Route Finding in Snow: A Beginner’s Guide
Exploring the mountains in snowy conditions can be a spectacular, exciting and rewarding experience. White peaks, quiet trails and breathtaking landscapes contribute to beautiful treks and a real sense of adventure. But the snow and cold weather also pose a whole host of challenges. Specialist winter mountain expertise and some experience in the conditions are essential if you want to explore the uplands safely and enjoyably.
Route finding in the snow is one of the skills you need to master. Snow drastically alters the natural landscape, covering the trails most trekkers follow in warmer months and forcing you to rely on other navigational aids. It also introduces hazards and obstacles you only encounter when snow begins to fall. Consequently, moving safely through mountain terrain means developing new techniques and tricks.
In this article, we explore the basic principles behind route finding in the snow and discuss the methods you’ll need to master. However, this guide is merely intended as an introduction to the topic. It will by no means provide you with all the skills you need to successfully and safely navigate in winter conditions. That requires careful study and first-hand experience and practice with a qualified Mountain Leader. If that interests you, we recommend checking out RAW Adventures’ Winter Mountain Skills course.
Understanding the risks of route finding in the snow
To stay safe in the mountains, you must understand the potential hazards associated with route finding and trekking in snowy conditions. Route planning and finding involves selecting and following a safe path through your chosen terrain, managing risk and taking preventative steps to avoid danger wherever possible. In snowy landscapes, the challenges involved in this process are exacerbated by:
- • Fewer visual reference points – snow often covers and obscures the visual reference points we rely on to navigate. Trails, cairns, markers and other landmarks we typically use to guide ourselves are not always visible, leaving us without clear indicators of positioning or direction.
- • Avalanches and hidden dangers – in winter conditions, trekkers must be aware of avalanche risks and assess snowpack stability and slope angles. You should also account for other hazards, like cornices.
- • Fatiguing conditions – walking in snow is far more tiring than trekking on solid ground. The weight of winter mountain gear amplifies this. Fatigue considerations will impact route planning and finding, particularly as days are significantly shorter in the winter. Fatigue can also affect your ability to make sensible decisions, further increasing the need for a clear pre-planned route and experience route finding in winter conditions. Sometimes the snow is deep and heavy enough that it feels like wading through treacle!
- • Cold weather – prolonged exposure to the cold increases the risk of hypothermia and other complications. Wet and windy weather can add to the challenge. To prevent this, make sure you are appropriately dressed and equipped, stay dry and monitor the condition of everyone in the group.
- • Whiteouts – whiteouts occur when the snow and sky become indistinguishable, and it is almost impossible to see the terrain or rely on visual navigation. Even seeing your walking partner five metres away can be a challenge! In these instances, map and compass skills are essential. As is the ability to use a GPS device. In very low visibility, you may need to stop and set up a safe temporary shelter until conditions improve.
Planning and preparation
Route finding in the snow begins long before you step out your front door, as preparation is absolutely essential to safe and enjoyable winter mountain experiences. We like to break the planning stage into three core components:
1. Route research
The first step is to collect as much information as possible about the environment you intend to travel through and the route you want to follow. Usually, this starts with maps of the area. You want a good understanding of the landscape and insight into key reference points. These can include natural features, such as peaks, valleys and ridgelines, as well as man-made features, such as refuges, fences and other infrastructure.
Weather information is also crucial. Keep an eye on forecasts and check out recent conditions on the mountain. The weather has an enormous impact on your ability to navigate safely, and high winds, mist and snowstorms will hamper visibility. We recommend MWIS, the Met Office mountain service and Windy for reliable weather information. Similarly, check avalanche forecasts for up-to-date details on avalanche risks in your area. They will help you understand snow conditions and should inform route prep. Be mindful that not all areas are covered by an avalanche forecast. And that just because there isn’t a forecast for your area, doesn’t mean there won’t be a chance of avalanches.
Finally, check out guidebooks and trip reports for your intended route. It will help you familiarise yourself with the route and may highlight hazards you would not necessarily notice just by looking at a map. Community-created resources can be invaluable when preparing, but it’s important to recognise that you have no way of knowing how knowledgeable or competent the author is. So treat them with caution!.
2. Prepare alternative routes
We always recommend preparing alternative routes and bail-out options alongside your main route. Winter conditions are very changeable and can force you to leave the main planned route to avoid unforeseen obstacles. Similarly, you may need a quick way out if the weather deteriorates rapidly.
3. Familiarise yourself with route details
While the route research stage should have provided a lot of information on the route, how it plays out and what you need to look for, you also need to take the time to internalise the details. Memorise ridgelines, valleys and potential risk areas and understand how these features relate to the route and surrounding landscape. Essentially, you are looking to build a strong environmental context in your head before departing on the trip. It will make navigating out in the field that much easier.
Gathering appropriate tools and equipment
Route finding in the snow requires specialist tools and equipment. Below, we list the core equipment you need. However, it is crucial to remember that your tools are only as good as your ability to use them. If the last time you used a map and compass was 20 years ago on a DofE expedition, relying on them to get you safely through the mountains is not the best idea.
- • Map and compass – these remain the most reliable and fundamental navigation tools for winter trekking. While the map gives you a fantastic overview of the terrain, the compass will help you orient yourself and move in the right direction when traditional features are not visible.
