Map reading and mountain navigation courses in Snowdonia

This is a two day Map reading and mountain navigation course in Snowdonia designed to pass on and promote the skills for safe travel in the UK mountains. The idea is to increase your confidence for when you travel independently in the hills, so that, for example, a night hike or walking in poor weather conditions become exciting rather than worrying!

The two days are a Saturday and Sunday and during the course we cover the following topics as required :

● Preparation and planning
● Equipment
● Navigation
● Mountain weather
● Mountain hypothermia
● First Aid
● Effects of heat on the body
● Camp craft and expeditions
● Food and nutrition
● Access and conservation
● Mountain rescue (what you need to know to use them correctly)

The emphasis of this Map reading and mountain navigation course

will be on practical mountain  navigation techniques on the hill.

No day on the hill is really safe unless you know how to find your way from A to B, via C and D, regardless of the weather conditions.

Our aim is to let you in on the skills required to get on and off the mountains safely .

The topics, amongst others, that we will cover are:

• The Grid system and Grid References

• Symbols for Public Rights of Waythe CROW Act

• Other important information for the hill walker
• Contour Lines
• Map Scales used by hill walkers
• Distance traveled - Work out personal pacing lengths over 100metres
• Micro Navigation- techniques which concentrate on using small features on the ground to navigate.
• Use of the compass to take bearings from a map
• Macro, or large area, Navigation techniques
• Pacing distances
• Estimating times taken using Naithsmiths Rule
• Walking on general compass bearings and dead reckoning bearings
• “Aiming off”
• “Hand-railing” features
• Attack points
• Identifying Spurs and Re-entrants, and other Physical Features 

● Altimeter in the mountains

● GPS use

Night Navigation Sessions £30 per person

These are evening sessions that can be added to any of our normal navigation courses or taken separately. The session focuses more on micro navigation, pacing and timing as well as getting you used to walking and map reading with a head torch on and working with the shortened distances that you may, or may not be able to see! Navigating in the dark or in very bad visibility needs and extra degree of awareness and on this session you will learn simple steps to help keep you focused and safe when navigating with a map and compass at night.
These evening sessions normally last around 4hrs. Maximum teaching ratio 1:4.

cost

per person per day based on 4 people joining us £ 39.99 includes loan of maps and compasses and GPS.

Map reading and mountain navigation courses in Snowdonia

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