I recently noticed T1,2,3…6 markings on paths on their map. Does that mean, the sac_scale key and its tags no longer niche ones? Until now I thought, the sac_scale key does not resound well in the US and other places… Regardless the T* naming also not corresponding to the OSM nomenclature…
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Have you seen an explanation from Strava anywhere of what these mean? The only reason I have an idea what T1, T2 mean is from reading discussions here about sac_scale. I don’t think I would be able to guess otherwise.
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No, I have not seen an explanation of these codes – but that might not mean much, as I use strava exclusively for their heat map ;)
The same could be asked about the Tracestrack Topo layer on OpenStreetMap? There these codes appear too.
BTW: I from Austria, neighbouring country of Switzerland, and first heard of SAC Scale itself from openstreetmap. We use a different system locally.
sac_scale is the only successful attempt in classifying the hiking difficulties of path in OSM. It’s by no mean precise nor perfect, and one can nitpick at length about using it beyond Switzerland, not in the Alps, or not necessarily being member of a Club, but please use it to map as best as you can and be happy to see the data rendered one way or another by responsible map makers :)
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Definitely agree, I always try to do that ans I’m happy to see it appearing on maps - I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I just wonder how many users will realise that T1 etc is a difficulty rating.
The T* shortening is quite common, it is used a lot on hikr.org, it is even making inroads in tour descriptions of our local ramblers club while a foreign concept to all the clubs papers, and it shows in lots of other places, e.g. in this video, where mountain hiking people are introduced to become mountaineers by mastering T4. The SAC® indeed dropped any verbal descriptions from their mountain hiking scale last year, so their scale is T* only, quite like UIAA or YDS. I suppose the public served by Strava likely in the know.