Could your incredibly accurate little GPS receiver be a threat to your life?
That’s a question posed by a mountain expert who said the increasing use of satellite navigation equipment on the hills is causing new problems.
Heather Morning said, unlike their human owners, GPS units can’t necessarily tell you a safe route between two points. And Ms Morning, the mountain safety adviser for the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, says the rising reliance on electronic devices is robbing hillgoers of their navigating skills.
The MCofS, which represents hillwalkers, mountaineers and climbers north of the border, said navigation in the Scottish mountains can be challenging, particularly if the cloud comes down and visibility is lost. “This is a time when many hillwalkers will pull out their GPS, press a few buttons and confidently follow instructions from the small screen in front of them,” it said.
“It’s an attractive thought to think that purchasing an electronic gadget is going to solve all our problems in the mountains and keep us safe from harm. However recent trends with mountain rescue callouts suggest in fact that it is quite the opposite.
“Those electronic gadgets, designed to make our life easier and safer in the mountains are in some cases contributing to problems and even leading to situations where a 999 call has to be made.
“Death by GPS describes what happens when our GPS fails us, not by being wrong necessarily, but by being too right.
“Our GPS will do the job it is designed to: computing our exact position and the most direct route from point A to point B, but what it can’t do – and you can – is read the ground in-between.”
The council said an example of this would be a crag or very steep ground on the line between A and B, which will be obvious on the map because of the tight contour lines and crag markings. “But miss the detail, punch in A and B with no regard for the terrain marked on the map and our GPS will just blindly take us on the straight line between the two points,” it said.
It also pointed out modern technology can fail for a variety of pragmatic reasons, battery life and user error being top of the list.
Ms Morning also says the continuing use of electronic gadgets to find your way brings about more subtle changes in hillgoers’ behaviour.
She said: “Studies around the world have indicated that using GPS for navigation – even when it’s done properly – can leave us with less knowledge of where we are, not more.
“People subconsciously build up a mental map as they move around, but it seems to be that, when they are following directions from a GPS they are not registering their surroundings in the same way they would have to when using a map and compass.
“One city-based study indicated that walkers using GPS had less memory of a route than those who had followed the same route using a map. And another study concluded: GPS eliminated much of the need to pay attention.
“It seems to be clear from these studies that people using GPS for navigation just aren’t building a mental map in the same way you do in traditional map and compass navigation, where you are constantly relating the map to the terrain around you.
“That means if the technology fails for whatever reason, you are going to be a lot more lost than you would have been if you were using a map.
“It’s not only relevant in nightmare scenarios either: it affects the satisfaction and pleasure you get out of any walk. Real navigation involves you in the terrain, both in your immediate surroundings and in the wider sense. Surely that’s a lot more satisfying and intimate an experience than following an electronic arrow up and down a hill it seems you hardly pay attention to – that’s just exercise.
“Letting the gadget do the work also allows any existing navigation skills to grow rusty.”
The MCofS said basic skills of navigation remain essential in the hills and mountains of Scotland and pointed out it offers a number of subsidised navigation courses, which give walkers an easy to follow practical introduction to map and compass skills which will make them safer and more confident in the mountains.
There are also courses available commercially in the proper use of GPS devices, it added.
nickcouldry
08 June 2016I'm certainly no technophobe but I'm glad I've never got into the habit of using a GPS for navigation. Even when I've used the compass built into my watch I've always double checked the bearing with a 'proper' one. Interesting point made about losing awareness of the landscape you're travelling through.
Nick
08 June 2016Or just get a GPS device with OS maps on it!
E Scott
08 June 2016That would be great but what would you do if the battery failed or you dropped it at least if you drop a map it won't break.
Iain
08 June 2016So what do you do if you use a map and compass and the map blows away or the compass becomes damaged ?
Pete w
08 June 2016As Nicks comment, GPS incorporated with an OS map are wonderful pieces of kit, I've used one for 2 years now, and every time I check it against a land mark its bang on.
Oh, and I always take a map & compass with me.
j Breen
08 June 2016If you drop a map it blows away!
In extreme conditions you cannot use a map and need to have the bearings in your head. In extreme conditions you can sometimes not use a GPS either!
