News from Peak Navigation Courses

Wind Chill and Lapse Rate Walking from my house situated at 300m a.s.l. in the Peak District today I was struck by how cold and damp it was. O.K. it’s January in the U.K. but it felt really cold. Suitably dressed for a cold day navigating on Kinder Scout There are two common factors that have an effect on the temperature whilst walking in British Hills. Wind Chill and the Lapse Rate. Why do we do it? 1.             Lapse Rate A lot has been written scientifically and in depth about Lapse Rate. There is a good paper from Bangor University.  However it is essentially the amount that air temperature decreases as you gain altitude. Although there are variables such as whether the air is dry or saturated, generally the temperature decreases around 6.5 degrees C per 1000m climbed. So for example if you were in Snowdonia, let’s say in Bangor at Sea Level and you were walking to Snowdon via Llanberis. ...

Learn Map Reading and Navigation in The Peak District Whether you are a seasoned walker, a complete novice or someone who has for years followed others, Peak Navigation Courses have a course for you! For the past ten years we have been delivering training from our base in The Peak District and occasionally further afield in the mountains of Snowdonia and The Lake District. 1st Steps to Map Reading and Navigation Entry Level: Most people come for the one day 1st Steps to Map Reading and Navigation Course . It doesn’t matter if you are a complete novice or have some experience, this course starts with the very basics and leaves you able to cross easy open moorland using a compass. A great day out. National Navigation Awards: Some come to us wanting to gain an award under the National Navigation Awards Scheme. We highly recommend that adults can come straight in at Silver level not needing to have gained a Bronze Award first. This is a 2 day cours...

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 ...

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...

Map Reading and Navigation Course I’m constantly amazed at the frequency that I’m approached on Kinder Scout by people who are lost and want directions to get back down safely.   I don’t mind this but it usually happens when I’m running a navigation course! Map Reading Course, Kinder Scout People book onto our map reading and navigation courses for a variety of reasons, many because they have been “misplaced” and want to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.   Peak Navigation Courses offer a range of courses from absolute beginner to “master classes” designed to provide handy revision to experts in need of a challenge. Our basic level course, 1 st Steps to Map Reading and Navigation covers all the basics, spending about 1.5 hours in the class before heading out for a short walk putting it into practice.   A further session in the classroom over lunch helps us prepare a route card before heading up onto some local moorland to navigate with a ...

Night Navigation and Poor Visibility Navigation Course Most of us who have been walking in the hills and mountains have experienced the mist coming down. Also in Britain once the clocks change in the autumn, it seems as if there are fewer daylight hours and it is not uncommon to see people returning from their walk after it is dark. On Kinder Scout in the mist Whether you are caught in the mist or end up coming down in the dark, it is useful to have practiced in poor visibility beforehand. Map reading and navigation in poor visibility, especially off path across open ground requires slightly different techniques and strategies.   It is harder to interpret the “contours” around us and if navigating in a straight line using a compass we need greater precision and strategies using “handrails” and “catching features.”   In situations like this pacing and timing play a more vital role in telling us where we are. Knowing just how many paces you take to a hund...

Autumn has arrived early this year as we didn’t seem to have much of a summer. Looking at the mountain rescue call out reports, the Peak District moors have certainly been proving too much for many ill prepared walkers who have ended up having to be rescued.   It’s not just about poor map reading and navigation skills and the over reliance on GPS navigation technology, but also about having the skills, clothing and equipment to deal with the difficult terrain, which has become extremely boggy after the summer rains.  The Following is an extract from Buxton Mountain Rescue Team call out log: “ Buxton Mountain Rescue Team called out as night fell to search Kinder moor for two walkers who were trapped by deep bog without lights or whistle.   Although the casualties, a married couple from Doncaster, had no apparent injuries, they were very cold and disorientated. The night was damp and misty at high level, with some wind. They had set off for a days walk from E...