Jubilee Centre BEL Course Notes
Fitness and Weather
Fitness and Walking
Most groups do not have a lot of experience walking, they need to train for the activity.
If you are working
with Duke of Edinburgh Award groups, they will be sent off pretty much on
their own, they will need plenty of training to complete the expedition.
To walk for a couple of days with all their kit they will need a good mental
attitude, work well as a team, be organised, have group and personal discipline,
be prepared for some physical effort.
" To make the
day easier, keep a steady pace.
" Note places on route.
" If you need to remove clothing or put on waterproofs, all do it together.
" Only stop at the end of a leg, or after one hour.
" Note time that you stop, keep breaks short, have a definite start time.
" Use breaks to adjust clothing and packs, check route card, study map,
memorise the next leg.
" Note the actual set off time, keep a check on time.
A failure to prepare is preparation for failure.
Weather
The amount of information
we can obtain about weather is staggering. When planning a trip take into
account the weather patterns leading up to the trip.
Remember none of our plans are carved in stone, be prepared to alter plans
if necessary.
The main sources of
information are:
Radio, Television, Ceefax / Teletext, Phone services, Fax services, the Met
Office, Newspapers, Internet and the LOCALS.
Look for time and date of forecast, a chart showing isobars and fronts - not pictures of fluffy clouds and raindrops.
Understand the chart
and forecast, how it relates to your planned venture.
High Pressure - a mass of colder, heavier air, usually brings a period of
dry settled weather. In winter it is associated with colder weather. Air circulating
in a clockwise direction.
Low Pressure - warmer, lighter air, expect milder, unsettled weather. Air circulates in an anti clockwise direction.
Wind Direction - knowing which way the wind travels around highs and lows means that you know where it came from, if it comes from the polar region it will be cold, if it has travelled across the ocean it is probably wet.
Isobars - indicate lines of equal pressure, similar to contour lines on a map. The closer together the lines the stronger the wind will be.
Fronts - heavy lines with 'teeth' on the side they are moving to.
Cold Front - shown with sharp teeth, things tend to happen quicker, less warning, heavier rain but over a shorter period.
Warm Front - shown with rounded teeth, clouds slowly thicken, a longer period of rain, the heaviest falling as the part of the front touching the ground passes, with luck the rain stops as the warm air mass passes over.
Occluded Front -shown with both 'teeth', is a warm front being lifted by the heavier and faster cold front. Gives a combination of weather, clouds get lower, a bit of continuous rain followed by clear sky and scattered showers.
All the numbers for temperature and wind speed are for sea level.
Air cools with altitude (lapse rate), approximately 1ºC for every 150 metres, dry air is quicker - 1ºC every 100 metres, moist air slower - 1ºC every 200 metres.
There is no set formula
for increase of wind speed with altitude, this is mainly down to topography
and wind direction.