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Comment by anthonybsd | Hacker News Reader

Orienteering was mandatory in my school when I was a teenager. Interesting memories... :)

Interesting memories indeed. I took it as part of a special program in 6th grade. We split into two groups and the group I wasn't in found a corpse just off the trail, which cut our orienteering exercise quite short. I got to explain to the school psychologist that "No, I didn't see anything, I wasn't traumatized."

I should go do some more, I'm fairly confident in my map skills but I bet there are some assumptions of mine to knock down.

Same here. Teacher and two in my class competed on national level, but I never caught the bug although I was happy to learn to use maps and compass as it is useful (and was essential back then) for long hikes.

Which school was this? I've never heard of such a requirement outside of say, Scouts or the military.

Along with basic financials, I inclined to agree that'd be a very good add for required classes.

It was mandatory at my school, as well. We covered basic orienteering, outdoor winter survival, emergency signalling, and avalanche safety.

If I remember right, it was a one- or two-day field trip we took during middle school. Everyone was excited when it was their class's turn to go. (But who doesn't get excited for a field trip?)

Not as comprehensive as what you'd learn in scouts or taking a professional survival class, but it was a good overview. I still remember a lot of it and find the material useful.

This was in South Lake Tahoe CA, so we were already in the mountains. :) Cost wouldn't have been any worse than any other field trip.

I grew up in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. It's a pretty hilly/mountainous region, so competitive orienteering is huge there. I was never really any good at it myself due to being bad at running and especially cross country running, but I enjoyed weekend trips to participate in competitions anyway.

Bittersweet, but mostly bitter?

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