Navigating as a group and staying together

Groups get lost differently from individuals. On your own you are forced to pay attention yourself. In a group, responsibility gets spread so thin that in the end nobody carries it: everyone follows the person in front, and the person in front assumes the others will say something if anything is wrong. Fixed roles solve this problem, because everyone knows what they are responsible for.

The navigator decides the route. A second person follows along on the map – four eyes see more than two, and a mistake is noticed sooner. The back marker always walks last; they make sure nobody falls behind and know the pace of the slowest. A group is only as fast as its slowest member. Accepting that and setting the pace accordingly means less stress and fewer gaps.

Regrouping points at junctions are the second key rule. The front waits at every junction until the back marker is in sight. That way nobody can take a wrong turn because they lost sight of the people ahead. Regular head counts – after breaks, at junctions, before each new leg – show at once if someone is missing.

Before setting off there is a short briefing: where are we going, by which route, until when (turnaround time)? Which whistle signals apply? What does someone do who loses the group? A good, simple rule is: stay where you are and blow your whistle. Anyone who wanders around looking for the others makes the search harder.

Doubts are welcome. If someone says 'I think we are going the wrong way', the whole group stops and checks the position together – no eye-rolling. In many groups it is precisely the inexperienced who do not dare speak up, even though they have noticed something important. Leadership that encourages questions makes the whole group safer.

Especially with children, buddy pairs work well: each person looks out for one specific other person and reports at once if their partner is missing. Children get their own whistle and practise the rule 'stay put and whistle' beforehand in a playful way.

Do not split a group spontaneously. If separating is necessary, each sub-group needs an agreed meeting point, a time, a means of communication and a map – and someone who can use it. Never let children or weaker members go ahead or fall behind alone, not even 'just for a moment'.

If someone is missing, first search briefly and deliberately back along the route to the last point where the person was definitely still there. If the search is unsuccessful, call the local emergency number (112 in the EU) early. It is much better to alert rescuers early than to have the whole group scatter and end up with several people missing.

Group pressure is a risk factor of its own. The wish to keep to the schedule or to reach the goal at all costs can lead to warning signs being ignored. A turnaround time set in advance takes this pressure out of the decision. In alpine terrain these rules do not replace trained leadership.

At least one map for the group, preferably two – one with the navigator, one with the back marker. Every person, including every child, carries a whistle. A whistle can be heard further than a voice and is less tiring. Agree simple signals beforehand and practise them.

Also helpful are a watch for checking time, a phone with a charged battery carried by at least two people, and a short list with the names and emergency contacts of all participants, especially for school or club groups.

Try the rules on a short, familiar family hike. Let different people navigate, children too, with an experienced person following along. Practise waiting at junctions and counting heads until it becomes second nature.

A small game for children: in a safe, manageable place, one child deliberately 'gets lost', stays put and whistles, and the others find them by the sound. This turns the rule into a habit, and in a real situation everyone knows at once what to do.