Wansfell 18/09/13

So! Our first hill walking outing as a group went along without a hitch, the weather held out, the scenery was unbelievable and we all learned a thing or two along the way!

We all arrived into college raring to go on Wednesday morning and sat down to be told we must check a few essentials before we left *Sigh* However we all accepted very quickly that understanding the weathers potential for the day ahead was undeniably imperative. We discovered, after checking a few sources; MWIS website, Met office synoptic charts and the Lake District Weatherline that it was a likely possibility it would rain in Ambleside at regular intervals, albeit a small amount, during our outing. We also checked other vital information such as wind speed and direction to depict the route of our walk combined with temperature in the valley bottom and hill tops to ensure we took appropriate clothing. As it was the rain did fall lightly occasionally but of no real significance (other than the annoyance of not knowing how many layers to wear!) and as we reached the summit of Wansfell at around 2pm the wind started to pick up although the temperature was pleasant throughout the day. To improve my weather summary for my next assignment I will try to gain some understanding of synoptic chart symbols and fronts whilst also retrieving a picture of a weather report on the same day as the outing as the day after I have found it quite tricky to locate an accurate report.

Isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing? After our walk I carried out a risk assessment, identifying possible hazards we may encounter during the day and the likelihood and seriousness of such hazards occurring. I then looked at how control procedures could be put in place to try to lower the risk of the potential dangers. I have decided to lay out my risk assessment in a tabular form as I can use it as a template for other activities, altering hazards and controls where necessary. I’ve also chosen this format for practice should I have to produce a clear risk assessment document for any group activities outside of college in the future.

Hazard Likelihood / Seriousness

Controls Remaining Risk

Getting Lost Possible / Serious

Map & Compass carried Mobile phone carried Low

Slips, falls, trips Likely / Serious

Appt. Footwear worn High risk areas highlighted and care taken Follow appt. route on map

Low

Adverseweather Likely /

Serious

Weather reports assessed & interpreted prior to leaving

Consideration made of any water hazards which may be encountered and changes likely with conditions

Appropriate plan selected for the outing, considering the current and expected weather conditions

Low

Darkness Unlikely /Serious

Head torches to be carried by group Late back procedure in place at College Realistic – cut short options for the day

Low

Illness Possible / Serious

Medical information known & recorded Members to carry own medication

Low

Tick Bites Possible / Very Serious

Group aware of hazard Appt. clothing worn in likely areas

Medium

HypothermiaPossible /

Fatal

Appt. warm clothing & footwear worn, especially gloves and hats.

Food & drinks available Emergency equipment carried Continual review of weather conditions and

timings

Low

Exhaustion Likely /Serious

Provide opportunities for rest & food Low

Blisters Likely/Slight

Wear suitable footwear & socks Low

Hit by traffic – when leaving

busLikely/ Fatal

Take extra care when leaving bus onto road and when returning back to the bus later on

Low

S o the basic principle of our day on Wansfell was to gain some skills and techniques in the form of navigation. I feel we focused on three main factors; Orienting a map, thumbing a map and contour line importance and understanding. From the offset Steve explained the importance of orienting a map whilst out walking. A map represents the real world. By orienting a map, you are positioning it so its North is actually pointing north. When you orient a map and can pinpoint where you are exactly you can then easily look in a certain direction, focus on an obvious landmark, such as a wall or fence, and identify it on the map. Above, the photo illustrates my new found skill of orienting a map, looking up towards the summit of

Wansfell, pinpointing where I was using my technical pointing stick (extremely useful piece of grass). Thumbing the map just below the exact spot that we were was also a fantastic yet simple technique which avoided the common mistake of reading the wrong section of the map. This is evidently easy to do when constantly glancing from terrain to map and back and also easy due to the number of similar looking features on a map. The nature of success in navigation is to keep in constant contact with the map, always knowing exactly where you are, moving your thumb

in this way as you cover terrain keeps this contact. The picture on the left shows thumbing the map early on in the day, as the day progressed I found this technique was more effective when the map was folded accordingly. Possibly the most important piece of knowledge I took from the day were that contour lines are my “invisible best friends”. Contour lines are isolines (as Rich and Jack so expertly enlightened us) which connect all points along a line of equal elevation. As shown right Steve gave a great explanation of how contour lines appear on a map and how they appear in reality which was fantastic knowledge to apply throughout our day. If contour lines are understood accurately, even

in dense fog or cloud you can tell whether you are going up or downhill by walking around and compare your actual findings with those contours on the map.

