[DadFly]

Sorry. I just had to. There have been a lot of really good comments in these threads.

[Bernardo]

I don't disagree with any of the points made about the utility of terrain features and altimeters. Hiking in not so jagged terrain in Mexico and the Blue Ridge Mountains I've found a compass useful for crossing forested terrain or taking the straightest route between two points or determining my location. I do believe that navigating by terrain feature is a higher level skill and that most times this is far better, even essential, in mountainous terrain. This implies if you lack navigating by terrain skills, you should be cautious about travel in mountainous terrain. When I went to Camp Muir the first time, the guy leading our trip provided us with cards with the azimuths between key features in case of a whiteout. Having a bearing to confirm you are using the right handrail is not a bad idea. Question for gb: did you consider not ascending back to your camp and staying below the snow line? I am not saying that would have been right, but some might have made that choice. Having the skills and confidence to keep moving forward is a very important skill. Was it an easy decision in this case? I was exploring in the Blue Ridge Mountains last year following a small ridge. I kept going along but the terrain didn't seem quite right. Eventually, I came to a small stream and decided to break out the map and compass. I determined the direction of the stream and came up with a new estimate of were I was which quite a bit off from where I thought I was. Based on this estimate I set a course that should bring me back to a road. The brush was thick, but I didn't need to follow an exact course. Sure enough my recalibrated route was perfect. Now, I should note I was carrying an altimeter and if I had used it when I got on the ridge I would have known I wasn't high enough and that I needed to go down and up one more time. But I was having fun just winging it and getting a feel for the land. Using a GPS would have spoiled everthing.