Read contours like a pro

QCan contour lines help me navigate on the hill?

Pau● says In a word, yes! Fences and walls can get knocked down, farmers can plough over paths and small streams can dry up, but the one feature that will remain consistent is the shape of the land.

Yet contours are the aspect of map reading people can struggle with most. To understand the basics, put on a medical glove and draw around your knuckles (or just doodle straight onto your knuckles as pictured), following the parts of equal height a few millimetres apart. Then take the glove off, lay it flat and you’ll see it’s the same principle as on the hill.

When you’re next on the hill, simply sit and look at the land around you and follow a contour line on the map and the ground – look for uniform slopes, concave and convex slopes. Then, using an altimeter, try to walk the contour around some small hills to stay at a fixed height.

Once you feel confident, learn slope aspect bearings and how to get fixes from slope angle and your altimeter. Then try to head for a feature just by using contours (check you are correct with either a GPS device or compass). When teaching Special Forces candidates, we get them to navigate using maps that feature contours only, as in some military theatres map detail is unreliable.

Paul is co-founder of the Ultimate Navigation School – you can book navigation courses for all abilities at www.ultimatenavigationschool.co.uk