compass bearing

KInder Scout

On Saturday 16th November saw 6 brave souls heading out on our latest Mountain Skills day for walkers and trail runners on Kinder Scout.  The day started with mist clinging onto the edges of Kinder with winds gusting 35mph+.  This caused a dilemma!  The day will mainly be based around basic navigation techniques & emergency techniques, just in case.  With the wind being so strong it would be virtually impossible to carry out any form of skills transfer.  With the mist being low, although be great learning conditions, would  be a little advanced for today. Thankfully whilst waiting in Edale car park the mist lifted,the decision was made.  The route would take a line along Grindsbrook, then back along the edges towards Ringing Roger then descend back into Edale.

All of the team arrived and we set off at 0915 passing the ole nags head in Edale and up towards Grindslow Clough.  The team practiced setting the map (orientating) to the ground, identifying features such as boundaries, walls, fences, old boundaries which aren’t as prominent, overtime being reduced to piles of rubble, but in a logical line.  The team then practiced pacing and timing along the path,  gaining a base for walking 100 metres which is used as an aid to determine distance traveled and distance to an objective. This is a key skill to master as it can help you navigate in poor visibility, feature less terrain ( such as on the summit of Kinder Scout ) or at night.

After a short break in the woods by Golden Clough it was time to have fun with the compass. We identified  different types of compass,  features of the compass, such as the base plate, compass housing,  magnetic ‘north’ needle, the ‘ direction of travel’ arrow at the top end of the base plate, which is used to point the direction you want to walk.  A few of the group realized their confusion between the ‘red’ magnetic arrow and the direction they walked in ( I’ll post a short video blog on this) this was a massive breakthrough and they could see so many doors opening in their navigation experience going forward.

We stopped for a spot of lunch in the shadows of Nether Tor and then is was time for Grid references.  The team were tasked with finding various features on the map after understanding how the grid system works in the uk.  They practiced with 4 figure grid references, then progressed to 6 figure grid references which relates to 100sqm of land on the ground.  Carrying on along the path towards Grindsclough stoping at various points to take a grid reference, bearings and to identify our position.

Heading on to Kinder

The skies above had cleared and although very windy.  I decided to end the day and to give the team a change to see what its like on top of Kinder Scout,  we climbed the short, but steep path to the summit. The wind hit us like the downdraft of a Seaking Helicopter,   re-grouping behind a small tor we moved off together. With the wind sometimes knocking us off balance, inmost cases the wind our backs so helped us move quickly.  The team loved the experience, the exposure and the clear views all around high above the peak district and made for a great finish to the day.

Being blown around on Kinder Scout

On the descent we practiced setting up an emergency shelter , how quickly you warm up when taken out of the wind.  We then discussed basic emergency techniques for calling for help!

‘Call 999 and ask for Police Mountain Rescue’

Immediatly Giving your name,mobile number and location ( grid reference).  Then nature of the emergency, casualty details( name, age , sex), number in your party.

We headed back to the car park and with big smiles we bid our farewells till next time.

A BIG thank you to Rich , Julie, Chris, Carolyn, Jojo & Johnathan for a great day.

For more photos pop along to flickr

Click here to listen review what the guys thought of the day.

If you like to find out more about our skill transfers days for Walkers and Trail runners please drop us an email – adventures@mountainsinmind.com