- • GPS – digital GPS devices can be extremely useful in the mountains, enabling you to locate yourself precisely and showing the way forward on a pre-plotted route. However, they should never be relied upon exclusively, as they can run out of battery. In some cases, blindly following them without consideration for your surroundings may put you in danger.
- • Altimeter – altimeters enable you to measure your elevation, adding data that helps you establish a more precise location. They are particularly useful when all other landmarks are obscured and you want to cross-reference your position with contour lines on the map.
- • Avalanche tools – if you are entering areas where there is an avalanche risk, you should carry avalanche safety equipment. This typically includes an avalanche beacon, probe and shovel. Training on how to use these items is just as important.
Before we move on, it is worth briefly discussing smartphone navigation apps. While handy in certain situations, such as summer mountain trekking, we do not recommend you rely on them in winter conditions. Like GPS devices, they can run out of battery quickly, and the quality of apps varies considerably. Though they may be useful as a secondary navigation aid to complement other technologies, they should never be your primary tool. They’re also impossible to use with gloves on.
Reading the terrain when in the mountains
Just because the snow obscures many of the features you typically rely on to navigate in warmer weather, does not mean reading the landscape is impossible. In fact, snowy conditions require you to be able to interpret the terrain and make considered decisions based on your observations. This means developing a range of new skills.
For instance, slope awareness is critical. Generally, slopes between 30° and 45° are most prone to avalanches. Avoid this terrain on high-risk aspects, as informed by the avalanche forecasts and your knowledge of the weather over the previous few days. Out in the field, you can measure angles with a slope metre or clinometer, allowing you to make informed routing decisions while on the move.
Similarly, you need to be able to identify cornices. Cornices are overhanging snow formations caused by the wind. They form on the leeward side (the sheltered side) of ridgelines and corries. As they overhang a solid edge, they can break under a person’s weight and fall away. Sometimes they even collapse under their own weight, so don’t stand underneath them either!. Avoiding cornices begins by keeping a careful eye on wind conditions and noting which side of a mountain cornices are likely to form. Identifying potential problem areas on the map before departure will enable you to give problem areas a wide berth or dog-leg around danger spots.
In terms of avalanche risk, the leeward side of mountains tends to be where the snow accumulates, resulting in more unstable conditions. Travelling along ridgelines, rather than traversing slopes, and avoiding valleys and gullies also helps mitigate avalanche risk.
Effective techniques for safe route finding
We identified four core strategies and techniques to help you find routes safely in snowy conditions.
1. Trek in a group
There is safety in numbers. Travelling in a group means you have more expertise to rely on, and there are more people to assist should something go wrong. However, this only applies if all group members are sufficiently experienced. While groups are generally safer, there are times when you may want to space out. For instance, introducing gaps between trekkers when crossing more avalanche-prone areas reduces the risk of the entire party being trapped by a slide.
2. Use key places
Marking key places on your map and establishing visual checkpoints, such as ridgelines or peaks, enables you to monitor your progress and ensures you keep to the route. These key places should also be places you might make decisions, consider options and check in on how everyone is doing. Have a look at the Be Avalanche Aware process (https://beaware.sais.gov.uk) for more information on how to make the most of key places.
3. Managing pacing and breaks
Walking in the snow is much more tiring than in normal conditions and you should factor this into your route. Building extra time into the plan to accommodate additional rest breaks and slower-than-expected movement also ensures you don’t run into trouble with low light. It is advisable to break the route into manageable sections and incorporate brief stops to rest and check in with how everyone feels.
4. Know your escape routes
All long winter routes should feature escape routes where you can safely cut the route short. You may need to use these if the weather takes a turn for the worse, if there is an injury or if tiredness is becoming an issue. Escape routes also give you a degree of flexibility that can take the pressure off and allow you to enjoy the experience more.
Monitoring conditions and making sensible calls
As we’ve discussed, winter in the mountains brings conditions that can change very rapidly. Blizzards, whiteouts, mist and fog can impair visibility and wet and windy weather can add to the cold and make traversing the terrain even more dangerous. Temperature fluctuations may also affect snow stability.
All this means that you need to constantly monitor the conditions and adapt your plan and route in response to changes. At any point on the trek, you should know what you will do if the weather deteriorates. Will you turn back? Seek shelter? Head for the nearest escape route? Whatever happens, do not push on if low visibility makes it unsafe to do so.
Monitoring your group is equally important. Fatigue and the cold can have a significant impact on decision-making and judgement. Keep an eye on each other, work together and look out for everyone. A group is only as strong as its least capable member.
Developing winter mountain skills with RAW Adventures
Ultimately, successful route finding in the snow requires extensive preparation, good navigation skills and an ability to read the terrain and conditions. These are things you can learn in safer environments, from experienced winter mountain walkers, before you head out in snowy conditions. Developing these skills can unlock incredibly rewarding experiences and a new appreciation for the beauty of the mountains in the winter. It is also a lot of fun.
At RAW Adventures, we deliver winter mountain skills courses that teach you everything you need to know about exploring snowy mountain landscapes safely. You will learn from accredited Mountain Leaders and have the time and space to practise these skills in the field, ensuring you are comfortable when you head out on your own adventures.
Check out our Winter Mountain Skills course to learn more.
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