The winner of this week’s competition is Goran Karlén. The price is the lifesystems heatshield bag. The correct answer was Paltsa cabin.

(this weeks price and the right answer the Paltsa cabin)

The topic of today will be Winter navigation. OK, so we take this in step by step. First of all we start with the gear. Map and compass will of course be essential. A GPS can also be good. But you cant rely on only that, so you need the compass and map as well. I also recommend some kind of altimeter. That can be very helpful when it comes to positioning. When doing the navigation up in the mountain environment, you need to be skilled in contour navigation since rivers and lakes etc. will be much more difficult to see in the snow and icy environment. Route planning will be the next step, your experience will affect the route selection. And dont forget that the days are shorter during winter time, and you also got more equipment then other times, meaning heavier pack. Now its time to start the journey. From now you must know were you are, you will get tired and got unfocused sometimes. But you must now all the time where you are. The weather can change of sudden, and with snow or wind or fog you will got no visibility. A good manner is to have a couple of ”tick off” during the relocation. Trust your compass, and you might have some bearing on a taped paper on the compass. (just a reminder; keep the compass away from the mobile phone…) Know your 100 m pace, normally a human take 60-75 double step for hundred meter. This is good if the visibility is poor. Contours is your friend, Being able to use contours to interpret slope aspect can be a lifesaving technique when you find yourself lost in poor visibility. Be aware of potential hazards, and avoid them. You must avoid avalanche terrain,  Always remember ‘Ridges are bridges’ and providing they aren’t rocky aretes they provide the safest way to descend the mountain should you come across unstable windslab as they tend not to hold the snow as much as corries.

Understanding contour lines with Steve Backshall and Ordnance Survey – YouTube

FINNEAS – Let’s Fall in Love for the Night (Official Video) – YouTube

See ya tomorrow…