You can also work SSB in the CW segment, that seems to draw out four folks pretty quickly 
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Hi Sam,
We’ve all been there at some point and I know it’s frustrating but don’t give up.
My recent failure was Wendover Woods G/CE-005. I went with both 20m SSB & a backup 2m FM handheld.
I got 3 contacts on 20m and tried for two hours on both 20m & 2m to get the last contact, even trying to gate crash a couple of nets and call into a special event station on 20m but failed miserably. They were all running significantly more power then me & I got drowned out in the pileup.
I eventually got so cold that I had to give up!!!
I did see your alert posted before hand and kept an eye out for a spot on the website but didn’t see anything and assumed that your plans had changed.
I didn’t hear anything on 2m but a handheld from there to my location is extremely optimistic to say the least. A decent mast on 2m might just be possible under very favourable conditions (although it would still be a bit of a stretch).
Try again & better luck next time!
James.
Ah yes, you were about 2km to the East of the actual summit there, but as you say, comfortably within the activation zone.
It’s a bit of a VHF desert up there. I got one 2m FM QSO on my activation in 2017, then needed to deploy 20m CW to get the qualification. In 2018, it was all HF in the logbook. I called on 2m, but to no avail.
Admittedly, on those two occasions, I too was only using a handheld and helical antenna. I have qualified in the past on 2m FM, but using an FT-817 and SOTAbeams portable antenna.
Better luck next time when you have more time to spare - a more efficient HF antenna, would help you qualify the summit easily and quickly I reckon.
Good luck in SOTA - you are entering a very addictive part of amateur radio if your genes are that way inclined.
73 Phil
You will struggle to qualify any summits with a Wonder Loop. It’s useful as a receiving antenna but very inefficient as a transmitting antenna as G4OBK has suggested.
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Don’t give up, it is very frustrating when you make all the effort and fail. Took me three tries to qualify GM/ES-001 and that is a VERY long walk in!
Thanks for the words of encouragement everyone. I’m still determined and will make a proper day out of it in the very near future!
@M0GQC Wendover woods is also on my list. I live in North London, so it’s a close one. Sorry to hear about your failed attempt.
@G4OBK @G3CWI The wonder loop is a bit of a compromise. It’s impressive for its size though. I use it mainly while running foundation practical assesments.
I also have a sotabeams end-fed, which I suspect will be a lot more effective.
I’m trying to work out a setup I can use while backpacking and wild camping, so not needing a pole is a major bonus on that front.
I’m still learning morse, but once I’m confident with that I hope I can make the most of a compromise setup.
Also failed my first activation with just 3 QSO’s (Didn't manage to activate G/NP-006 - advice needed - #20 by VK1DA) and not enough patience - but have managed on every one since.
Main Changes (1) :- Spotting (!) - Via SMS if no 4G - Although some say its cheating I usually struggle for time for an activation so don’t usually spend more than an hour on the summit. 2 - More power - now have added a linear (HF) (40w), speech processor and LiPo cells and (3) as the sun has gone to sleep have added 80m to the dipole and recently …have not failed. Still working on the CW, have chased a couple of times and may pluck up courage to take a key up the hill… hardest bit … finding time to activate!
73 Paul
A bit off topic but when you do Wendover Woods, note that there are two main possible operating locations which people tend to activate from:-
The true summit is in the woods a couple of hundred yards or so from the (paid) car park. This (as it’s name would suggest) has fairly think tree cover and is not the best take off for radio.
Part of my failure was choosing to operate from the true summit in the wooded section. I’m a bit of a purist and wanted to operate from the true summit.
I think most people prefer to operate from the trig point in a field down the road a little from the true summit (but still well within the activation zone) which is open and has a much better take off. I would suggest this is the better location.
Several people have posted comments & advice on the summit page on this site, so all of the information is there.
It sounds like you are at a similar stage to me with this. Hope to catch you on the air using CW at some point!
