Quote Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak View Post
if you have an altimeter on your watch you can use this as another point of reference, I sense another hot topic...
Use of altimeters in races should be discouraged. A good reason for NOT having heights on the contours.

Perhaps so you know whether you're supposed to be going up or down. Not everyone knows the area like the back of their hand.
Thats not a matter of knowing the area, its a fairly basic map reading skill which you can practice sitting at home in front of the fire. Checking contour heights to see which way the slope goes is surely the last resort of a desperate man.