Mountain Navigation (NNAS)

Mountain Navigation NNAS Award

Are your navigation skills a bit rusty or is your navigation not as good as you’d like, does it let you down and stop you being more confident to go where you want - away from the crowds and off the beaten track?

We provide a number of two-day courses designed to give you the opportunity to practise and develop your techniques. We will start with the basics and cover all aspects of advanced navigation with the help of one of our friendly instructors or coaches. At the end of the course you will be more confident with navigation and able to find your own way confidently, day or night, even in bad weather.

Ace Outdoors is a registered provider of the National Navigation Award Scheme (NNAS). We are delighted to offer training and assessment, including practical night navigation exercises, on dates between the beginning of September and the end of March.

We also offer Introduction to Winter Navigation Courses each year - please see our winter walking pages for more information.

NNAS Awards

The NNAS Bronze Award is an introduction to map reading - we teach you how to follow features and navigate outdoors. The Bronze Award also provides a foundation for the Silver and Gold Awards. On completion of this award participants will be able to plan and follow walks in the countryside, mainly on paths and tracks.

The Silver NNAS Award - adds to the skills acquired at Bronze level by refining the skills taught to navigate to features and places some distance from paths and tracks. Accurate compass work and an ability to use appropriate navigational techniques is required to plan routes and follow them across country, away from paths and tracks.

Gold NNAS Award - navigation in the countryside using skills from the first two levels, but adding techniques and wider strategies for dealing with complex contour features, large and small. The NNAS Gold Award is a progression from the Bronze Award and Silver. On completion of this award, participants will be able to plan and follow routes in any open countryside, forest, or hill environment.

Please refer to National Navigation Award website for details of the levels in the award scheme, award syllabuses and assessment information which we will be working towards.

• 2 days
• Maximum ratio 1:6
• £155.00
• Residential option available

Please check our course calendar for course venues.

GPS & Digital Software Weekend Workshop

More and more people we meet these days on our navigation courses own, or are thinking of buying, a GPS unit. If you would like to get the most out of navigating with your unit or would like to know more about this aid to navigation before making the investment, this course is for you.

It is an ideal introduction to route planning, using digital mapping software and learning how much you can and can’t rely on this piece of kit. We also explore the use of different digital maps covering both the UK and the Alps should you like to use your unit overseas.

We will give you lots of time to practise navigating with a GPS in appropriate terrain, we will also look at Geo-cashing as an enjoyable way to discover finding pre-programmed way points.

• 2 days
• Maximum ratio 1:6
• £155.00
• Residential option available

Please check our course calendar for course venues.