Amateur radio was not the top priority of my holiday with friends in Scotland, but some SOTA activity was possible.
On the day after our arrival in Edinburgh we drove to Holyrood Park to activate Arthur’s Seat (GM/SS-272). It is a short walk from the car park, and I was glad that all the equipment was working. We were not quite used to the cold wind, so it was only a short stay. Nobody wanted to see my „Permission to operate a radio“, but definitely it was good to have it to avoid any trouble.
After our travel to the Loch Ness area, Creag a’Chliabhain (GM/CS-106) was the next summit. It was a nice walk from Loch Mhor and we enjoyed the view over the beautiful landscape with many mountains that are very different from the Alpine summits.
Ben Nevis (GM/WS-001) has been a long time wish and weather seemed good enough to give it a try. I drove to Ft. Williams early in the morning and started after a short visit to the „Ben Nevis Visitors Centre“. The track is in perfect condition and I reached the summit plateau within 3 hrs. The plateau was covered with hardened snow and I put on my light crampons. The way to the summit trig point was easily visible along the line of cairns and I also saw the cornices over the north face. During my SOTA activity the weather deteriorated rapidly, the summit was in the clouds and a cold snow storm began. So I finished after 17 contacts.
On the way back I was glad to have the GPS and to know the bad weather descent route. There were still many people coming up, but I realized that orientation could become difficult. Ben Nevis should not be underestimated and it is good the have the right equipment.
Many thanks for all the hints on Scotish summits, especially to Andy, MMØFMF for valuable advice and Adrian, MMØDHY, for sharing some of his maps and an enjoyable SOTA talk in Dores Inn.
I hope that I can visit Scotland again in the future. There are many more summits to explore and it was nice to meet so many friendly people.
In reply to DF3MC:
Hello Martin.
Glad you made the summit of Ben Nevis! As you experienced it can be quite tricky getting off if the weather closes in!!
It was good to meet you in the Dores Inn for a beer and the swapping SOTA stories.
Let me know if you are coming up this way again, maybe we could get out for a joint activation.
73s
Adrian
MM0DHY
In reply to MM0DHY:
The exit strategy for the Ben in cloud is well known: from the trig point walk 150 metres on a bearing of 231 deg then head 281 deg to pick up the tourist route. Perhaps it should be on the summit page.
73
Brian G8ADD