Why ridges teach navigation so well

A ridge is the closest thing our hills offer to a natural classroom. The ground falls away on one or both sides, so your mistakes announce themselves early. Drift off line and you soon find yourself on a spur or looking down a slope that simply should not be there. In clear weather that is a lesson. In cloud it is a genuinely useful warning system.

Ridges also give you something a flat moor never will: a continuous handrail, a run of distinct tops to time between, and obvious places to stop and check where you are. You can practise bearings, pacing and map reading on the move rather than standing still in a car park. The aim, over time, is to keep the map in your head and out of your hand for longer and longer stretches.

Handrails, catch points and collecting features

A handrail is any linear feature that keeps you on course without constant compass work, and a ridge crest is the finest handrail of all. Add a boundary wall, a broken fence or a stream running off the shoulder and you have several lines to lean on at once.

The skill is knowing which features to trust. Before you set off, pick out:

• Catch points that tell you when you have gone too far, such as a col, a sudden flattening or the point where the ridge forks.
• Collecting features you should meet in sequence, like a cairn, a small tarn or a change from grass to scree.
• Attack points for any summit or path junction you are aiming at, so the final few hundred metres are easy.

A useful exercise is to write your expected sequence on the back of an envelope before leaving. On the ridge, tick them off. If a feature turns up out of order, stop and work out why.

Practising bearings without losing the plot

Most people only take a bearing when they cannot see where they are going, which is precisely the wrong time to start learning. On a ridge, take bearings constantly, even when the way ahead is obvious. Useful habits include:

• Taking a bearing to the next top and comparing it with the direction your compass needle actually settles on as you walk.
• Walking a short leg on a bearing for two or three minutes with the map folded away, then checking against a known feature.
• Using a back bearing to confirm your position from a distant summit or a distinctive crag behind you.
• Aiming off deliberately when descending to a col, so you arrive at a known point rather than hoping.

If the ridge bends, do not just follow the crest blindly. Ask yourself what the map promises at each change of direction.

Timing, pacing and the wind factor

Ridges are excellent for learning to estimate time and distance. Use Naismith's rule as a starting point: roughly four kilometres per hour on the flat, plus one minute for every ten metres of ascent. Then check it against reality. Note the time at each top and see how close your estimate was.

Pacing is easier on a ridge than on tussocky ground because the line is usually firm and continuous. Count double paces over a measured hundred metres on the flat, then recalibrate on a climb. Most people shorten noticeably uphill and lengthen on the way down.

Add an allowance for weather. A stiff headwind on an exposed crest can knock a third off your speed, and a wet, greasy descent costs more time than the map suggests. Write the real figures down afterwards, so your plans next time are built on your own performance rather than somebody else's.

When cloud comes in: escape routes and plan B

Before you leave the car, identify two or three escape points where you can drop off the ridge safely onto a path or into a valley. On many British ridges these are the natural breaks at cols and bealachs, and knowing them turns a worrying day into a manageable one.

Agree a turnaround time and stick to it. Then practise the awkward skills in the mist: pacing to a col, taking a bearing down a broad shoulder, and relocating from a single contour feature. Keep your compass on a short cord and your map in a clear case, and hold the bearing in your mind as a number rather than a vague direction.

One caution. Ridges that need hands and scrambling are not the place to learn navigation. Choose a ridge within your walking ability, and leave the learning of rope work and scrambling for another day.

Ridges worth the practice

Any long, well-defined crest will do, but these are particularly good teachers:

• Striding Edge and Swirral Edge, Helvellyn for route finding in and out of the summit plateau, though it is exposed and best saved for settled conditions.
• Sharp Edge, Blencathra for short, sharp decision-making and a very clear sense of line.
• The Carneddau traverse for long legs, easy ground and plenty of contour reading on a big day out.
• The Kentmere Horseshoe for repetitive timing practice between numerous tops, with good escape routes on either side.
• The Brecon Beacons' main ridges for practising bearings in cloud and wind, with straightforward descents if the weather turns.

Pick one, plan it properly, and treat the day as a training session rather than a race. The navigation you learn on an exposed crest will stand you in good stead anywhere in the hills.