The joys of a Scottish winter.
Liz
08 June 2016I use a GPS occasionally for a spot check on where I am. I then check my route using map and compass. In thick cloud and featureless areas it's very helpful - and could be a lifesaver. I would never rely solely on a GPS (I walked without one for years, so am comfortable with map and compass), but I don't think it's helpful to suggest they are universally bad. As to failing batteries - carry spares, same as you would with a head torch!
Steve K
08 June 2016I think this is only a problem in Scotland where there are no paths marked on the OS maps, so you haven't a clue where you are going.
Having used GPS devices with OS mapping since 2004, I have never had a battery fail. The early devices required recharging along the way, but not anymore.
Like Satnav, only a fool follows directions blindly without looking where they are going. Don't blame the tool, blame the user.
Lancashire lad
09 June 2016Oh for goodness sake get real...yet another article on the "dangers of GPS"
Great comments j Breen and Steve K couldnt agree more we are now in the modern world and huge great OS maps that cost a fortune and like you say blow away or get sodden and who wants to walk round "wearing" an OS map on the front of them these days.
oh yes and written by and "expert" who oh by the way offers training courses...
Trying to build a mental map in a Lakeland Hill fog...really?
GPS is here to stay and getting better all the time if you cant get your head round it and follow instructions etc dont bother scaremongering.
If the very folk who rescue unfortunate walkers whose OS map has blown away or their magnetic compasses have been affected by "iron rocks" and the rest of the emergency services use Digital mapping and GPS doesn't that say something?
Wake up....
Paul Shorrock
09 June 2016The ideal combination is using the gps to get a quick located fix which is then used in conjunction with a map. The gps is just one tool in the box, along with map, compass, watch and the ability to read the ground and to route find, and used in that context it can speed up navigation and promote greater safety.
Mark
09 June 2016I have one. Bottom of the bag job. Used one or twice a year and mostly to find a bothy in the dark.
Ian512
09 June 2016This is an interesting article.
"Is GPS technology actually harming our sense of direction?"
by Alex Hutchinson • Walrus Magazine
Inuit elders are concerned that GPS has,"...removed much of the incentive for the younger generation to undertake the arduous process of learning traditional navigation techniques."
Misspell Youth
09 June 2016Requirements for a day safe walking (in roughly this order):
- A good pair of boots
- Waterproofs
- Weather forecast
- Common sense (knowing when to turn back)
- Map and compass and the ability to use them
- Torch
- Whistle
- Mobile phone
- GPS (as last resort if you get into cloud).
- More common sense.
Chris Cartwright
09 June 2016As others have said GPS is not a stand alone device and I think the article is at best misleading, it refers only to GPs units without mapping, nearly all GPS devices on the market have the capability to install some type of mapping from quite basic to OS 1:25000 and in some cases 1:10000 mapping. I work in outdoor retail and when selling GPS devices always advise customers that it is not a replacement for map and compass and they should always be taken as well along with the knowledge of how to use them, equally a map and compass is about as useful as a chocolate teapot if you've no idea how to use it.
Technology is here to stay, so lets learn how to use it properly.
Alan
09 June 2016I have a GPS with OS mapping and know who I would followi in dense cloud. The GPS with an accuracy of around 3-5mtr or someone using a compass
Chris Ward
09 June 2016Oh dear, is Ms Morning desperate for some publicity? Certainly there is no other explanation for this ignorant technophobic twaddle.
Ian512
09 June 2016Come on then Chris, explain why it's 'technophobic twaddle'.
Rob
09 June 2016I've never had a GPS break on me, I'm on my 3rd compass. Maps are a nice to have and good backup but tear, get blown away and won't tell you where you currently are on it.
Most GPS - even my wrist watch will allow you to not only navigate from point A to B, but follow a track you've planned, or downloaded from someone else.
and my phone, which is waterproof and in a tough case, with a spare battery, will load the same track up on an overlay of an OS map, pinpointing me where I am regardless of signal.
If all that fails then I'll dig out my map and compass.
As someone said above don't blame the tool, try looking at the user.
