UK TV this evening

I just spotted this:

BBC4 1900

Munro: Mountain Man

“The story of Victorian Adventurer Hugh Munro and his determination to list and climb all Scottish mountains standing at more than 3000 ft.”

73, Richard

In reply to G4ERP:

It’s enjoyable with some good views in it. With the way the weather is then it’s the only mountains many of us may see this weekend!

It also illustrates why you don’t need a PVR with digital TV. Why record something when they’ll show it again in a few weeks. And again. And again. And again. And… well you get the idea. :wink:

Andy
MM0FMF

In reply to MM0FMF:

Hi, Andy.

I guess that sort of proves that I don’t sit glued to the TV in the evenings - or maybe it’s the first time it’s been on “south of the border” (unlikely, I know).

Yes, WX foul down here today and not much better forecast for tomorrow. Oh, well, as I’m trying to get one of our cars rebuilt at the moment, it’s not quite so frustrating spending time away from the hills.

73, Richard

In reply to G4ERP:
This was last on BBC4 (Sunday 20/09/09) And it will show Nick Crane climbing up the Inaccessible Pinnacle, Which if i remember was not a Munro as it was not possible for Munro to climb onto this on his own. and the other chap gets to achive doing all the munro’s, just watch the young children go for it, hats of to them.
Steve m0sgb,

the link below shows Nick climbing The Inaccessible Pinnacle.

Imgur

In reply to M0SGB:

The Inn Pin is definately on the list of Munros!

73

Brian G8ADD

In reply to G8ADD:
Shall we have a Fantasy SOTA activation then Brian [as few can go out on the hills at present]? You and your climbing partner arrive on top of the pinnacle. How do you carry out the first SOTA activation of this tricky summit? Z-match ATU and W4EDP antenna dangling over the side? It might work without a pole…

73
David 2E0DAI

In reply to M6WOW:

Handheld to handheld with 1 mate who has 4 callsigns (assorted licences and club licence etc). Activation over in as short a time as possible allowing you to get out of the way for the next person waiting to come up.

Andy
MM0FMF

In reply to M6WOW:

I must admit, Dave, I’ve thought along those lines myself…or how about climbing An Stac first and stretching a long wire across to take up the In Pin?

Its a windy spot, how about a kite antenna? That would be great for Sgur Alasdair, and Sgur nan Gillean too, neither of them have particularly roomy summits, they make Tryfan look like a luxury penthouse!

Of course, one could avoid inconveniencing the queue by operating from a hanging belay…

Sadly, I would probably have a handheld and four mates in the Glen Brittle campsite…it would lack flavour, but it would work! Mind you, knowing my mates, by the time I got to the top they would be operating from the bar of the Sligahan!

73

Brian G8ADD

In reply to MM0FMF:

Handheld to handheld with 1 mate who has 4 callsigns (assorted
licences and club licence etc). Activation over in as short a time as
possible allowing you to get out of the way for the next person
waiting to come up.

LOL! I don’t think that would be allowable within the Association rules. Andy.

“At least one QSO must be made from the Summit. In order for the activation to qualify for the points attributed to that Summit, a minimum of four QSOs must be made, each of which must be with a different station.”

My interpretation is that this means 4 different stations … not the same station and operator using 4 different callsigns! (Although 2 or more different members of the same family using shared equipment would probably be OK! The rule is a bit ambiguous in this respect.)

But then, it was only a fantasy activation … hi hi!

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

In reply to G3NYY:

… anyway, it was a great progam and well worth watching. In-Pin is one summit I WON’T be activating!

73, Richard

In reply to G4ERP:

I have to admit that I’m probably too long in the tooth to consider that one myself:-(but I would love to work it…anybody offering?

73

Brian G8ADD

The most difficult high mountain summit in the UK. The 986m top of the pinnacle overtops Sgurr Dearg, from where this picture was taken, by about 8m.
The drops off either side are abysmal.

It won’t be me!

