the cache had more than 10 FPs. I'll now have to work harder to find caches that have less than 10 FPs if their cache type base value is higher than 450.  I think the code should be adjusted where if you find a mystery (or EC or LB) with more than 10 FPs you still get the full 600 points (or 750 or 550).  The EC I have on my hit list for Saturday has 12 FPs so I am going to lose another 300 points.  Can this be adjusted please?

It's already been reported as a bug and they are working on it.

 

 

Edited October 4, 2021 by Max and 99

[+Max and 99]

Changes!!

 

[+Twinklekitkat]

Any word if previously recorded scores are going to be corrected? Mine is still showing 450 versus the new and improved score of 750 for finding a cache with 10+ FPs.

[+Max and 99]

6 minutes ago, Twinklekitkat said:

Any word if previously recorded scores are going to be corrected? Mine is still showing 450 versus the new and improved score of 750 for finding a cache with 10+ FPs.

No word yet. I know you're not going to like this answer but my guess is they're not going to retroactively fix things but I could be wrong!

[Keystone]

The scoring was fixed, but if anyone was "shorted" some earned points, you should delete and re-log your find(s) for the affected cache(s).

[paulboi124]

We are really new to this and I'm posting for my 8 year old here. If the base camp souvenirs only needed one find and he had two or three in the September period, why doesn't the badge show in his profile?

 

[+Chrysalides]

2 hours ago, paulboi124 said:

We are really new to this and I'm posting for my 8 year old here. If the base camp souvenirs only needed one find and he had two or three in the September period, why doesn't the badge show in his profile?

 

 

When were they logged? Did you log it as something else, or as "Found It"? Are they caches or events?

[+Max and 99]

2 hours ago, paulboi124 said:

We are really new to this and I'm posting for my 8 year old here. If the base camp souvenirs only needed one find and he had two or three in the September period, why doesn't the badge show in his profile?

 

The dates matter and the cache type matters. It appears that two traditionals were posted during the September mountain time frame. Were they logged as finds or changed from something else? Did you log it on the day you found it, or after that mountain summit ended ( I don't know if that even matters but I thought I'd ask).

 

Only HQ can help you get that missing souvenir. At the bottom of every geocache site page, click on the contact us or help center link. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Max and 99

[+originalta]

I found a new glitch over the weekend. After logging a couple of adventure lab caches I found I was awarded 350 points for each stage. 350 points x5 stages x2 caches got me to the peak pretty quickly. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by originalta

[+Lynx Humble]

1 hour ago, originalta said:

I found a new glitch over the weekend. After logging a couple of adventure lab caches I found I was awarded 350 points for each stage. 350 points x5 stages x2 caches got me to the peak pretty quickly. 

Hum it's not a glitch. Adventure lab are designed to be cheap quick +1

[paulboi124]

11 hours ago, Chrysalides said:

 

When were they logged? Did you log it as something else, or as "Found It"? Are they caches or events?

 

11 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

The dates matter and the cache type matters. It appears that two traditionals were posted during the September mountain time frame. Were they logged as finds or changed from something else? Did you log it on the day you found it, or after that mountain summit ended ( I don't know if that even matters but I thought I'd ask).

 

Only HQ can help you get that missing souvenir. At the bottom of every geocache site page, click on the contact us or help center link. 

They were all logged as we found them and the dates were between 10 and 19 September. I hope the email I sent can sort it out. Paulboi124 is really starting to get into this hobby and I hope he doesn't get discouraged.

[+Max and 99]

15 minutes ago, paulboi124 said:

 

They were all logged as we found them and the dates were between 10 and 19 September. I hope the email I sent can sort it out. Paulboi124 is really starting to get into this hobby and I hope he doesn't get discouraged.

I bet HQ can square it away for you! I hope you will post an update to let us know it was all taken care of.

[Darwin473]

I'd forgotten about this one.

 

My un-challenge for this means I missed both Base and Summits for Puncak Jaya, got Vinson Base in early September then did a splurge of caching in early October which got me Vinson Peak and both Elbrus challenges. Since I missed out both the August ones, I'm out of contention to get the Peak Performer, and I'm often working in remote areas for weeks at a time so it'll be interesting to see how many base camps I get (I'm not too optimistic about getting peaks as I'm a casual searcher).

[paulboi124]

Update to the missing souvenier. I contacted HQ and they have just replied and added it to the profile. Thanks for the help everyone.

[+Max and 99]

6 hours ago, originalta said:

I found a new glitch over the weekend. After logging a couple of adventure lab caches I found I was awarded 350 points for each stage. 350 points x5 stages x2 caches got me to the peak pretty quickly. 

 

On 10/5/2021 at 12:26 AM, Max and 99 said:

 

 

That's exactly the points you're supposed to get according to the HQ post. 