Mike Oates
09 June 2016In my time as a instructor we taught and insisted upon students studying the map and making a "routecard". The route was broken down into manageable legs (distances). In turn these legs automatically created waypoints for ones gps. A routecard would also highlight any topographical dangers. Gps was only used in extremise. Gps is however a very accurate and useful tool to navigation if programmed and used correctly.
Ian512
10 June 2016An interesting comment from a psychologist.
“The concept of a mental map is widely accepted today . . . physical maps help us build cognitive maps. If maps help us, what is the problem with GPS?
It is likely that the more we rely on technology to find our way, the less we build up our cognitive maps. Our brains act economically: they try to decrease the amount of information to be stored. That may be the unconscious appeal of a GPS, but it means we’re not pushing our brains to work harder.
But shouldn’t we just accept that GPS is a good substitute for old-fashioned maps? No. Navigational devices can be time-savers, but they can easily become crutches.”
Julia Frankenstein, Psychologist at the University of Freiburg
Alan
10 June 2016GPS is one of the tools in your navigation toolkit. As Paul and Mafk say, use it when necessary but know its limitations.
Alex
10 June 2016Couldn't agree more about the technophobic twaddle being peddled here. I am honestly gobsmacked that Heather wrote this nonsense.
I would say GPS, with OS mapping, is an unbelievably powerful navigation tool, ideal for the Scottish hills. I have been using this for 10 years and have done over 200 Munros on my own. The idea that I am being reckless by over relying on GPS is absurd and insult to my intelligence. In many ways I would say it is completely the opposite. Lets get real GPS is a lifesaver and very accurate and very reliable...
Will the next time Heather gets on a plane insist that the pilot stops using the planes electronic navigation systems, and reverts to sight only and a compass..
OutdoorsAndy
10 June 2016Ah the GPS vs. maps debate.
Both have a place, (as has been well said above). Have both, use both etc.
Simply put, there is no substitute for "dirt time"- getting out there and learning outdoor skills. Sadly it seems many miss-out the apprenticeship and go straight for the mountains.
Invest your time and money wisely and advance your ambitions at a reasonable pace, always doing your best, its amazing were you can end up.
You might end up surprising yourself ;)
Seems simple really...
ET
10 June 2016If we have a stellar gamma ray burst that reaches the earth then all GPS devices will fail except the military ones, so a paper map is future proof.
Jhimmy
10 June 2016First of all I've used GPS since about 2002. Wonderful things GPS. Maps are also wonderful and compasses...mmmm. So, here's the main point. People are NOT learning an apprenticeship of hill walking today unlike my days. Many of us learnt for experienced colleagues, clubs, teachers etc.
Today, they are taught (sic) from the pages of glossy magazines. Smiling faces standing on top of Striding Edge and all that. So the reader also wants that, easy to buy the gear and easier now to drive there. Who wants to wait around when you have a bucket challenge.
BUT, where's the learning of experience? I reckon it took me over 10 years before I even tackled Scottish big mountains. Many now do them on their first or second day of goretex ownership.
But on the other hand for the technophobes:
Yes, my GPS has broken down. Batteries have ran out (rechargeable ones can run down very quick once used 100's of times.) Once, in the Lake District I was standing on a ridge, but map on gps showed I was over 30 metres into the void! Friend's GPS with map proved useless in very bad conditions on Scafell Pike.
Ian512
10 June 2016'Let's get real', the ability to use a map and compass are the the 'life savers.' Remember, Orienteers compete, with accuracy of a GPS, using mainly a map along with a compass. No talk of them using a GPS - they don't need one.
This is where real navigational skill lies, and is well worth learning.
I know myself that while using a GPS (even with the 1:25k map displayed on the screen) I gradually lose the level of concentration I would have while using a map and compass in poor weather. It therefore means that the extent of my ‘map-memory’ and general awareness has been reduced. This of course may be a personal failing, but I suspect it is not just me.
A good navigator who has (for some reason) lost a map and even a compass could using ‘map-memory’ at the very least get themselves off the hill – though maybe miles from the transport. This skill used to be called ‘self-reliance’.
I think it was Ed Cooke who said, “I have a theory that it is in the interest of tech giants to make us as empty headed as possible so they can sell us something to help.”
