Question… I see all sorts of summits that have never been activated. What about setting up bonus points for the first person to activate the summit, and perhaps bonus for those that chase on the initial activation? This might get a few more summits activated. Many of the non activated summit require special work to get to. For example if they are private or need special hiking techniques. Just a thought…
Kent K9EZ
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This sounds a lot like the “extra points for hard to climb summits” argument. Ultimately it would just add complexity to something that’s really about getting out there and finding what personally motivates you to activate. If it’s getting a first activated by summit, then the extra points are seeing your name forever listed as the first to activate that summit. In some (1 for sure, Idaho?) associations, they let the first activator name the summit. At least that’s what I heard a while back. That’s a neat bonus. Some never before activated summits are drive up, they just haven’t had someone figure out where to find the entrance or there hasn’t been a nearby SOTA expedition that tried. I’ve gotten a few private property summits. Some by driving up to the house, knocking on the door and asking for permission. One was property for sale and it was open for inspection and driving around so I drove up the summit (which had a herd of wild pigs that I ran off) and activated it. Anyone want to go in with me and buy the land so it can be a SOTA destination for everyone?
I have now been involved in planning / activating three previously un-activated local Summits (more to come). All three of them were easy ONE pointers. So far we have been allowing the operator with the closest QTH to make the first contact. That is our bonus.
It was a lack of active local activators (well, one required knowing the Amateur Licensed Transmission Site owner), not any difficulty factor that had kept them previously un-activated.
So those DO NOT deserve any bonus. If a bonus was to ever be considered (NOT strongly advocating for it), limit it to ACTUALLY difficult Summits. And then only a set number of years after that Association / Summit had gone active.
That should automatically eliminate most of the Summits, because someone will have already activated them by then. Thus making any first time bonus plan more meaningful, and easier to manage.
Just my opinion.
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It isn’t something that is likely to happen, it would need a lot of time spent in modifying the database and there are tasks with a higher priority to be completed even if the MT like the idea.#
Again, it is not simple to come up with a definition of “difficult”. Someone with rock-climbing experience would probably romp up scrambles that would terrify ordinary walkers, and we have activators with no head for heights who get vertigo on quite gentle ridges.
Brian
I think a lot of summits are not activated yet simply because no one wants to go to them, not because they are necessarily difficult or deserving of bonus points.
One could argue the point system forever. For example, here is AZ, there are lots of “easy” 10 pointers in the north and lots of difficult 4 pointers in the south. I have seen posts from people wanting to base points on difficulty rather than height or assign different points based on different stuff.
The system is not perfect, but we all know what it is.
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