Expert advice on the crucial navigation skill of walking on a bearing. We're the BMC. Climb walls, rock, hills, ice or mountains? Join us. www.thebmc.co.uk/join
If you find yourself on featureless ground in a whiteout things get difficult. I was once skiing across the Hardangervidder ice cap in a group of six and from the back of the line I was surprised to see how quickly the leader would veer off course if they were not constantly looking at their compass. I thought I could do better but when it was my turn to lead I found that I was just as bad. To make it easer to check the compass you can wear it on your wrist or use a compass board to hold it out in front of you. In my case I solved the problem by noting my angle to the strong and steady wind that was blowing across the ice cap and adjusting my course to maintain that angle.