I looked for a photo to see how tall the Pin was above the surrounding ground, which can apparently be reached with a fairly straightforward hike. If it was less than 25m tall, I might be tempted to activate it using full benefit of the 25m AZ rule.

However, it looks more like 50m, so no thank you.

Tom M1EYP

In reply to M1EYP:

The photographs are extremely misleading. The In Pin is a shark’s fin of rock perched incongruously on a sloping glacis of rock. Approaching from the Glen Brittle campsite you have an easy climb (by Cuillin standards) to the summit of Sgurr Dearg involving just a couple of moves near the top where you might have to use your hands. When you top out you find the In Pin towering over you looking absolutely huge - particularly if the cloud is swirling around you - but this is illusion. Rock climbers tend to give route lengths which exaggerate the height of the climb because what they are actually measuring is rope lengths, and some of that length is used for protection and belaying. The short side according to my guidebook needs 90 feet (27 metres) of rope, its actual height from the glacis is 20 metres. This side is not the easiest, it used to be rated as D (difficult) but is now rated VD (very difficult) probably because the holds are so well used they now have a high polish! The route in the program is up the opposite side and is an easy angled ridge of no more than M (moderate) standard, climbed in two pitches totalling 50 metres of rope. It really is no more than a scramble but the exposure is huge. The usual means of descent is by abseil down the short side, there is a permanent abseil anchor installed: launching yourself into space with such immense exposure is the hardest part for many people!

In terms of technique most hill walkers could get up the In Pin, the real difficulty is in the mind, it looks terrifying!

73

Brian G8ADD

its actual height from the glacis is 20 metres

So you could actually activate it for SOTA without putting hand to rock/rope on the actual pin? (I know that would disgust a purest like you Brian, but it puts a feasible activation at the end of a fine walk for someone like me).

Tom M1EYP

In reply to G8ADD:

the real difficulty is in the mind, it looks terrifying!

Exactly. I don’t like exposure and it’s purely psychological. Exposure equates to danger of death hence you (well me) tend to avoid such things. If you can remove the danger then the exposure tends to not matter. Of course being roped so that you know that if you slip you wont fall far enough to do any damage then the exposure shouldn’t matter. Well that’s the theory. You need to gain trust in the ropes/harness etc. before the fear is tamed. It’s like working on ladders. When I did some gutter work on my old house I was wary on the ladder at first but 3 days later when you know the ladder is not going to fall or move and I was not bothered. Well less bothered!

The InPin is not on my must-do list. Nor are most of The Cuillins. Yet. The effort and exposure involved negates their splendour. I’m still working my way up to them with the easier stuff. I still find coming down from the top of Ben Vorlich (Loch Earn) on the badly eroded paths is exposed enough and that’s trivial really!

In reply to G3NYY:

LOL! I don’t think that would be allowable within the Association rules.

Well it says stations and OFCOM’s view is the callsign is the station. Depending on when you were licensed you can have 1, 2, 3 or 4 licences and thus 1,2,3 or 4 callsigns and that excludes club calls! It’s certainly a contrived way of meeting the rules and not one I like to use and only when propagation is so poor I’ve been unable to work 4 distinct people. But working one person with 4 callsigns 4 times is no different to working 4 people using the same equipement one after the other!

Andy
MM0FMF ( plus many other callsigns and NoVs! )

In reply to M1EYP:

Indeed yes, Tom, I could never do it, for me Sgurr Dearg isn’t the In Pin, but it would be within the rules. As for the fine walk, you could then head north easily (-ish, but there is a good path below the ridge on the west for those who get vertigo!) along the narrow ridge and collect Sgurr Banachdich before dropping down at the next col, mind you the direct route down the middle of the corrie is dangerous and the best route is well over to the left - in case you ever do it. The Cuillin is a strange new world for walkers who first encounter them, there’s nothing quite like them anywhere!

73

Brian G8ADD

In reply to MM0FMF:

Hi Andy
Shades of the first ‘24/24’ !!
Regards
Don [G0NES]