Calum
11 June 2016Strange people attacking 'big'maps and compasses here. The map is superior to the Gps in every way if your competent with it. If you have tried to change batteries in the dark, there are many paths marked on OS maps, I carry two maps and compasses, there's a lot of myths being peddled here by the technophiles. Heather is absolutely correct in what she says. Having been on a course with her on the Coullin Ridge in Skye with her and attended the free MCOS winter safety lectures I am happy to voutch for her undoubted skills. As for those who would imply that she somehow or other benefits from these navigation courses,they are wrong. They are run by the Mountaineering Council for Scotland at very heavily subsidised rates ( £35.00 including one year membership of MCoS!). Did I mention she is also a .long standing member of Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team. Please do not disrespect her for her opinions which are backed up by years of experience that most of us can only dream of achieving. She is only making valid points we should at least consider carefully before going into the hills.
Alex
13 June 2016The cullin ridge is probably not the best place to sing the praises of map and compass. And nobody is suggesting that maps are not needed. The modern GPS units have the same maps built in.
If you can't read a map, a GPS is not going to help you . Nobody is saying stop using maps, or stop using compasses, it's just...that a new device has come out which once you are used to it is amazing as a navigational tool.
Unfortunately , there are people on here that seem to be suggesting that map and compass is perfect and cannot be improved on, as though nobody ever got lost in pre mobile/GPS and pre goretex hey day.
I think it was Albert Einstein who said the greatest thing about the human brain was the ability to change ones mind...
Grumpy Old Man
13 June 2016At the risk of being repetative ... both paper maps and GPS are useful tools in the toolkit. The skill is in using the most appropraite one.
As an MRT member, yes I use a GPS with OS mapping built in, but when sat in the Control Vehicle a paper map (or digital map on a big screen) will always give a better bigger picture for planning search areas, working out where teams are in relation to each other/the cas-site etc
Ever tried route planning on a GPS Screen or just checking to see how far along a rout you are?
Calum
13 June 2016Alex, well no, Harvey's do a map of the Cuillin ridge at 1:12500. Heather showed me this and also using a GPS. Map won hands down for me. I also have / use GPS. I try only to use when struggling usually in clag. Even then it only supports map use as has been said repeatedly, the mental map/big picture are required to find routes accurately. A normal 2-3cm square map on a GPS will only tell you what the next km or so is like. GPS comes after map work.
Ian512
14 June 2016A map and a compass can be exceptional navigation tools if the person using them has the appropriate skill - the effectiveness lies in the skill of the user, which can obviously be improved.
It's not about whether one is better than the other, but rather that there is a danger of 'over reliance' on a GPS - especially when map and compass skills are poor.
As Alex said, "If you can't read a map, a GPS is not going to help you."
Another Kevin
14 June 2016The navigational tools that I carry at least sometimes:
Map (and map case unless the map is waterproof and tear-resistant)
Mirror-signting compass
Protractor/Romer scale/trig table
Wristwatch
Barometric altimeter
Route card
Notebook and pencil (and knife to resharpen the pencil...)
Smartphone with GPS app and multiple downloaded maps of the area, including both topo and satellite imagery.
External battery for smartphone
When off-trail, I'd feel less safe without having the whole kit. If my smartphone quits, I can navigate the way I learnt long before there was such a thing as GPS. If my map gets shredded in a gale, I've got the smartphone. If I've got no visibility for sight resection, I have altitude and aspect of slope. I'm pretty confident that I can get home safely from any of my trips if any two of the above list of items fail.
Have I become disoriented with all that kit? Yes. At least to the extent of, "I know where I am, but the trail seems to have been mislaid." Of course, the trail in question, while waymarked, was not on the government maps, and the commercial trail map was missing some major trail relocations. In fact, gathering GPS tracks so that I could update OpenStreetMap with the correct route was part of the purpose of that particular outing.
I've never tackled big mountains in Scotland, because I live on the wrong side of the Atlantic for that. I've done trail-less 4000-footers in the northeastern US in winter.
I rather resent it when the pundits tell me I'm using GPS as a crutch.
Ian512
15 June 2016You clearly don't need GPS as a crutch - "I can navigate the way I learnt long before there was such a thing as GPS."