Continue reading »]]> This article discusses how to use a compass take a bearing from the map and get you walking in the right direction.

First things first: Before you bring the compass into use, decide whether you actually need to take a bearing or whether it might be easier to reach your destination by simply following the map.  It’s only of limited use to learn how to use a compass if you can’t read a map properly in the first place.  A compass is a great tool that is simple to use, extremely reliable, needs no batteries and has a variety of different uses, but in order to get the best out of it you really need to be able to confidently relate what you’re seeing on the map to what’s visible in the landscape and vice versa.  The first and most important stage in learning to navigate is map reading itself and if you’re good at this, you’re unlikely to get into trouble and the compass will stay in your pocket for most of time.

That said, let’s discuss how you can take a bearing from the map, starting with an overview of the features of a compass:

The Compass

1: Compass Baseplate
2: Direction of Travel Arrow
3: North Orienting Arrow
4: Compass Housing
5: Baseplate Internal Lines
6: Compass Needle (red points north)
7: Orienting Lines

Stage One

Let’s assume we want to walk on a bearing from the summit trig point of Cross Fell (A) to Greg’s Hut (B) on the map below:

Place the compass on the map with the direction of travel arrow pointing towards your destination.  Ensure that one of the inner lines of the base plate passes through your origin (A) and destination (B) – this is more accurate than using the edge of the baseplate.

Whilst holding the compass firmly in place on the map to ensure that the baseplate does not slip (I find it best to go down on one knee and use my bent knee as a firm base to press the compass and map against), rotate the compass housing until the north orienting arrow lines up with north on the map.  Use the parallel orienting lines in the compass housing and the grid lines on the map to help you.  This can be tricky as it is not always easy to see a suitable north-south grid line underneath the compass, so it may need a little adjustment to get everything lined up properly. 

When you have lined up the compass correctly, your bearing will be the reading on the housing where the index line crosses the dial (18° in the example above).

Stage Two

After you’re confident you’ve lined everything up with the map as precisely as possible, put the map down to one side and hold the compass directly in front of you at waist height.  This is where you now need to look at the compass needle. Shuffle around until the red compass needle (north) coincides with the red north orienting arrow in the compass housing.With the north needle of the compass and the north orienting arrow lined up, the direction of travel arrow on the compass baseplate is now pointing in the direction that you should walk towards your destination.

Continue reading »]]> Montane are fast becoming my favourite outdoor gear provider.  I’ve had an Extreme Smock for over 5 years now which does me proud every winter in all conditions, and my zip-off Terra Pants, although now on their last legs (pun most definitely intended), have served me well for even longer. Added to this list of favourable attire is a Litespeed Jacket that has seen a fair bit of action on the fells this year and has been my jacket of choice for all but the wettest days out.

On the relatively drier days (remember them?) I’ve headed out with just a base layer and the Litespeed on my upper body and have been comfortably warm and dry for most of the time.  Being made of Pertex Microlight, the jacket is completely windproof and when it does get wet (which it will, no matter how much you re-proof it) it dries very quickly.  I’ve long since abandoned my expectation of any waterproof jacket keeping me dry, so my main criteria when choosing a shell layer is build quality, a lack of unneccesary zips and toggles and the ability to dry off quickly if/when the jacket wets out.  The litespeed ticks all these boxes with the added bonus of being super-lightweight at less than 175g. And it comes with a hood!  The next best thing is Montane’s Featherlite, but the cut of the Litespeed is slimmer, with the result that it flaps about less in the wind.  In my opinion the extra £15 or so is well worth it for the upgrade of a closer fit and a hood.

Don’t get me wrong: I’d never expect a jacket this light and thin to serve the purposes of a more robust waterproof but as a simple, lightweight, windproof/slightly showerproof shell it takes some beating.  Some reviewers have made a fuss of the fact that it does let in water, which begs the question, “What would you expect for an extremely lightweight single skin of Pertex Microlight?”.  The Litespeed is not meant to be used as a waterproof but to be honest, I’ve worn much worse jackets in the past that claimed to be completely water-repellent.

The Litespeed will stay in my pack or on my back for the winter months (with a Paramo in reserve for the wetter stuff) but I’m also looking forward to getting the Extreme Smock out, as that will mean it’s proper winter…

Continue reading »]]> I remember watching Star Wars for the first time as a kid and being mesmerised by Luke Skywalker’s ability to ‘use the force’ in order to sense what was around him without actually seeing it.  For a long time, I was convinced that I could find similar powers within myself.  I still wake up from the occasional vivid dream, confident that I can levitate – and possibly fly – if only I concentrate hard enough. Well, don’t we all?

