News from Peak Navigation Courses

Peak Navigation Courses, Autumn programme 2014 1 st Steps to Map Reading and Navigation (Silver NNAS Day 1) Our “entry level” course suitable for the novice or those with plenty of experience who want to learn properly to navigate through fields and easy open moorland using a map and compass. (This course also forms day 1 of our Silver National Navigation Award Courses and is undertaken with “Moving onto Moorland” to complete the award).  Based from Foolow in The Peak District, a one day course costing £40. Dates: Saturday 6 th September Saturday 11 th October Saturday 25 th October Saturday 8 th November Sunday 23 rd  November Moving onto Moorland (Silver NNAS Day 2) This course is for more experienced navigators who already understand how to use a map and compass but want to progress onto moorland. The course introduces “micro” navigation techniques such as pacing and timing on a compass bearing. (This course also forms day ...

Hill Skills Courses in The Peak District Peak Navigation Courses have been accredited by Mountain (Leader) Training to provide the new Hill and Mountain Skills Courses. Learning Hill Skills on Eyam Moor Hill Skills will be run at weekends from our base in The Peak District, the weekends of 17 th & 18 th May   and   18 th & 19 th October. These are non-residential courses and cost £85, (though in addition you will need to register with Mountain Training for an additional cost of £20). The Hill Skills Course will teach you:   To read a map and navigate;  How to Plan a Walk; About equipment and clothing for hill walking;   The effects of weather in the hills; About the upland environment;  and   How to deal with emergencies. Learning Navigation Day 1             Saturday We meet at 9.30am in the village of Foolow, using the village hall as ...

Mountain Skills Course    – 2 nd May   Bank Holiday Weekend  24 th , 25 th and 26 th  May There’s quite a lot to cram into a weekend Mountain Skills Course, so we at Peak Navigation Courses are seizing the opportunity to spread the course over three days and ensure that course participants get the most from the course. Scrambling in Langdale Learning Navigation Based in Keswick, The Lake District, we have planned the following: Saturday The course starts at 10.00am with introductions and a indoor session about navigation. We then go out for a walk where we put our navigation skills into practice, identifying “contour” features, walking on a compass bearing and learn a bit about pacing and timing. We’ll move onto some steeper ground and look at techniques for safe movement on steep ground and easy scrambling. Mid afternoon we return to Keswick and have a session in a local equipment shop discussing and comparing different...

Hill Skills and Mountain Skills Courses Mountain Training (formally Mountain Leader Training) are about to launch two new awards: Hill Skills and Mountain Skills.   Peak Navigation Courses have been chosen as one of the first organizations to run these courses on behalf of Mountain Training. Unlike the other awards which are about leading others, Hill Skills and Mountain Skills are   about personal competence so that those new to Hill Walking and Mountain Walking can learn the basics of being safe in the hills or mountains, from qualified professionals . Mountain Navigation Both Hill Skills and Mountain Skills courses can be delivered over a weekend.   For Hill Skills, Peak Navigation Courses will run these in the hills of the Peak District.   For Mountain Skills, we believe that this course can only be delivered in genuinely mountainous areas so we will run these courses in The Lake District. Hill Skills and Mountain Skills a...

BL***Y Foreign Maps Mike and Jane from Peak Navigation Courses spend the summer months guiding people in the mountains. This summer will see us in Spain’s Sierra Nevada, Swaziland, Mozambique, Scotland and Slovenia. As International Mountain Leaders we are trained and assessed at using all sorts of foreign maps.   We have a lot to be thankful for in the U.K. as our Ordnance Survey maps are perhaps the best in the world. It also makes navigation easier with good maps and makes for safer enjoyment in the mountains. Map extract - Spain's Sierra Nevada In the UK our maps show crags and rock features. This is especially useful as you wouldn’t want to take a line over a cliff.   The map above is from Spain’s Sierra Nevada.   From the contour lines it appears that these are nice rounded hills with no crags at all.    The cliffs at point A on the map The next pictures below show Jane climbing / scrambling at points A and B on the map! Not...

The only good point about the British “Summer” that we have been experiencing is that it’s been testing the navigation skills of those visiting the moors and mountains.   With all the low cloud, rain, drizzle and wind, visibility has been poor on more days than not. This is why it’s essential to know how to map read and navigate. Peak Navigation Courses provide a range of navigation training from the complete novice up to the expert wanting practice for undertaking Mountain Leader assessments. Peak Navigation Courses Autumn Programme is now available.

Well our Spring season ofMap Reading and Navigation Courses is drawing to a close.   This year we have put on additional courses due to demand and the positive feedback we have received has been great.   It’s been wonderful for us too, as ever making new friends and even learning a thing or two from our students. One of the highlights was discovering the compass that pointed south! Peak Navigation Courses are now running Hill Skills Courses based in the Peak District looking at a complete range of skills: Mountain Safety, Weather, Equipment, Navigation, GPS Navigation, Scrambling and Ropework. Photo’s of this years courses are also on the website.   Check them out to see if you are there.   If you have any pictures from your course that we could use, please send them in. With our other company, Sierra Nevada Guides we are also running Mountain Skills Courses based in Spains Sierra Nevada .   This course builds on the navigation you’ve lear...

Hill and Mountain Skills Courses Peak Navigation are keen to promote hill and mountain safety and enable people to enjoy getting out into the hills safely. Our hill and mountain skills training courses are available both for those new to hill walking and as a "refresher" for the more experienced. The courses includes: Mountain Safety, Weather and Equipment; Navigation, using a map and compass, route choice and using a GPS.  This 4 day course is based in The Peak District.  Details can be found on the Peak Navigation Courses website. The 7 day Mountain Skills course is  based in Spain's Sierra Nevada Mountains and additionally includes scrambling and some rope work. This is both valley based and hut based (1 or 2 nights) including ascents of Mulhacen and Alcazaba. Cost from £550 depending on your choice of accommodation and includes your pick up from malaga Airport and final drop off.  Further details can be found on our  website Sierra Nevad...