Good Navigation Habits

Good mountain navigation is about nothing more than moving around accurately and with the minimum of fuss. Although the goal's a pretty simple one, navigation can sometimes seem like something of a black art; especially in poor visibility or featureless terrain. The good news is that when you're well-practiced the contour features jump out at you and you start to read the map and the ground like a book. You're using a range of techniques to accurately place yourself exactly where you need to be on the hill. Even in difficult conditions of bad visibility, at night, rushing to get down before last orders, you're able to concentrate on the important stuff because you're confident that you can reach your destination. There are lots of specific skills that are best learnt from an experienced friend or instructor but doing the real basic stuff right from the start helps too…

Look after your map and compass

Whatever method of waterproofing your map you choose, it needs to be reliable. An unprotected paper map can end up useless in just a few seconds of driving rain. Consider spending the extra on laminated maps or alternatively laminate them yourself using sticky-backed plastic from stationary shops. Professionally laminated maps have the advantage of folding better than DIY jobs (at least when I do it). If you’re using a non-laminated map a map case is essential (more on that later).

When out in a group everyone should carry a map and compass and stay in touch with the navigation. Don't leave it to one person because anyone can make a mistake. This also means that you've got spare maps if any get lost/eaten by sheep. If you're out on your own it's worth carrying a spare map in case it gets blown away. A spare compass is also a good idea in case your main one gets damaged. Compasses are precision instruments and don't like being thrown around in the top pocket of your rucksack. A case can be made from a piece of karrimat gaffer taped together. When you're using your compass attach it to the zip pull on your jacket pocket with cord so you don't lose it. The cord needs to be long enough so that you can still use the compass with it attached.

Get used to walking with the map set to the ground

Setting the map just means holding it in such a way that the symbols on the map are in their correct positions relative to the features on the ground. In good visibility where you have identifiable features you can set the map using those features. In poor visibility you can use the compass to set your map. Get into the habit of setting the map whenever you stop. Now you’ve got a head start working out exactly where you are using the features around you.

Develop a healthy mistrust of man-made features

Although we have some of the best maps in the world, it’s worth remembering that maps aren’t updated all that regularly. In fact, OS maps can go for years without a major update. Man-made features like paths, walls, buildings and forests appear and disappear. When there’s snow lying paths are one of the first features to vanish. There’s nothing wrong with using man-made features in your navigation but it’s important to also use evidence from contour features. Contour features don’t change over time and you can rely on them being accurate. When you really start to use contour features it’s amazing how much extra information about re-entrants, knolls, angle and aspect of slope etc. there is on a map that you just weren’t seeing before.

Accuracy is important

Using the compass and map together to take bearings and measure distances demands accuracy. A howling gale is a very bad place to try to be accurate and if possible it’s worth finding some shelter. Hide behind other group members or form a circle; if the best you can do is turning your back to the wind then do that. Crouch down on one knee and use your other thigh as a table. That makes things much more stable rather than waving the map and compass around in the air. On some map cases you might find your compass slides around making it hard to take a bearing. Put a rubber band around the baseplate of the compass and it’ll stay where you put it on the map.

Keep everything neat

Big map cases fastened around your neck can be a pain to use. In bad weather or on ground where you might like to use your hands you’re much better off with a small map in a small map case. Consider cutting your maps in half as in some areas you’re unlikely to use both halves of a full OS map. Ortlieb make a great A5 size map case that will take half an OS map and will fit into your jacket pocket when you don’t need it.

Trekking poles can get in the way when you’re concentrating hard and having to use the compass. If you don’t need them it might be worth strapping them to your rucksack for a while until you’re back on the path.

It’s common to go map-blind when you’re navigating and it can take a while to find your last point on the map every time you stop. One method of getting around this is to ‘thumb’ the map. As you walk with the map, keep your thumb next to your last known point on the map. You’ll keep track better. Alternatively, carry a thin OHP Drywipe pen and mark where you’ve been with that.

Use pacing to carefully measure distance travelled

If you understand scale, measuring distance on the map is pretty straightforward. This allows us to say how far we need to walk to get to a particular place. This is no use whatsoever unless you have a reliable method of measuring how far you’ve walked. There are a couple of techniques that you can use: pacing and timing. Generally people use pacing for short distances and timing for longer distances. However, even experienced navigators find the accurate measurement of distance by timing very difficult. The adjustments that have to be made for different gradients, different types of terrain underfoot and the condition of the party make timing a fairly approximate tool at the best of times.

Pacing is the more reliable method for most people. You need to know how many paces you take to walk 100m. An average is 64 double paces (count each time your right foot hits the ground) but you may be more or less than that. Once you know this it’s worth experimenting to see how this needs to be adjusted depending on terrain and slope angle. If you need to walk for 200m you just count your paces and behold, after two lots of 64(ish) - or whatever works for you - double paces you’ve arrived at your destination. Apparently when the British were spying in Tibet they needed to quickly draw up maps. For this they enlisted traveling monks who would pace a set distance and then slide a prayer bead along to keep overall count. The modern version of this (much-loved by ML assessment candidates) is 6-8 slide toggles on a length of cord. When you have paced 100 metres, slide a toggle to the end. Pace the next 100 metres and slide another toggle…or use stones in your pockets like Dicky Bird.