Some people always go on the same tours because they know where to go. Others prefer to put their trust in a guide. In this workshop series, we will show you how to find, plan and safely follow your own tours - alone or in a group, with or without a GPS device. You don't have to earn a living from it. But if you have the skills of a guide, you will not only navigate safely through the terrain, but also broaden your touring horizons. Our workshop "Become your own guide" - Part 1 therefore deals with an extremely important topic: map reading and orientation.
Do you still need that in the GPS age? Just download a track from the internet and off you go! Thanks to satellite navigation, you always know where you are and, in the event of an accident, you can send the exact position to the emergency call centre. Perfect - actually.
However, the disadvantages of this technology became clear again the other day on the mountain: two young Alpine crossers entered the Sesvenna hut in the evening. Over a beer on the terrace, they were asked where they had come from. "Up from Scuol," was the short answer. Ah, through the Val d'Uina! The boys looked at each other questioningly for a moment and then shrugged their shoulders, half nodding. They obviously had no idea that they had just pushed up a famous gorge. Next question: And where are you travelling to tomorrow? Again, eye contact looking for help, then the other mumbled: "No idea, we're going to GPS." Well, a lack of interest in the landscape is a shame, but not yet life-threatening. However, if the GPS device suddenly fails en route or an emergency occurs (bad weather, path blocked, accident, etc.), it will be difficult to find the quickest way down to the valley or an alternative route.
A good mountaineer always has a rough idea of the terrain in which he is travelling. And they get this overview from a topographical map. Despite GPS, reading and navigating with a classic map is one of the basic skills of a touring biker. So here are the basics.
BASIC MAP KNOWLEDGE
Many bikers are at war with contour lines and therefore have problems reading maps. But once you have familiarised yourself with the subject matter, maps read like comic books.
35 per cent of BIKE readers already own a GPS device, and if you add smartphone navigation, around half of our readers will probably use technical aids to find their way around the terrain. Nevertheless, a map should always be in your rucksack - especially if you are travelling in unfamiliar regions. Here's what you need to bear in mind when navigating by map:
Scale 1:50000
Although this representation is not completely accurate, it is usually sufficient for finding a route. 2 cm on the map correspond to 1 km in nature. Easier to remember: If you simply delete the last two zeros from the scale, the result is: 1 cm on the map corresponds to 500 m in nature.
Scale 1:25000
Four sheets of this scale cover the area of a 1:50000 map. The depiction of the landscape (e.g. each individual house) is correspondingly more accurate. 4 cm on this map correspond to 1 km in nature. Or 1 cm on the map corresponds to 250 metres in nature.
Contour lines
This is probably the most important information for bikers, as contour lines show whether the route is uphill or downhill - and above all: how steep. The lines connect all terrain points that are at the same altitude and thus provide a vivid visualisation of mountains. The further apart the contour lines are, the flatter the terrain; the more densely the lines are staggered, the steeper. Rock faces are shown hatched. The distances between the contour lines (equidistance) depend on the scale of the map (see legend). Common distances are 10, 20, 50 or 100 metres. In the map on the right, the contour lines show a 50 metre difference in level.
The legend
The map legend is located in the corner or on the back of the sheet. The most important information for mountain bikers, e.g. in the compass map, is the depiction of the different types of route:
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ORIENTATION IN THE TERRAIN
Suppose you reach an unsignposted junction during the tour and suddenly have no idea where you actually are. This is how you reorient yourself:
1. open the map and align it
On the map, north is always at the top, east on the right, south at the bottom and west on the left.
A mnemonic from childhood: Nhe Owithout Seife Wash.
Now turn the map to the north (northwards). This makes orientation much easier.
Problems with the cardinal points? If the weather is fine, the current position of the sun and the rhyme "The sun rises in the east ..." will help you. (see below). You can determine the cardinal points more precisely using the clock (see point 4).
If it is overcast or you are in the forest: look at the trees. On the side facing north, tree trunks usually have moss growth because the sun never shines there.
2. search for conspicuous terrain points in nature and compare them with the map (church steeples, bends in the road, watercourses).
3. not sure yet?
What does the altimeter show? The current altitude allows you to narrow down your position. Especially if you are travelling on gravel tracks that look the same and are looking for a specific trail entrance, for example.
4. find the cardinal point with the clock
Turn the clock so that the small hand points towards the sun. The bisector (blue) to the 12 then points exactly south. This trick applies to winter time! As the clock is set forward by one hour in summer, the small hand is then orientated one hour back towards the sun.
The sun rises in the east. It takes its course to the south.
It will go down in the west. It will never be seen in the north.
USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR TRAVELLING
Is your altimeter suddenly going crazy?
Most altimeters and GPS devices measure altitude barometrically. If the air pressure changes significantly, this can also have an effect on the altimeter. In the event of an approaching low-pressure area (thunderstorm), the altimeter will show far too many metres in altitude, whereas in the event of a high-pressure area, it will show far too few metres in altitude.
Estimate distances
Mountain peaks in fog always seem a little further away to the eye than in fine weather. Here is a trick that can be used to estimate distances quite accurately: the thumb jump method. Hold your right arm out straight in front of you and aim your thumb at the object whose distance you want to estimate. Cover your right eye while doing this. Then cover your left eye. Your thumb has jumped a little to the left. Now estimate the distance by which your thumb has jumped and multiply the result by 10. This will give you a relatively accurate distance to the object you are aiming at.
You can read this article or the entire BIKE 12/2015 issue in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or buy the issue in the DK shop reorder:
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