 

[+originalta]

I don't agree with your statement. Finding a stage of an adventure cache is not the same as finding an adventure cache.  In my opinion the points should be awarded when all stages are complete and the cache shows up on my statistics as a find. 

[+Max and 99]

6 minutes ago, originalta said:

I don't agree with your statement. Finding a stage of an adventure cache is not the same as finding an adventure cache.  In my opinion the points should be awarded when all stages are complete and the cache shows up on my statistics as a find. 

We're not talking about our opinions here we're talking about the fact that HQ has for a very long time awarded one find for each stage in an adventure lab. This is not a glitch, as you suggested. For those of us who do not like getting points or a find for each location the help center tells you how to delete them. Many of us delete all but one location/ find for each adventure lab. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Max and 99

[+barefootjeff]

7 minutes ago, originalta said:

I don't agree with your statement. Finding a stage of an adventure cache is not the same as finding an adventure cache.  In my opinion the points should be awarded when all stages are complete and the cache shows up on my statistics as a find. 

 

HQ have been fairly consistent in using the term "Adventure Lab Cache" to mean one stage of an "Adventure Lab", both in how ALs contribute to find statistics and in all the promotions that have awarded points for them.

[+Max and 99]

14 minutes ago, originalta said:

I don't agree with your statement. Finding a stage of an adventure cache is not the same as finding an adventure cache.  In my opinion the points should be awarded when all stages are complete and the cache shows up on my statistics as a find. 

Your profile shows 99 labs. Assuming they are ALs, they are one find for each location. 

[+thebruce0]

5 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

HQ have been fairly consistent in using the term "Adventure Lab Cache" to mean one stage of an "Adventure Lab", both in how ALs contribute to find statistics and in all the promotions that have awarded points for them.

Just a point of clarification, I think they refer to "Adventure Lab Cache" (or just Lab Cache per the GC stats) and "Adventure" as the grouping of locations (as in the app searching for Adventures). I think the terms just get conflated all over the community, like referring an AL as the complete adventure. 

[+dprovan]

13 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

Just a point of clarification, I think they refer to "Adventure Lab Cache" (or just Lab Cache per the GC stats) and "Adventure" as the grouping of locations (as in the app searching for Adventures). I think the terms just get conflated all over the community, like referring an AL as the complete adventure. 

Yes, this is an accurate and helpful way to explain the current terminology, both how HQ uses it and how we should use it.

 

But I don't think the community conflated the terms. I think inventing the term "adventure lab cache" was done *after* people started to complain about each stage being a find. The new term neatly "explains" that, but I think the term was invented ex post facto. But that's not meant to be a complaint: I think it was a clever way to make the per stage count seem more logical. Well, no, I guess I mean it makes it more logical, not just seem as if it's more logical. Now we need everyone to learn about the new term.

 

(Just for the record: I don't think that ends the debate about whether per stage is better or worse, but it does make the decision make more sense.)

[+thebruce0]

Oh I don't know or really care where the terms were first used, just that right now the terms are mixed up all over the place in the community. Better to understand their official use, and like you said it helps explain the decision.  "Adventure Lab" isn't really an official name for anything [now], it's just in between the two and shorter and easier to say, so it gets confused a lot.

[+Lynx Humble]

1 hour ago, thebruce0 said:

Oh I don't know or really care where the terms were first used, just that right now the terms are mixed up all over the place in the community. Better to understand their official use, and like you said it helps explain the decision.  "Adventure Lab" isn't really an official name for anything [now], it's just in between the two and shorter and easier to say, so it gets confused a lot.

Hum ''Adventure Lab'' is the name of the app

[+thebruce0]

True. And Adventure Lab is a registered trademark. Even more reason it's confusing. You search for adventures. You run adventure lab app. You earn smileys as adventure lab caches. "Adventures HQTV" in the lab app shows their video with tips for creating an engaging geocaching adventure lab.

So...

I'm inclined to consider the trademark in reference to the app, the ALC in reference to locations/smileys, and the Adventure in reference to each grouped collection of locations; with other uses of "AL" or Adventure Lab used casually to refer to... whatever the person saying it is referring to in context.

It's messy.

[+barefootjeff]

1 hour ago, thebruce0 said:

"Adventure Lab" isn't really an official name for anything [now], it's just in between the two and shorter and easier to say, so it gets confused a lot.

 

So maybe the Help Centre needs a bit of editing:

 

Quote

In contrast to most geocaches, Adventures are virtual (without a container), can be indoors, and do not require a minimum distance to other geocaches or Adventure Lab experiences. This allows Adventure creators to innovate and test new ideas to make exploring even more fun.

