Nav Man - The Most Important Tip Of All

Leaving a note of your route and return time with a responsible person can make all the difference.

Lyle Brotherton is a search and rescue instructor and navigation professional. He trains search and rescue teams and special forces worldwide in the intricacies of finding their way in the wilderness and more. He's passionate about navigation and about helping to keep people safe in the outdoors.

And the good news is that Lyles going to be contributing regular tips to OM to help keep you on your chosen course. Lyle is the author of the new Ultimate Navigation Manual and has his own web site at www.micronavigation.com where you can find out more about him and check out some sample pages from the book.

A simple life saver, yet frequently overlooked!

Recently I was working with a northern Scottish Mountain Rescue Team and they estimated that the vast majority of folk, read more than 80%, who ended up needing their assistance, had not left a note of where they were going and what time they would be back with a responsible person.

In all honesty, when I am out by myself, even though I usually only have a rough idea of my route, I always let my wife know when I will be back and because she too is a keen mountaineer she knows exactly what to do if I don’t return.

However if I am working with a group I leave both the exact route and return time.

So what exactly should the responsible person do? Simple...

1. At the allocated return time, call members of the party on their mobile and if no reply, text them and ask them to text back.

2. At the time you pre-agreed would be the very latest you would return, the responsible person should dial 999 and ask for the Police and then ask for Mountain Rescue.

I can personally can state that every team would rather been stood down, part way through a call-out, rather than later retrieve a critically-injured or dead casualty from the hill.