I had a bad run at the Creag Dhubh event of the Scottish 6 days.
I would have had a better time had I revised my understanding of how boulders are mapped and described.
One question. In the descriptions I had, some boulders were described by a black triangle and two numbers with a slash in between. eg 1/2
Does that mean the boulder appears to be 1m high when viewed from the uphill side, but 2m high when viewed from the downhill side, or something else?
Navigating boulders
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Re: Navigating boulders
Yes, it is the height of the boulder from the uphill and downhill sides. A hint that if you are approaching from above through deep bracken it might ton be that obvious, but from below it should be very prominent.
- pete.owens
- diehard
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Re: Navigating boulders
Mapping boulders in areas with heavy vegetation is always a real minefield - "prominence" is as important as sheer physical size, so a smallish boulder on a ridge with 10cm grass is much more obvious than a large boulder buried in some bog myrtle or heather in a nearby hollow.
- Big Jon
- guru
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Re: Navigating boulders
Relying on boulders for navigation is always risky - I would suggest you use them to reinforce your view of where you are and not as part of your plan. So if the contours, vegetation, distance, direction etc all feel right AND you see the boulder you expected then all is well. If you are relying on a boulder and you don't see it when expected then you need a plan B to fall back on.
Interestingly, boulders were the downfall of many at Ardchattan where they were all very distinctive in the open grassy terrain but lots of people were distracted by visible boulders in the distance that pulled them off line.
Interestingly, boulders were the downfall of many at Ardchattan where they were all very distinctive in the open grassy terrain but lots of people were distracted by visible boulders in the distance that pulled them off line.
To oblivion and beyond....
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buzz - addict
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Re: Navigating boulders
I live in the South-East. What's a boulder ?
- Arnold
- diehard
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Re: Navigating boulders
Arnold wrote:I live in the South-East. What's a boulder ?
It's a black dot on the map, a black triangle in the descriptions, and a red and white flag in a featureless bit of forest.
WOC2024 Edinburgh
Test races at SprintScotland (Alloa/Falkirk) and Euromeeting (near Stirling).
Test races at SprintScotland (Alloa/Falkirk) and Euromeeting (near Stirling).
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graeme - god
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Re: Navigating boulders
graeme wrote:Arnold wrote:I live in the South-East. What's a boulder ?
It's a black dot on the map, a black triangle in the descriptions, and a red and white flag in a featureless bit of forest.
Or else where the mapper stubbed his toe off a bit of stone...
- Big Jon
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Re: Navigating boulders
Mapping boulders is as others have commented rather difficult. Do you simply set a standard and map everything over a set size eg 1.5m or do you allow relative prominence to be taken into account and get drawn into mapping very isolated boulders at say 0.5m?
Currently mapping an open area with plenty of rock where a 2m boulder within a rocky area isn’t as prominent as a 1m boulder in a grassy area.
BTW I thought the Ardchatten mapping of boulders at Day 1 of S6D was excellent, but it did help if you read the final details which explained what they had mapped!
Currently mapping an open area with plenty of rock where a 2m boulder within a rocky area isn’t as prominent as a 1m boulder in a grassy area.
BTW I thought the Ardchatten mapping of boulders at Day 1 of S6D was excellent, but it did help if you read the final details which explained what they had mapped!
- RoT
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