Find an Adventure Lab®

• Download the free Adventure Lab® app.
• Log in with your Geocaching account.
• Select a nearby Adventure from the map or list. For private Adventures, use your phone's camera or QR code scanner to open the Adventure in the app.
• Navigate to the Adventure location and follow the instructions in the description.

 

[+thebruce0]

4 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

1 hour ago, thebruce0 said:

"Adventure Lab" isn't really an official name for anything [now], it's just in between the two and shorter and easier to say, so it gets confused a lot.

 

So maybe the Help Centre needs a bit of editing

 

See followup post just above.

[+Max and 99]

Does anyone know if the November peak starts on the 1st? Or 8th?

Previous months: August 2, September 6, October 4. They'll probably announce it this coming Tuesday, but I was wondering if anyone already knows. Thanks.

[+Max and 99]

11 minutes ago, HHL said:

It's always the first Monday of the month.

See that: https://www.geocaching.com/blog/2021/07/new-leaderboard-challenge-reach-the-peak/

Hans

Aha! Thank you.

[+Max and 99]

As the month of October winds down, geocachers around the world are completing their ascent of Elbrus and getting ready for a new adventure in November when we will make our way to the top of the tallest mountain on the continent of Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro. Cachers have until November 1 at noon UTC (convert to local time here) to earn the Elbrus Basecamp and Summit souvenirs before the leaderboard resets to zero and we start our climb up Kilimanjaro.

 

 

Uhuru, the name of Kilimanjaro’s highest peak, stands 5,895 meters tall over the plains of Tanzania near the Kenyan border. This peak is on the rim of one of the mountain’s three volcanic cones. The two shorter cones, Shira and Mawenzi, are extinct and have a more subdued physical appearance compared to the tallest cone, Kibo. Kibo reaches to the skies in a distinct conical shape, with its rocky top streaked white with snow. Unlike Shira and Mawenzi, Kibo is dormant and not extinct. However, no activity has been detected on Kibo in many years, so the chances of a volcanic eruption interrupting an ascent is very unlikely.

 

Cachers must collect 325 points to earn the Kilimanjaro Basecamp souvenir and 5,895 points to earn the Kilimanjaro Summit souvenir.

 

Each month of Reach the Peak has different point values for finding geocaches and Adventures. Here are the point values for our ascent of Kilimanjaro:

 

Found a Mystery Cache 700

Found a Multi-Cache 600

Found an EarthCache 500

Found a Letterbox Hybrid 450

Found an Adventure Location 400

Found it* 325

*Log a Found it on any other non-Event cache type, excluding Webcam Caches.

 

The maximum number of points you can earn for any cache log is 700 points.

 

Read our Reach the Peak announcement blog post for FAQs and more information about the challenge.

[+Gill & Tony]

I can't find an answer to this, so apologies if it has already been asked and answered.

 

If I find a cache the day before the start date, but don't log it until the day after the start date, does it count towards the month I found it or the month I logged it?

 

Thanks

 

Tony

Edited October 27, 2021 by Gill & Tony

[+Max and 99]

17 minutes ago, Gill & Tony said:

I can't find an answer to this, so apologies if it has already been asked and answered.

 

If I find a cache the day before the start date, but don't log it until the day after the start date, does it count towards the month I found it or the month I logged it?

 

Thanks

 

Tony

Good question! So for example you find it in October but log it in November with an October date? I might just test that out this weekend. 

[+Max and 99]

47 minutes ago, Gill & Tony said:

I can't find an answer to this, so apologies if it has already been asked and answered.

 

If I find a cache the day before the start date, but don't log it until the day after the start date, does it count towards the month I found it or the month I logged it?

 

Thanks

 

Tony

I tested it out. Using a find date for September 15, logged today, my points did not increase for the current mountain summit. In hindsight I should have seen that was going to happen. The points will also not increase for the previous month because that summit is over! 

[+Gill & Tony]

24 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

I tested it out. Using a find date for September 15, logged today, my points did not increase for the current mountain summit. In hindsight I should have seen that was going to happen. The points will also not increase for the previous month because that summit is over! 

I have my November trip planned. There is a town about an hour and a half from here which has 3 solved multi-caches and two LBH caches.  That would be 1800 + 900 for 2700, so I would only need 3195, or 10 simple trads.  There is a power trail outside that town with about 50 trads, so I had hoped I might "save" some of the trads for December, a month I probably won't be out and about much.  Ah, well.  I'll have to think of something else for December.

[+P4nD0r4]

Did they get rid of the caches with favorite points for Kilimanjaro? Not seeing it as a separate score today. I logged a virtual with 37 fps and it only gave me 325 as a found it.

Edited November 1, 2021 by P4nD0r4
Text

[+Max and 99]

1 hour ago, P4nD0r4 said:

Did they get rid of the caches with favorite points for Kilimanjaro?

Correct.