de Andrey RZ3EM and Sergey M0MSV
The idea to visit CU/SM-002, Pico da Barrosa, came to us during a conversation with our friend Paulo CU2GI, who was a great help to us during the CR26RRC expedition. The day before, on Friday, March 13, 2026, we met with him at the ARA CU2ARA radio club along with amateur radio operators from the island of São Miguel to present the activities of the Russian Robinson Club to them.
On Saturday, at 12:15 UTC, we met up with Paulo and, driving along the coast and checking out several viewpoints and the Farol do Cintrão lighthouse, headed toward the SOTA site.
The weather by the ocean was cloudy, and we didn’t expect it to be sunny and warm at the summit, at an elevation of 949 m ASL!
However, upon reaching the summit, our most pessimistic expectations were exceeded. A squall-force wind bending the 14 MHz dipole into an arc, constant drizzle turning into rain, cloud cover and fog hindering visibility and the view. All those elements we love so much about SOTA at significant altitude! 
The large number of broadcast antennas at the summit created a very high noise level on the bands with tons of QRMs. Therefore, we had to conduct every QSO with all our senses on high alert. We thank all our correspondents who deliberately called us and patiently waited for a response.
In the end, 48 QSOs were made from the summit of CU/SM-002, Pico da Barrosa, and this was probably our most challenging SOTA activation in the Azores during the CR26RRC expedition.
Before heading down, a surprise awaited us: the weather had improved slightly, and the summit was visited by an active SOTA activator, Pedro Cruz, CU2JX, with whom we discussed topics of interest to radio amateurs worldwide: antennas, equipment, transceivers, cables, power supplies, and the 3Y0K activity!
A great, positive conclusion to a challenging activation!