UKC

What technique/strategy do you use to remember how your pacing changes for different angles of slope, for different conditions underfoot and for carrying different weights of pack?

I've so many numbers flying around in my head and trying to relate them to what is coming ahead can sometimes be tricky.

In reply to iamaclimber:

Keep it simple. Normal pace, and another figure for carrying everything including the kitchen sink, deep snow and uphill.

You only need two lots of figures. And you should not be doing long nav legs.

In reply to iamaclimber:

I keep forgetting thus, it seems, relearning every time I go out. Done 60 paces per 100m on the Cairngorms, and 150 per 100m on a steep ascent on the Mamores - and everything else in the middle. But keep it simple and keep nav legs short I think would be a good place to start.

In reply to iamaclimber:

Thanks. Problem is that it's one figure on the flat, one for the flat in snow, one on the flat with a pack, then as above but for not-so-steep, fairly steep, steep and calf bursting steep.

Lots of figures!

In reply to iamaclimber:
A combination of things. I know I'm 55 paces to 100m with a light pack on good ground. I count out sets of 100m at a time, and at the end of each one I take a few more paces to account to the terrain over that 100m and my load, tiredness etc. I guess roughly five extra paces for a big pack, being tired, or moderate heather, and I'd take 5 off on a gentle downhill, but there's no strict rule. I add each one in turn, literally counting 53...54...55...pack1...pack2...tired1...done, 100m.

More to the point, you have to recognise the limitation of pacing. Am I actually accurate to one pace after adding the three I added there? Of course not. Don't rely on precision, and accept that every leg will be a little off. Keep legs short, so a 10% error is 30m not 100m. Pick your route so that you can correct your position every few legs, and make sure an error of 10% in your distance measurement (or 5 degrees on your bearing for that matter) won't lead you off a cliff. Sometimes, you might also encounter terrain like bog or boulders or very steep ground where you have to accept that you can't use pacing, and you have to fall back on a different technique.

If you fancy some practice, have a go at orienteering. On the harder routes, being extra accurate can help a lot with finding the controls quickly.

In reply to iamaclimber:

You are trying too hard. Keep it simple!! You are not trying to determine the number of centimetres you walk - just to gauge an approximate of 100. A few yards out shouldn't make too much difference.

If you are climbing something that steep I'd probably be inclined to use Naismith's rule anyway.

If I'm walking over rough ground for example which I know slows me up, I simply add a few extra steps to compensate/. I don't have an exact formulae for every combination you mention.

In reply to iamaclimber:

I count 32 every other left foot to 100m. If I'm stumbling around like a fool I adjust to suit. I try and reconcile the average stride that I think I've managed with my norm. I have 4 toggles on a bit of elastic on one rucksack strap to track counts of 100m up to 500m and 5 on the other to count the 500m up to 3km.

If I'm flogging up a hill then I'll probably not bother counting unless I've got nothing else (like the top, changes in angle or other features). I've also got an altimeter.

So, in essence: count, modify, guess, use counters so that you can concentrate on what's going on rather than keeping track of your count, use the map, use an altimeter, look around you.

In reply to iamaclimber:

Advice above about counting 100m and then adding a relevant amount is what I found most effective. Also adjust if anything specific happens e.g. you have to climb up over a rock or something just add a couple right then. If you want to get very good then it's just a case of practice; measure 100-400m legs accurately across all sorts of terrain in good visibility and pace as if you can't see anything, adjusting after each 100m. Stop at what you think is the right distance and see whether you actually needed to add more or not as much. Over each 100m it is perfectly possible to get to within 5-10m most of the time and errors only accumulate if you're consistently too short, or too long, so actually being within 50m over a km is certainly achievable. If you practice you don't need to try to remember lots of numbers, you just get a feel for how much to adjust. Once you start nailing the short legs start practicing in manky weather and in the dark. When you get that try manky AND dark. Longer legs are probably the last step. Another crucial thing is that you need to be super accurate at walking on a bearing (if that's what you're doing) because there is no point being spectacularly accurate on distance if you're so far off to the side that you can't find your target. Best of luck.

In reply to iamaclimber:

Thanks for the tips

I find it hard to predict how much to add so was hoping to find an easy methodology. I've a lot of experience but stills struggle to walk a slope and think 'that needs another 20 paces'.