Winter Friendly or Available in Winter? Or Both
Having been invloved with our Winter Challenge and reading various forums and posts on applying this attribute to our caches I thought I’d give my own thoughts and raise the question here for a home-grown perspective on what other NBers think.
On some forums I’ve read people feel that the “available in winter” snowflake icon in the attributes selection means that you have access to the area the cache is in during winter. Some parks, business, etc are seasonal and close for the winter so a cache hidden there may not be accessible during that time. Others believe it relates to the cache itself, that it is easily found in winter.
Since our winters here in NB differ drastically from winters in say, Florida or Mexico, the ways in which we interpret the attribute will also vary. For me, “available in winter” and “winter friendly” are one and the same. Because we have a definite winter season and normally have 2-3 feet of snow on the ground during that time a winter friendly cache should be available, visible and findable in winter, under normal circumstances.
It does not mean the road is plowed to the cache site. It does not mean everyone can easily reach the site. How you get to the cache is irrelevant. Winter friendly means the cache itself is findable. It should be at least 3 feet off the ground but preferably higher. Guardrail caches are not w/f because most get plowed under. So anything even closer to the ground would definately not be w/f. Most stumps would not be w/f. During a normal winter you should not have to dig for a w/f cache.
If a cache is in an area that is closed during the winter months that should be stated in the cache description. If there are special circumstances or instructions for accessing a cache during the winter months that should be stated in the cache description as well.
Have I missed anything? What are your thoughts on winter friendlies?
I pretty much interpret this the same way. If I see a W/F icon on a cache, to me it means that the cache container itself is located above ground level, likely in a tree or somewhere else where even if snow does come down, the cache container will be accessible.
The idea that winter friendly refers to the availability of a cache never even occurred to me. I have always, and will always, interpreted the attribute to mean that a cache is above ground and will not be buried in snow.
I have put out caches that I thought would be winter friendly and they turned out to not be so it is an icon that you have to use when unsure if it is w/f as well.
I agree that winter friendly means a cache that is above the snow line. It does not mean that the road is plowed. You may need to snowshoe to get to the area. I agree that it has to be available and findable in winter but visible may not apply. A good camo by Ron may be winter friendly but may not be visible.