I support your intentions to activate on CW once you feel more confident. As many others will confirm, most newcomers to CW activations are not entirely confident when they first try CW on a summit, and indeed it may well take a dozen activations to start feeling more comfortable. But all confirm it is worth it and now some former non-CW ops are going for awards for all-CW activations, or activations where at least 4 CW contacts were made. So even that is addictive.
In the meantime, it seems certainly true that having another mode to draw upon, especially in Europe, would assist you to get those 4 contacts. More gain, better antenna on 2m FM is also helpful, and there are a number of antenna designs that can be run up a fibreglass pole to perform amazingly better than the little stubby antennas (aka radiating dummy loads).
On the CW side again, chasing using CW is a good way to gain experience in copying it, initially on paper but eventually you recognise that most SOTA contacts follow a predictable pattern and you don’t need to do anything but log the contact as it happens.
73 and good luck on the next one.
Andrew VK1DA/VK2UH
Thanks Andy! I’m gradually getting there with my CW copy.
Sam, while having CW in your arsenal will certainly help you qualify a summit, it is only one aspect of activating. Planning is key and allowing ample time… as you have found out. My XYL is always kept informed as to how long I am likely to be when I am tying activations to other activities such as retail therapy, family walks, etc. Better still, try to keep activating separate. It is far more relaxing not worrying about time!
Very good Sam - noted. I had to comment about the pole. 5m and 6m long lightweight good quality travel poles which telescope down to around 57 cms are available for less than £20. They will fit inside the likes of a 35 litre rucksack, so don’t rule out carrying one for your backpacking tours. If you take one in your rucksack on a budget flight to Europe though be warned. Some security staff have been known to impound or force you to put the travel pole in the hold, but many don’t. It’s much a lottery and a risk, so if you fly it is best to pack the travel pole as hold luggage, as I now do. The other advantage of such a short pole to carry, is that you don’t get asked questions by other members of the public, landowners and gamekeepers when you are walking or cycling to the summits as they cannot see it protruding. If you need details of a supplier of these short travel poles please email me via the address in QRZ.COM.
73 Phil
It’s a running joke in my household now that if I say I’ll be back ‘around lunchtime’ it tends to be 3pm. My daughter does the mental conversion automatically now! 
You’ll have the same ‘get there, can’t do it’ scenario play out over -and-over once you get addicted to SOTA. On a recent outing which involved an hour-and-a-half’s walk and a complete HF setup I had to take it all down again straight away as I’d forgotten the power cable for the rig.
See the Summit Brain thread for many more examples.
73, better luck next time, Mark.
My first activation was with a wonder loop. I managed 1 QSO on the 2m handheld. I now use an end fed and usually get a nice little pile up. My pole is only 4m. This is CW QRP.
OT: how do you rig it, as a sloper or inverted V ?
On a weekend, that’s the right lunch time… at least in Spain! 
Cheers,
Guru
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Either. I started with the pole right next to the operating position but the last couple of times I’ve had the pole half way along the wire. I’m not sure it makes much difference although the former works better when I want to re-use the pole for my 2m slim jim.
I have a trapped EFHW for 40/30/20 and I’ve used it mainly as an inverted V. I used it in France as a random inverted L (about 5m up the pole and then out to the trees). I’m not sure which works better either. I only did as a inv L becase I had rigged the pole for my 20m vertical and setup in the shade and as it was more than 27C I didn’t want it as inv v as I’d have to move the pole so I could stay in the shade or sit in the sun. Sitting in the sun didn’t seem a wise move.
@G4OBK Thanks Phil. I’ll email you about that. A pole will likely come in handy for UK based operations.
I like the idea of taking my kit on holiday, so every bit of space and weight I can save is a plus. Not to mention the airport security issue!
I often end up travelling with odd looking electronic equipment, uncased circuit boards and such. The only thing that seems to draw attention at security is my telescopic antenna!