Today we have a special milestone to recognize: Edwin, HB9ZAP, has got his 2nd SOTA mountain goat two days ago on August 30 on Mt. Rinderberg in the HB/BE region. That alone may not be so special. But Edwin was born in 1932, so he is 90 years old!
I have met Edwin twice during SOTA activations. On HB9SOTA’s 2020 fall hike, I noticed a hiker with a dog far ahead of me ascending at a steady pace across the meadows to the summit. Since this shadow was carrying a backpack with radio equipment, it could only be Edwin. And so it was.
Edwin HB9ZAP (left) with his equipment incl. dachshund on Mt. Tschugga HB/SG-048.
At our first encounter a few months earlier, he had almost scared me! I was activating on Horst between St-Gallen and Appenzell, sunk deeply in my headphones, when suddenly an older gentleman stood in front of me and introduced himself: Edwin, HB9ZAP, together with a roughhair dachshund. The dog’s name is “Hexe” (witch – his assistant and bodyguard), and Horst is their local mountain. Edwin had seen my alert in the Sotawatch. I enjoyed this talk.
Edwin is a honorary member of our Swiss club HB9SOTA. He oversees 16 years participating in SOTA in 2022 and was chairman from 2007 to 2014 and thus the predecessor of Jürg, HB9BIN.
As one’s personal radius decreases with age and one becomes a bit tamer, each summit is now a win. Edwin, congratulations on your great success! No one can copy/paste that so easily. Keep your agility, your radius and your joy of life, even if life is sometimes a bit more tedious for you!
Ganz herzliche Gratulation Edwin auch von Carine und mir zu Deinen noch immer grossartigen Aktivitäten in Deinem hohen Alter Bleib gesund und so aktiv wie du bist Wir freuen uns darauf, Dich bald wieder einmal in einem S2S zu treffen
I’m delighted to be able to congratulate Edwin on his second MG especially as he has a few turns on the coil now.
Edwin invited me to stay with him after the FN rally in 2013. He made so welcome and we activated Säntis HB/AI-001 together. Back in 2013 we also climbed up a local summit to Edwin’s QTH, just for a walk and drink at the cafe at the top. I was amused to see we had climbed a mountain taller than the UK’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis and the WX was delightful. On top of that Edwin at 82 or so and his dog, a dachshund, both beat me to the summit!
Herzliche Gratulation zu deiner 2. Bergziege ! Ich wünsche dir weiterhin alles Gute, gute Gesundheit und weiterhin viel Zufriedenheit bei unserem Hobby auf den Bergen.
Vy73 de Robert, HB9OME
This is a great achievement and we can all only hope that we will be able to follow this role model.
For Edwin @HB9ZAP I keep my fingers crossed that he can continue his (SOTA) activities as long as he likes in good shape.
Congratulations Edwin. Delighted to have you in my logbook twice in August. 73. Mike
