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Thick fog on a mountain path with a few cairns visible

I am caught in fog or a whiteout while hiking

A cloud slides over the ridge and suddenly everything is grey – in fog or a whiteout, what counts is where you are standing and whether you can safely go on.

First

  1. Stop and fix your position on the map while you still know where you are.
  2. Keep the group close together, within sight and calling distance.
  3. In dangerous terrain (drop-offs, cornices, avalanche slopes) wait rather than walking on blind.
  4. If injured, hypothermic or without a safe route: call the local emergency number (112 in the EU).

Call emergency services if

  • Injury or signs of hypothermia
  • No safe route and the weather is getting worse
  • Someone in the group has gone missing
  • Avalanche or fall hazard

Emergency numbers for Austria · Change region

What is happening

Fog can roll in quickly in the mountains: a cloud slides over the ridge, and where the valley lay a moment ago there is only grey. In winter this can become a whiteout – snow and cloud merge, and horizon, landforms and shadows disappear. You can no longer tell whether the slope ahead rises or falls, and some people feel dizzy or lose their balance.

Without reference points people do not reliably walk straight but drift off course without noticing; distance and time are misjudged. Familiar paths look strange, and waymarks can only be seen from one to the next, or not at all.

It becomes dangerous where mistakes are not forgiven: drop-offs, cornices that can overhang well beyond the actual edge, avalanche slopes and steep snowfields. On top of that come cold and wet – fog soaks your clothing, and anyone standing still gets cold.

What matters: fix your position while you still can; keep the group close together; only go on with reliable navigation and in safe terrain; in dangerous terrain, prefer to wait in shelter or call for help. Fog often lifts again – a misstep at an edge cannot be undone.

Step by step

  1. Phase 1

    As visibility drops

    • Stop and fix and mark your position on the map or phone while you still know where you are.
    • Put on an extra warm and windproof layer before you get cold.
    • Bring the group close together, set an order and choose one person to walk at the back.
    • Decide: continue on a clear trail, go back on a known trail – or wait in a safe place.

  2. Phase 2

    Continuing on a marked trail

    • Go from waymark to waymark and only move on once the next one is visible.
    • If you lose the waymarks, go back to the last certain one.
    • Regularly check your position with map, offline map or GPS.
    • Walk slowly and keep short gaps between people.

  3. Phase 3

    Navigating open ground – only with practice

    • Walk short legs on a compass bearing and trust the compass, not your instinct.
    • Send one person ahead to the edge of visibility, direct them onto the bearing, then catch up.
    • Count paces and time to estimate the distance covered.
    • Use safe handrails such as fences, walls or streams – but never along edges.
    • In a whiteout, a dark object thrown ahead can show where the surface is and how it slopes.

  4. Phase 4

    If you have to wait

    • Find a sheltered spot away from edges, cornices and avalanche slopes.
    • Insulate from below and huddle together, using a group shelter or emergency blanket.
    • Eat, drink and inform your contact person; if injured, hypothermic or without a safe route, call the local emergency number (112 in the EU).
    • Keep the phone and spare battery warm, close to your body.
    • Only move on once visibility is sufficient for the next section.

What to watch out for

  • Cornices

    Cornices can overhang far beyond the rock edge and break off. In fog you cannot see where solid ground ends – keep well back from ridges.

  • The slope disappears

    In a whiteout there is no contrast. You cannot tell whether you are going up or down and can walk over edges or into hollows without seeing them.

  • Drifting off course unnoticed

    Without reference points you easily drift off your planned course. Your instinct deceives you – check compass and position regularly.

  • Avalanche danger

    Anyone who loses their bearings in winter easily strays onto steep slopes. Read the current avalanche bulletin before the trip and avoid steep slopes in fog.

  • Wet and cold

    Fog soaks clothing slowly but thoroughly. Put on wind and rain protection in good time and keep moving or stay sheltered.

  • A straight line on the screen

    GPS shows your position but not every edge and steep slope. Do not blindly follow a straight line; read the terrain on the map.

Common mistakes

  • Walking on in the hope that it will clear any moment.
  • Following your instinct instead of the compass.
  • “Bending the map” until it fits what you expect.
  • Only fixing your position once you have already lost it.
  • Relying solely on the phone, without a spare battery or map.

Prepare in advance

  • Carry an offline map, paper map and compass, and practise compass navigation in good visibility.
  • Study the route beforehand for handrails, alternative routes and dangerous spots.
  • Check the weather forecast and, in winter, the avalanche bulletin.
  • Pack a warm layer, wind and rain protection and a group shelter or emergency blanket.
  • Carry a spare battery or power bank close to your body.

Special consideration

Children
In fog, keep children within arm's reach and never let them run ahead. Explain that they must stay with you even if they see or hear something.
Dogs
Keep your dog on a lead – a dog running into the fog can fall at an edge or lure you into dangerous terrain.

Sources

  • Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 9th edition · The Mountaineers Books, 2017
  • FM 3-25.26 Map Reading and Land Navigation · Headquarters, Department of the Army (USA), 2001
  • European Avalanche Danger Scale · European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS)
  • Wilderness Medical Society Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Out-of-Hospital Evaluation and Treatment of Accidental Hypothermia: 2019 Update · Wilderness & Environmental Medicine (Wilderness Medical Society), 2019

Your situation

Terrain
Navigation tools
Weather

Matching entries

0 rules apply

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Basics for this situation

Why: Always applies to this situation – regardless of your answers.

All rules of this situation (7)

  1. [not active] If Terrain = Marked trail

    Stay on the trail and go from marker to marker; if you lose them, go back to the last one.

  2. [not active] If Terrain = Open ground, plateau

    Walk short legs on a compass bearing, count paces and time, and use safe handrails (fences, walls, streams).

  3. [not active] If Terrain = Steep, drop-offs, snow

    Do not descend into unclear steep terrain. Find a sheltered spot, stay warm and wait for visibility or call for help.

  4. [not active] If Navigation tools = Map and compass

    Take a bearing from the map and trust the compass, not your instinct.

  5. [not active] If Navigation tools = Phone / GPS

    Use the offline map and position, save battery; the phone does not replace careful walking.

  6. [not active] If Navigation tools = None of these

    Without navigation tools, waiting in a safe place is often better than guessing.

  7. [not active] If Weather = Cold / frost or Rain

    Put on extra layers in good time, before you get cold.