Maybe that’s never going to happen, but Jedis or not (personally I haven’t ruled it out), we do all have certain dormant ‘powers’ that most of us never use to their full potential.  In recent years it has been discovered that human brains contain levels of biogenic magnetite  – the same mineral found in the skulls of birds, bats, fish and bees which they utilise, along with the sun and moon, in order to get where they need to be.  So, it may be that we also carry the same inner compass that helps in our sense of direction.

As humans evolved outdoors and spent every waking hour surrounded by nature and all its signals and rhythms, a deep-rooted sense of direction would have been intrinsic to our existence.  Indeed, we would all have been astronomers and navigators to a large degree and it’s only relatively recently in our history that we have become so detached from these everyday experiences and skills.  The popularity of Tristan Gooley’s excellent book ‘The Natural Navigator’ says much about our desire to get back in touch with these environmental signals.

In the mountains, however, the techniques discussed in The Natural Navigator are of only limited use.  If you can’t read a map to tell you which is the best route to follow, knowing that golden coloured lichens grow on south facing rocks isn’t much help.  More important for mountain navigation is to be able to visualise landscape features and estimate distances and transfer your observations from land to map and vice versa.

Look long and hard at the landscape with the map to improve your navigation

Most of my enquiries and questions regarding navigation training are usually based around compass work.  Those new to mountain navigation, or those wanting to brush up on their skills often assume that the compass is the magic wand that will guarantee their safe passage through the hills.  Whilst the ability to use a compass correctly and confidently is an essential skill that shouldn’t be overlooked, particularly in low visibility and winter conditions, I would argue that it is more important – and more enjoyable – to be able to travel by reading and interpreting the landscape whilst checking your progress on the map.  The more you do this, the less likely you are to lose your way and have to get out to the compass to follow a bearing or relocate yourself. Consequently, the more you look, the less likely you are to get lost.

Whether our bearings are largely due to an inner magnetic compass or our immediate surroundings, the fact is our sense of direction can be re-awakened by spending more time surrounded by nature.  By simply getting outdoors and looking more, we become better at reading the landscape.  And the better we are at reading the landscape, the more competent we can become at deciding the best route to take.

So, leave the compass in your pocket, pick up the map, have a good look around and remember to use the force.

Continue reading »]]> After virtually 2 months of sub-zero temperatures on the fells, the thaw has set in  and the snowpack is melting at a tear-jerkingly rapid rate.  The summit temperature on Helvellyn was 4.5C yesterday and it’s set to stay high through the weekend, accompanied by heavy rain.

Slumping Cornice on Helvellyn - 11th January 2011

Any hopes for a climb this weekend were dashed after seeing the state of Red Tarn Cove earlier in the week – there’s no way I’ll be going near the headwall until the neve is ‘bomb-proof’.  At some time on Monday, with the rise in temperature sections of the cornice near the Helvellyn summit slumped and dropped into the central couloire, depositing a significant amount of wet avalanche debris down the slope.  Further down and close to the gearing-up area for gullies 1 and 2 and Viking Buttress there was another football field sized area of debris.

Avalanche Debris in Red Tarn Cove - 11th January 20011

Fortunately, the snowpack froze again on Monday night and was in superb condition for the walk up on Tuesday. I was accompanied for the day by TGO editor Emily Rodway.  Emily is writing a feature on the Weatherline service and the role of the fell top assessors for next month’s TGO magazine and was rewarded for the early drive from Scotland with some superb weather, which only got better and better as the day progressed.  We were the first to ascend Swirral Edge, kicking steps into the surface crust and onto the steepest exit from the edge I’ve ever seen.  Breaching the top of the ramp involved plunging the shaft of your axe over the top of the cornice and swinging a following leg over to get a foothold on the summit plateau – a manoeuvre  you couldn’t imagine necessary if you saw the edge in summer.

Striding Edge was equally impressive, with more virgin neve to crunch through.  As more snow builds up on these edges you’re forced higher and higher onto the crest and, in these conditions, Striding Edge is at its very best – the pinnacle of winter walking in the Lake District.

Striding Edge in Full Winter Coat - 11th January 2011

Sadly, these perfect conditions are now behind us but let’s hope that the milder weather is just an interlude’ and arctic temperatures return. The mid- to long-term forecast from the Met Office, however, predicts unsettled weather over the next month.

Time to get the bike back out of the shed…

Jason

Continue reading »]]> Today marked my return to the fells as ‘Fell Top Assessor’ for the Lake District National Park Authority.  I’ll be working throughout the winter on a week-on/week-off basis, going up Helvellyn each day to observe the snow conditions and publishing these observations on the Weatherline website and phone service.

