Hiking Time Calculator

An hour per 5 km plus an hour per 600 m of ascent. It dates from 1892 and it remains the standard starting point for estimating a mountain walk.

For a fit walker on good ground with a light pack, roughly. Rough terrain, a heavy pack, poor visibility, snow or a large group can each add half again — treat the result as a minimum.

No, which is its main omission. Steep descent is slower than level walking and harder on the knees, and this page adds a modest penalty for it.

Ten minutes an hour is a reasonable planning figure for a group, less for a fast solo walk. Lunch, photographs and navigation checks all come out of the day.

An adjustment to Naismith for fitness and fatigue, based on a step test. It slows the estimate considerably for less fit walkers and for the later hours of a long day.

Always, and with a margin. A walk that finishes exactly at sunset in a planning estimate finishes in the dark in practice, which is when most mountain incidents happen.

Moving time excludes stops; elapsed is the whole day. GPS watches report both, and the gap is frequently larger than people expect — an hour on a long walk is normal.

Considerably. A group moves at its slowest member's pace and stops more often, and each additional person adds coordination time. Doubling a group can add a third to the day.

Substantially on ascent, less on the flat. A pack at 20% of body weight can add a quarter to the climbing time, which Naismith does not account for.

Above about 2,500 m, noticeable and increasing. Reduced oxygen slows sustainable pace considerably, and acclimatisation matters more than fitness at that point.

Work backwards from the time you must be off the hill and commit to turning around then regardless of progress. Summit fever combined with fading daylight is behind a large share of mountain incidents.

Yes — wind, rain, snow and poor visibility each slow a party meaningfully, and together they can halve the pace. A plan that only works in good conditions is not a plan.