IBOLC Entrance Exam Practice 2026 – Comprehensive Preparation Guide

Back azimuth is about re-establishing your course by using the opposite direction of the line you’re on. If you know the bearing from your current position to a landmark, the back azimuth is the direction from that landmark back toward you. That opposite bearing lets you re-derive the direction you came from and, if needed, head back along the same line to your current position. In practice you find it by taking the forward bearing to the landmark and adding or subtracting 180 degrees. This is how you re-orient yourself in the field and verify or recover your route.