![]() ![]() The compass needle may just be very briefly, partially or totally reversed when in close proximity to one of the above mentioned. Magnetic fields exist around many items we commonly carry with us on the hill: mobiles and smart phones, magnets hidden inside phone cases, avalanche transceivers, radios, personal locator beacons, GPS, cameras, car keys, small magnets on belt fastenings, under-wired bras, plus what you find en route to the hill: security loops as you enter outdoor and food stores, speakers in your car doors or on parcel shelves, the list goes on. It would be easy to assume that it was you who had made the mistake, but in the scenario above the compass had been affected by the magnet in your mobile phone case, the north/south needle of your compass had been reversed and the resulting bearing took you in the wrong direction.Īs we all know, our compasses operate on the earth’s magnetic field so what is reversed polarity and how do we protect our compass from it? The cause Alarm bells start to ring as the ground ahead seems to be dropping far more steeply than you remembered on the ascent. As usual, your compass is sensibly attached to the zip in the chest pocket of your waterproof jacket… the same pocket where you put your mobile phone? You take a bearing to the top of a ridge, and start heading down. ![]() Imagine you are out on the hill alone, and unexpectedly the mist descends and you find yourself in poor visibility. It could have been affected by reversed polarity, a potentially dangerous problem. ![]() This could be the fault of the individual navigator, or it could be an issue with our previously reliable navigation tool: the compass. The catalyst for a substantial number of mountain rescue call outs in the UK is either directly or partially a result of a navigation error. Are you sure your compass is pointing north? Mountain Safety Advisor Heather Morning explains how to keep your compass safe and how to fix the problem ![]()
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