Mountain Skills Two Navigation Course
Mountain Skills Two is the logical follow-on for anyone that has completed Mountain Skills One foundation navigation course and wants to develop their skill set and confidence.
Mountain Skills Two takes you back into the mountains on two realistic hikes as we aim to build upon your existing navigation skill set. The big experience in this course is being out in the mountains at night as we navigate back to our cars under darkness.
Hiking at night in the mountains is an incredible experience, both surreal and magical, as we move through a nocturnal landscape.
Day One:
During day one we will undertake on a journey into the mountains with the goal of reaching a specific peak before darkness. You will use the map, compass and contour features to move from one identifiable area to another, breaking the journey down into small navigation legs.
As we move through the mountain landscape we will further develop your existing skillset including understanding route planning, identifying hazards, considering how the weather affects our chosen route and how best to deal with a series of realistic scenarios.
We will discuss how the weather impacts upon our planed route and how to modify quickly when required. Have we considered the wind in the mountain environment, it’s direction and strength? Are there weather fronts moving in during the day that will provide difficulty of movement and navigation?
Do we know what the wind-chill will be on the summit and do we have the appropriate equipment?
If a weather front is moving in from the West will it impact upon rivers, streams and will this challenge our proposed route choice?
We will also look at ways of spotting the early signs of hypothermia and how to remedy them on the mountain before something minor becomes a serious problem.
As we near our chosen summit we will start to prepare for night navigation and the challenges it presents.
As the light fades the level of information available to us reduces therefore we turn out attention to visualising each navigation leg using the contours on the map. This is where our navigational toolbox comes into play as we decide on each navigational leg what skills will work best and how to apply them.
Under headtorch in teams of two you will lead us off the mountain while those following do not know what feature you have chosen to navigate to. On arrival those following will employ their own choice of skills to determine where we are, providing several concrete reasons to create more certainty.
Navigating under headtorch at night in the mountain is truly a unique experience not to be missed.
Day Two
On Day Two we will venture into the mountains for a shorter day as we focus on contours, smaller features and assessing risk on steeper ground. We will continue to develop your map visualising skills and move from an overreliance on the compass, pacing and timing, instead focusing on your ability to understand the mountain landscape.
The group will navigate through broken ground while discussing how to assess risk using the scale of likelihood versus consequences. As we reach the top of our chosen route you will undertake several blind navigational legs where you follow me, without the use of the navigational tools and try to relocate when I randomly stop.
During Mountain Skills Two we will carry out several navigational legs where the location is not confirmed to simulate being on a mountain and navigating in a bubble of uncertainty.
By the end of day two each participant will have gained not only new navigational techniques but the confidence to go into the mountains, in all but the worst of weather and make the correct decisions.
This new found or increased confidence will be the key that opens the door to new mountain adventures that one can barely imagine.
Mountain Skills Two
The courses run over two days in Wicklow primarily but I will travel to others areas if a group requests.
This is an official Mountain Ireland course and costs €140 per person.
Upon contacting info@hikeandclimb.ie or clicking on the book now button below you will receive an email and PDF outlining the course details and booking information.
I look forward to seeing you on the beautiful Irish Mountains and happy hiking.
