David G(M)0EVV and Terry G(M)0VWP are up in the Cape Wrath region of Sutherland at present. This is one of the few real remote and wild parts of the UK left. The far point, Cape Wrath is not connected to the UK road network. So you walk in, or you get the summer only private ferry and maybe the private bus that runs to the lighthouse at Cape Wrath. Also, Cape Wrath is the only place in Europe where the military can use 1000lb bombs. So it’s wild, remote, difficult to get to and you may get shelled!
This afternoon Sgribhis-bheinn NS-139 is their target. This is the UK’s most Northern mainland SOTA summit. If you get the ferry across the Kyle Of Durness, it’s an 8km walk to the foot of the mountain. It’s a trivial 35-40mins to the summit after that. Then back down and 8kms back to the boat. It can be done it a day but it’s a fair old logistical challenge. Better to camp out there.
Sgribhis-bheinn is therefore a special SOTA summit due to its remoteness and difficulty in visiting, it’s never been activated, it’s also a killer WAB target in NC37. And it has a trig point! Now I’m so green with envy that they are doing it, not because they are activating a summit for the first time but because it’s just so special in my mind. I’m tempted to skulk off work and chase them so when I eventually get to do it I can claim the complete. Given all that I hope that you can give them a pile-up of Biblical proportions. When they get back and I next meet the pair then I shall give them a proper good shoeing for driving my enviousness meter off the end-scale.
You’re not the only one Andy. I was planning to do Sgribhis-bheinn as my 500th unique with the other two Cape Wrath summits to follow when I was up there last September - all agreed with the MoD and a wild camp on the flank of Ben Akie provisioned for, but I was scuppered by the ferry not running due to the weather and then the ferryman taking an extended break because of a family funeral. By the time the ferry was running again the MoD had started an exercise and wouldn’t let me in
Still hoping to get there, it’ll be a great adventure but don’t know when I’ll make it
Well Paul, we should do it together so that apart from the joy of being in Cape Wrath and activating a special summit, we can contrive our separate chases of the summit for the complete!
I cycled: I got to the ferry very early and was first in the queue. A lot of people turned up and a few got turned away. They were heard to grumble loudly that a bike should not be carried when there were passengers waiting. Fortunately the ferryman took my side and made it clear that first-come first-served meant just that. I beat the bus there and back (easily).
This was a long while ago. I imagine there is a bigger and more fancy ferry these days.
For once longish skip was to our benefit. Worked David on CW at S7, but signals just got stronger and stronger after that. Unfortunately I have missed the other summits they have done… I need a split personality so I can be in two places at one time!
I thought you would like it Dave. I wasn’t sure how many people had spotted what they were doing and maybe didn’t realise just how exotic (in my opinion) these summits are.
Didn’t know the specific target, but we knew what area they were in. It was a bit of a giveaway when Terry called into the net from Cape Wrath lighthouse the other day!
Manged a contact with Terry on 20m SSB, but a really weak received signal 2-1 is a true report. Very happy to have got through the pile-up calling this most northen summit on the British mainland, when conditions were very changable. Might wait until Terry posts his log, to make sure I really made the contact, it was that marginal from my end, as he gave me a good report, so I have a sneaking worry that I might have not made the contact and it was coincidence with the timing of the overs and in fact he was working someone else with a similar call sign.
I’ve had that before when working DX, you work the station thinking he is talking to you but then can’t fully know for sure if he was or not and he’s too weak or too big a pileup to ask.
If you are pondering whether or not it was a good contact, then how can it be a good contact? If you have to wait to see if you are in the log before you know it was a good contact, then how can it be a good contact?
OK, I’m just playing devil’s advocate and probably getting a bit old and grumpy, so feel free to ignore the above!
Jimmy MI0HGY/P had a QSO with Terry GM0VWP/P this morning. Terry wasn’t on a SOTA summit but presumably was in a desirable WAB square. Don’t know if he announced it or if Jimmy made a note of it as I was too busy trying to outrun the very determined midges cloud while Jimmy sheltered from them in my bothy bag while operating.
It can be a good contact because I received and sent all required data.
As it turns out, the contact was valid, but rather than entering a possibly invalid contact, I prefer to wait for confirmation. I believe this is the right approach in such situations.
With the fact that at my end, with my local and not so local noise levels, Terry wasn’t a long way above my noise floor I was unsure that I had correctly made the contact.
Ah nostalgia. I remember dragging my bike across the sand at lowish tide to the ferry, and then cycling to the lighthouse, also a very long time ago. I’ve had my eyes on going back to activate some summits, but the long drive has put me off so far, perhaps when I retire…
Hi all,
Still downloading logs but will put together an activation report ASAP. 2 bunkhouses, 2 climbing huts, 3 campsites, 760miles. Six new ones, and one Munro activated, wife still talking to me. Climbed Ben Hope but not activated. Midge count very low.
Pleased to manage a couple of contacts with you David. The one on 10MHz was especially pleasing as it is my favourite HF band. Family and other activities kept me away from the rig for much of the time, but I did listen in case you activated Ben Hope. Good that your wife is still talking to you after that lot - I’ve started taking mine along. It avoids the potential for post-activation discord.
but rather than entering a possibly invalid contact, I prefer to wait for confirmation. I believe this is the right approach in such situations.