Looking up Swirral Edge

After the past few weeks of arctic weather I’ve been anticipating spectacular conditions on the fells, but the recent rapid thaw has already removed much of the snow.  That’s what an increase in temperature of over 20-degrees centigrade in 24 hours can do!  Today was a superb day to be out on the mountains, however, and there still is a fair bit of the white stuff above 750 metres, albeit wet and heavy.  The temperature on the summit was a balmy 4 degrees plus, with great all-round views and misty cloud creeping over the tops and tumbling down into the valleys.

People often, and understandably, ask whether I get bored of walking up the same mountain day-in, day-out.  The answer is always (and honestly) a big no.  For one, you never need walk the same route each day as there are at least  10 walkable routes up Helvellyn and – as anyone who enjoys the fells knows – every day is different.  And today I watched 3 pairs of ravens tumbling and swooping above Swirral Edge, which for me is infinitely more entertaining than spending the afternoon at Ikea.

I’ll be updating the facebook page with photos from the fells over the course of the season, so keep checking back every now and then.

Jason

Continue reading »]]> I had to make the most of this superb late summer weather this afternoon and head out with the dogs to the Upper Eden Valley for a walk up Wild Boar Fell.

View north from Wild Boar Fell, 31st August 2010

At 708 metres, the fell is no midget and it is surprising therefore that more walkers don’t make it to to this part of Cumbria.  Having to compete with the better known Lake District and the Howgills to the west, the North Pennines to the east and the Yorkshire Dales to the South doesn’t help its cause, but this is one of the main attractions for me as the panoramic views on a day like today are just fantastic.

The evocative name is apparently due to the last wild boar in Westmorland being killed here around 500 years ago, the tusk of which is kept in Kirkby Stephen parish church.  Looking around at the treeless landscape today, it’s hard to imagine wild boars could have ever lived in the area.  However, before the presence of man trees would have once reached – and possibly covered – the summit plateau and, as for much of the country, the woods and fells would have been the realm of boars, bears, lynx and wolves amongst others.  Nowadays, the predators you’re most likely to see are the kestrel and the fox, both of which I spotted early on.

I walked from the Eden river side to the east, via Hazelgill and High Dolphinsty.  Approaching from this direction can give you the deceptive impression that the fell is a pyramidal peak, towering over the Eden valley.  It is only on your final approach to The Nab  that you realise that the ‘peak’ is merely a promontory jutting out of from the millstone grit escarpment that caps the fell.  Wild Boar Fell is actually a large, triangle-shaped, boggy  plateau which was once used by local shepherds for informal horse races.  Once at The Nab you can wander freely along the escarpment and over the summit plateau to appreciate the superb 360-degree views.

Continue reading »]]> A record number of cases of bird of prey poisonings were recorded in Scotland in 2009, according to an RSPB report published today.

The report states:

“Last year, 21 buzzards, 4 red kites, 2 golden eagles and 1 white-tailed eagle, the latter gifted to Scotland from Norway as part of a reintroduction programme, were among the victims in 46 poisoning cases confirmed by Scottish Government testing.”

We’re often fed the line that gamekeepers and landowners are the “guardians of the countryside”, and unfortunately many are complacently happy to go along with this claim.  Sadly, a number of rogue landowners, for whom income from grouse shooting is more important than the biodiversity of the land under their so-called stewardship, still regard certain birds as pests.

The word ‘conservation’ is too easily hijacked by those whose true motives are actually the opposite of what most of us believe the word to mean.  One person’s conservation is another person’s destruction and we should be very sceptical when those whose incomes and pleasure are derived from the killing of wildlife claim to be protecting the countryside.  Indeed, the laughably titled British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), whose mission is, “to promote and protect sporting shooting and the well-being of the countryside throughout the United Kingdom and overseas”, was established partly in order to “…defend the sport of wildfowling against the growing enthusiasm of extremists bent on total protection of wild birds.” Now there’s a contradiction.

It’s also worth remembering that in October 2007 Prince Harry and a friend were questioned by police after witnesses saw 2 hen harriers being shot out of the sky on the Sandringham estate.

So let’s not be complacent about to whom we entrust the protection of the countryside, especially as we are once again governed by a party who receive considerable support from the farming and landowning community.

Continue reading »]]> I’ve always assumed it to be common knowledge that fresh air, exercise and exposure to wildlife is an important component of everyone’s upbringing.  I never fail to be surprised, therefore,  when the media presents nature and the great outdoors as a revolutionary new cure for many of society’s problems!

Last sunday, the most recent installment of Laurence Lewelyn-Bowen’s series on the British countryside  – Escape to the Country – on Radio 4 covered this subject in a more enlightened way than usual in a programme titled ‘Healing in the Open Air’.  As well as containing some good contributions from the excellent Richard Mabey, the programme introduced the Woodcraft Folk – an organisation I’d never heard of, but  wish I’d been part of as a kid.