Mountain Navigation: 5 'D' System & How to Measure Paces

This is episode 1 in this year's series on Mountain Navigation. I'm kicking this off with an introduction to the 5 'D' system of Direction, Distance, Duration, Description and Destination then looking at how to count paces to measure distance along the ground.
In following episodes I will look at each of the 5 'D's in detail and show you how this works out on the mountain! This goes hand in hand with my navigation training courses so please get in touch if you would like some nav training one to one or with a group.

[@joew245]

Great stuff! Looking forward to the rest of the series 👍

[@BeyondTheTrail]

Thanks Joe.

[@dbharrold]

Great video, I am a yachtmaster and there are lots of similarities between navigating a boat and finding our way around a mountain. I think the mountains are more difficult as you have more variables like gradient, weight of your pack as you said.

[@BeyondTheTrail]

Cheers for your comment. I've always thought that nav at sea would be much harder as there are no features to locate yourself against in open water! Thanks again.

[@markfletcher4964]

Loved it! Keep the instructional video's coming!!

[@BeyondTheTrail]

Thanks Mark. Episode two will follow shortly. Just recovering from a knee injury!

[@markfletcher4964]

@@BeyondTheTrail, Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[@BeyondTheTrail]

@@markfletcher4964 thanks Mark.

[@jimtilbrook2389]

I use a piece of para cord in my pocket with 10 knots in it which I pass each knot through my hands every time I walk 100 metres to pace out 1K

[@BeyondTheTrail]

That's a nice system, takes up no space and no beads to lose!

[@edwarddemedeiros3607]

Awesome!

[@BeyondTheTrail]

Thanks Edward. I hope it was useful 👍

[@slippery999]

I add another ‘D’ for “Dangers”. This is for both physical and navigational dangers. Physical could be very steep ground, close to cliff edges etc and by considering those I find it helps with managing a group, just because I can see it doesn’t mean others can etc. Navigational errors could be when contouring and not being aware of a tendency to lose height or when there are lots of paths on the ground and not keeping an eye on the compass to make sure you’re following the right one.

[@BeyondTheTrail]

Good idea and good learning, particularly in groups. Cheers.

[@alimoche0074]

Hi, great serires, but maybe you didn't finish it or I can't find the complete ones? I only find 1 and 3. thank you

[@BeyondTheTrail]

Hi, thanks for getting in touch. Yes, I'm afraid I intend to re-film number 2 and finish the series but have been really delayed with so many other commitments. I intend to but don't know when.

[@madcat1007]

Where is video number 2?

[@BeyondTheTrail]

Hi. I'm remaking number two to improve it.

[@jeg569]

Not seeing the other videos!

[@BeyondTheTrail]

Hi! Frustrating year so far! There are two up in the series and one to re-do. Then post lockdown I should be back on track. Useful so far?

[@jeg569]

@@BeyondTheTrail hi yes looking forward to more of the series when you can manage, I have done route planning with maps and pacing a number of times, Cape Wrath, Suilven and Quinag etc but I usually end up having to use the gps to get back on track, I need to get a handle on where I am going wrong. Thanks, John.

[@BeyondTheTrail]

@@jeg569 beautiful places. The key is reading the ground then translating it to your map. I'll cover that in my remake of episode 2 👍 Enjoy Winter!

[@johnmartin828]

Nice description on pacing. One thing I do when I’m coaching this skill is to take the rope to different terrains to see how paces change due to steepness or technical.

[@BCVS777]

I understand the need for map/compass skills but almost everyone depends on their GPS these days.

[@BeyondTheTrail]

Very true. I think a knowledge and skill in both is a good approach. Batteries fail and, on the other hand, maps fly away in the wind! I'd rather have both with me. This level of navigation is only really needed when conditions are challenging or night nav, but it is definitely worth practicing regularly to have confidence when the time comes. Thanks for your comment.

[@johnpowell9174]

@@BeyondTheTrail Many folk have digital watch that you can set to count steps and distance; these can be accurate (I've checked out mine). Your watch can be a useful way to calibrate your step-distance.