Fell running maps

[Seamus]

just trying to gather people's opinions (i know a few people have got some here). Which is best for fell running navigation a 1:25,000 OS map or a 1:15,000?

I am currently putting together a map for a navigation fell race, and planning to re-jig an orienteering map, removing many of the smaller features as the checkpoint will be on larger or simple features.

Another fell runner says that I shouldn’t use a 1:15,000 map as it will confuse fell runners, but the reason I am using an orienteering map is there are more paths on the map (and in the right place) than on the OS map.

Am I being too much of an orienteer wanting an accurate map or should I just leave the fell runners to it with the OS map and let the local knowledge win? Is it worth the bother? just wondering what people thought.

[johnloguk]

Personally I applaud your attempts to use more accurate maps. But then fellrunners have been known to get lost even when there are marshalls and tapes showing them where to go, so you might be on a hiding to nothing. It will to interesting to see what sort of reaction you get.

[mharky]

as an orienteer i'd like to say use the 1:15000. but i reckon you'd probably be best off with the 1:25000 OS map.

[seabird]

How about trying to get the best of both worlds.

Use the simplified 1:15000 map but print it at 1;25000

[Kitch]

exactly.

presumably the race in quetion is the FRA relays.
In which case I think you should use the full detailed map at 1:15 and have checkpoints in obscure gullies in the middle of nowhere. Then it will be a case of Lothian versus Dark Peak.

[Neil M35]

The Capricorn used colour photocopies of the OS 1:25000 and the contours disappeared. Towards the edge of the map everything else disappeared as well. If you are planning to do the same then make sure the reproduction is ok.

If this is for the FRA relays and you use an orienteering style map then some other teams will accuse you of deliberately favouring Dark Peak in some sort of orienteering conspiracy.

[Kitch]

thinking about it.
printing a 1:15 at 1:25 - will it work ?
does OCAD compensate for line thicknesses, will it be readable ?

Fell runners have been given decent maps in the past. At last years FRAs for example, and the Mountain Trial.

the best thing you could do would be to organise some low cloud.

[harry]

class. go with kitch's idea, low cloud, obscure gullies and an o map please.
my westies team won't be the most competitive so we'd like to take a few places on leg 3

on the subject of fra relays anyone planning to do the fras on the saturday and compass sport cup final on the sunday? who might have space in a car between the 2 events.
i'll email someone in dark peak/syo nearer the time but just wondered if it's feasible.
a knackering weekend with a lot of travelling but a flight back home after the csc could make it work?

[Jayne]

I think there's still a plan of an syo coach going to the csc final, if so there might be space on that.

[Seamus]

presumably the race in quetion is the FRA relays.

Well guessed, I had done an example 1:15,000 map to use for the relays but the ‘FRA controller’ said that a such a map would be too confusing. the original thought was to use a better map to show everything and make it fair to all teams, rather than what has happen in the past.

So we are to use a OS map, as advised by the FRA. I vote for a 1:50,000 map to make it highly fair for the local clubs. And a total unfair competition (as sanctioned in my eyes by FRA) for the rest

[FatBoy]

I'm 99% sure OCAD scales symbols when printing at a different scale so that's an option. If you want an accurate map but in OS style there's nothing to stop you redefining all the symbols (e.g. yellow -> white) to make it very similar to a 1:25,000 OS.

Your other option is to get the image for the 1:25,000 map from OS and then edit it in a graphics package. Be sure to have lots and lots of memory in your PC before attempting this though!

In terms of what's right it's good to try and make map reading fell races fair - i.e. no local knowledge required, but then again, I'm an orienteer and only run fell races once every blue moon.

[Supersaint]

You could also post a copy of the orienteering map in question on here, let all the orienteers running in the FRA's to print a copy off and take it with them and just say to the fell runners that they wouldn't know what to do with it anyway!

[awk]

That shouldn't be necessary - any half decent orienteer should be able to use a 1:25k map pretty much just as well as a 1:15k O-map, if the emphasis is on a fell race with navigation rather than O-race. 1:15k level of detail is surely unnecessary (and probably unwarranted).