Recently in a post about navigation on Mountain Journal I asked if, in the electronic era, there was still a role for traditional tools such as the paper map and compass.
In this post Kelly Van Den Berg, who trains people in navigation, offers her thoughts.
Traditional navigation skills in the mountains? Do we actually need this skill?
In an age of robust and accurate electronic devices, where do the traditional map and compass fit in ?
Up until a few years ago, all of my navigation experience was with a map and compass. I was thrust screaming into the electronic era after taking some work as a Backcountry guide. I quickly had to launch myself into understanding what these newfangled electronic things were all about as I pretended to understand how to download GPX files into programs I’d never heard of late at night in the days leading up to tours.
This process certainly made me realised how out of touch I was, but it helped me to realise something way more useful …how much my traditional skills overlapped and complemented the modern adaptations and that the dark arts were far from obsolete.
Mountain Journal 
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