No, not me! Alex @GM5ALX is 40 on Wednesday.
On Wednesday 4th at 1100z, the following activations will take place.
@MM7LEF Lee on Cruach Ardrain GM/SS-004
@GM5ALX Alex on the rarely activated Cnap Chaochan Aitinn GM/ES-040
@2M0RVZ on Ben Rinnes GM/ES-021
@MM0EFI Fraser will be with Chris.
Alex needs a new SOTA award/icon. He’s doing 40m on ES-040on his 40th birthday 
Anyone else coming out?
I was gonna say Fraser, you don’t look a day over 39 
“ignore the previous post, Im not in Wales till January 2025!! having a senior moment.”
We are in Arnside area of the lakes on Wednesday, but not up a SOTA summit
If the WX is favourable I can chase SOTA either from my car or with my FT897 and a JPC 12 plus 35ah slab from a picnic style table. ??
Whatever happens good luck to all of you and Happy Birthday to Alex 
Tony
I knew I shouldn’t have told you 
I’m planning to be out for some winter bonus activity on Wednesday, but which hill will be dependent on Tuesday nights predicted snowfall and road access.
I don’t have enough Landrovers.
Chris, MM0UHR, is planning to go up a hill with me and he will want a complete for Ben Rinnes.
Andy
MM7MOX
Well I’ve been offered some obscene amounts of cash to unretire for a few weeks so I can’t get out which is why I am out in the sun and snow today.
Have a good session chasing each other.
I am WFH and I doubt 2m will reach from my QTH to the hills of Scotland and doubt 2m would reach to Scotland from my local hills.
Happy activation’s on 2m for Wednesday and happy 40th GM5ALX
Cheers
John
M0VAZ
I’ll try to get up East Cairn unless anyone else has it planned. Will take a yagi for 2m, often reach Cumbria from there so hope conditions favourable.
Alan
Hi Alan,
Blackhope Scar is the primary target for myself and Chris MM0UHR tomorrow.
Hopefully catch you for s2s tomorrow as well.
Andy
MM7MOX
Oh, that will be good, I need that for a complete - odd since it is one of the closest hills to me!
There is decent parking at the west end of the reservoir, it’s a little triangle - it is signed but not all that obvious. Shows up on Google Maps satellite view though.
A
Oh, I was going to go from the other side, from the road down to Innerleithen.
Is the route from the reservoir easier/better ?
Andy
Sorry for late reply Andy
I’ve used 3 routes up that hill and the one from Gladhouse is (IMHO) the least bad. The upper reaches of it are “soggy”. From the Innerleithen road , I found it a bit of a slog from “Piper’s Grave” but haven’t used the route in via the farm yet, perhaps that is better. (I have an aversion to dumping my car in other people’s drives/entrance roads and the verges there are narrow).
A
Side note: The “Piper’s Grave” legend has it, refers to a dispute resolution whereby one chap was to play his bagpipes up over that road, he set off ok but his rival had made a small puncture in the bag, so that the player had to blow extra hard to keep playing and expired as a result.
I always knew the great pipes were dangerous!
Setting off for Sugar Loaf GW/SW-011 so hoping for some good s2s.
Wishing Alex a Happy Birthday in case we don’t make contact on air.
Hope you all gave a great day out.
73,
Rod
So far, so good. I’m parked up below Ben Rinnes, waiting on Chris. Alex may still have snow gate issues but is gamely heading for that area regardless.
Sat at my desk in collar and tie feeling extremely jealous!
Ooh! Gt Rhos GW/MW-002 did not look like that when we approached it yesterday. Actually it didn’t look 
as it was wreathed in mist BUT the wind was not blowing which was good as there is no shelter up there BUT bad as the mist didn’t clear until the way down (have you heard that one before??). Have a great time everyone and happy 40th to the birthday boy. 
NB Never trust EFI with any secrets!!
73 Viki
Well, Alex will be along presently to share details of his 40th Birthday epic, but for now, Benn Rinnes.
Chris and I had separate and mildly entertaining drives across icy and snowed up roads, and loosely assembled at the Ben Rinnes car park at 0930.
We left around 0945, up the well made track, with snow underfoot from the off. By 1100 we were approaching the summit.
We talked about everything on the way up. Everything except an activation plan. That’s why we both ended up building 2m FM stations, me with the handheld yagi and Chris with his slim-g. It turned out ok. We worked 10 stations between us, with not many overlaps.
My ODX was @MM0GLM Jim, a difficult but successful QSO to his HEMA summit, Knock Hill, beside the racing circuit, some 128km south over an unlikely path.
After half an hour, we were both done, literally and physically, thanks to biting icy winds, so we headed back, sadly without a summit call from Birthday Boy.
Just as we approached the final bend before the car park, Alex messaged. He was there. I took out the handheld, attached a telescopic whip and got a Complete in a rarely activated summit. I handed the radio to Chris, who worked him as well.
Happy Days and Happy Birthday Alex!
What’s the heater like in the old Defender in the Winter? The last time I was out in such a vehicle in bad WX was 1993 in 2.25L 90in series III. Hot air came out but there were so many places where Baltic temperature air came in that they over powered the heat output
Annoyed I could not go out, even to Scald Law, I did think about trying to chase a few locals who were out. I saw Alan MM0VPM spotted on East Cairn Law which is really just out the back a little but the spot was for 4m and he’d done 2m earlier when I was stuck in an “unretirement” phone conference with the clients in Hyderabad. 
That would have been a complete I think.
Glad you worked a few and it looks to be as cold as my Monday jaunt was. I think I needed electric socks now as Old Father Time keeps winding turns on my coil of life!
I’ve had all kinds of Defenders, 90 and 110s but my latest Puma has a heater that works and doesn’t take long to get up to temperature. However, the control knob is mainly for show as once you move more than 10mm from full cold, it’s full hot and I mean hot! I do have a diesel heater for the back, though, which is great for defrosting in the morning, like today.
Luxury Landy!