As this was our first practical activity, there wasn’t a lot of scope as to comparing and contrasting skills and techniques. Therefore I decided to compare and contrast pacing and timing. Firstly for using both timing and pacing efficiently it is essential that prior to setting off the distance between Point A and Point B on map is measured accurately. Also for both techniques factors such as; Fitness, rucksack size and weight, length of journey, wind direction and speed, weather, terrain and elevation will all contribute to the effectiveness and end result each technique will produce.

However there are also a number of contrasts between the two techniques which make them useful in different situations. For the use of timing as a technique to understand how long it will take to reach a specific point you must know the walking speed of the party in contrast to pacing where it is not necessary to know this information. You must also keep a note of when you left the last known point when using timing, however for pacing as long as you can identify where you are the last known point isn’t essential information. To use timing you must have a watch or timing device otherwise it is an ineffective technique whilst pacing needs no time measure. Timing works more effectively over longer distances, assuming calculations are correct while pacing is more effective over shorter distances of 100m-400m. Pacing can be more accurate than timing, especially if distance or walking speed are rough estimates, however there is also more likely to be human error involved when using pacing as a technique due to environmental distractions.

In using both these techniques I have learnt that for both pacing and timing calculations you can’t always expect them to take you to the exact place, it’s essential to look at physical surroundings carefully and compare them to contours and features and to be tenacious about looking for them, they will most likely be there!

There were a number of positive points I came away from this practical day with in that I felt physically confident and fit on the fell which put me into a great mind frame for the day, especially considering the majority of the group are all active males! I also found it relatively easy, after a few early glitches, to identify paths, walls and linear features. I found concreting my knowledge of how to use pacing and correct map orienting were very useful skills of which I will continue to use in my own time out on the fells.

Nevertheless I am my best critique and there are always improvements to be made! Micro navigation in pairs was something I found tricky at the beginning of the day as we all headed

off together and were all looking for points relatively close together, it was hard to focus on the task at hand with so many people in a fairly small area. To improve this next time I will have to get my head down, concentrate entirely on my route and try not to get distracted. Left is an exert from the OS map we

used during the day, the arrowhead on the left indicates our final destination on our micro navigation route. I made the mistake of assuming the writing next to the right arrowhead “Sheepfold” would be where the permanent feature would be, however in reality the sheepfold was much smaller and in fact ruins of a building were found exactly at the point of the left arrowhead. Once I was aware of this mistake I made sure I found similar features

which could catch me out during the rest of the day and felt much more confident about them by the end of the walk. I feel I observably struggled the most out of the group when we came to talking about and working out timings and calculations. I found it incredibly difficult to mentally complete the calculations needed to work out timings, as a result of which I hit a bit of a mental block. I came away from the day incredibly confused about timings and wanting to improve my knowledge for next time, mainly so that I could shake off any sense of defeat! I researched the Naismith Rule, finding an incredibly helpful website “www.wildwalks.com”, after which I completed quite a lot of read theory behind the rule and practiced some examples as shown right. Once I was able to visualise the calculations it was much clearer and my confidence that I will at least be able to take my time and work any timings out next time has increased massively. Maybe I’ve discovered I am a visual learner?

Also I’d like to develop my understanding of map symbols and lines by spending more time focusing on such points. I hope to further my knowledge so I can apply it whilst navigating in the future. This is a development which realistically may take a few weeks until I can take the time to understand each one.

As a result of my performance review and necessary developments hopefully by October half term I will be able to;

Confidently use Naismiths Rule whilst navigating Identify and understand 75% of map symbols & lines Understand the meaning of most symbols and indicators on a synoptic chart

I feel having three main targets keeps my developments realistic and if I can exceed these goals that would boost my confidence and learning considerably.

Overall awesome first day out walking with a fantastic group of people, massive thank you to Steve, Rich and Hannah! My two favourite photos from the day!