Answer

By Anonymous

Before you even begin your ML training, you should be a confident navigator. “The more you know before the course, the more you get out of it,” says Mal Creasey, Development Office for Mountain Leader Training England. Master these core skills now, then refine them during training until they become second nature. For assessment, you’ll need to be confident you can perform them accurately, under pressure, in bad weather: learning them early is the best head start you can get.

BREAKING NAVIGATION INTO SHORT LEGS

In bad weather, the most important task is to break long navigation stretches into short legs, preferably with an easily identifiable section at the end of each. When you look at the route on the map, build up a mental picture of each feature that you will pass. This greatly reduces the chances of getting lost.

USING ATTACK POINTS

Using attack points to find features will help you navigate more accurately. For example, if you are heading towards a point that would be easy to miss in poor visibility, take a bearing towards a nearby, but more easily identifiable feature. Take a second bearing (or follow the feature if it’s linear) from your attack point to the required location.

AIMING OFF

Following a bearing to a point is never an exact science, and one of the problems is that you never know in which direction your error lies. Aiming off involves deliberately aiming to one side of a particular point on a linear feature so that, when you hit it, you know which way to turn to reach the required location.

ASPECT OF SLOPE

This is a great tool – often overlooked – for pinpointing your position when you’re starting to get lost on a featureless fellside. It only works when you are on a curving slope, but in British mountains, you usually are. Simply shoot a bearing directly downhill and find the portion of the slope on your map which descends in precisely the same direction.

SEARCHES

Inevitably, your bearings won’t always land you bang on target. When they don’t, you need to carry out a search for whatever you’re looking for. The first way to do this is to carry out what is known as a hasty search. This is where you spend a couple of minutes quickly scouting where you think your target might be. If this fails, there are two techniques for more methodical searches, depending on how big your party is. For the ML, you need to be proficient at both.

SPIRAL SEARCH

This type of search is suitable for a small party of people. Assume visibility is 30m. When you have done a hasty search and still can’t find your target, you search north for a distance of 30m. You then head east for 60m, then south for 90m, west for 120m and so on, turning 90º to the right after each leg, then walking 30m further than before. This makes an expanding spiral, so sooner or later, you’ll come across your target.

SWEEP SEARCH

If you have more members in your party, you can spread out in a line and vastly increase the area of your search. It’s best to do this before you reach where your target is, as it reduces the chances of you missing it in the first place. If visibility is 30m, then each member walks in a line at right angles to the direction of travel, spaced at 25m. Thus, five people can search a swathe of ground 150m wide. When you’re sure you’ve overshot your target, you can move off to one side and retrace your steps over a new area of ground.

Remember, though – for a leader, a sweep search is hard work as communication become difficult, and some of your team will be out of your sight. Only attempt this search with an experienced group.

And if you do get lost...…

…stop. Sit down, get out your flask, and have a think. What can you see around you? Are there any identifiable features nea