G4YSS Activation Report NP6, NP15 & NP17 on 14-03-13
Draft-2.
GX0OOO/P from:
G/NP-006 /6 Great Shunner Fell.
G/NP-015 /4 Great Knoutberry Hill.
G/NP-017 /4 Fountains Fell.
On 2m & 4m FM QRP.
All times UTC. G4YSS - unaccompanied.
Equipment:
2m Band: VX150 2m FM, 5W H/H with 2.7 Ah (6 x AA Ni-Mh) integral battery.
4m Band: IC-E90 4-Band FM, 5W H/H with 1.3 Ah integral Lithium battery.
2.2Ah Li-Po backup battery (not used).
Home Brew vertical J-Poles for 2m & 4m with shared 933mm S. Steel whip.
Lower two sections of HF dipole mast.
QRP pack: 7.5kg (16.5 pounds) inc 500ml water.
INTRO:
For me at least, this would be the last grasp of winter bonus with the regret that I havent made much use of it. In most years at around this time, I would be out doing the 44 point Patterdale Round via Helvellyn, Seat Sandal, Fairfield and St.Sunday Crag with maybe another added on for good luck. Based on some serious incidents centred on Swirral Edge this year and internet photos showing a lot of snow on Helvellyn, I was happy to dismiss the idea. It would have to be some trusty NPs instead but I can`t say I was sorry; for me the A66 is a real sickener.
Because of uncertainty regarding road conditions, especially on three of the minor roads that I would need to travel, the plan needed to be flexible. I alerted for G/NP6 only but depending on the conditions there, further choices could be made from NP15; NP4; NP11; NP10 or NP17. All of these enjoy high ASL start points but these are the roads that are likely to be snow affected. If Buttertubs Pass or the Coal Road couldn`t be accessed because of snow, I could always try NP12; NP7; NP19 or NP13, all of which can be climbed from main roads at low altitude.
The WX forecast was for a sunny morning with freezing conditions and a 15mph wind. The afternoon would bring low cloud and snow. It was not ideal but having already cancelled the day before, I was running out of time and the weather for Friday 15th was predicted to be poorer still.
EXECUTION:
Left Scarborough at 04:35, arriving via the A684, at Buttertubs Pass at 06:55. The East Coast was very much in the grip of winter and it took until Pickering to get the screen clear of ice and to dare drive anywhere near the speed limit. After that the roads were OK. The car was parked where the NP6 track leaves the road at SD 8688 9570 and the walk up took 49 minutes from 07:08. Red Grouse were making a fuss when I left; some of it sounding very much like human speech.
NP6 ROUTE:
The path would have been invisible under snow today but for the fact that a quad bike had conveniently left a track all the way to the summit. This was easy to follow via Coal Pit to the fence corner at SD 8694 9639 and through Grimy Gutter Hags which was thankfully frozen solid; all part of todays plan! If it hadnt been for this broken trail, which was faithfully followed and tracked on the GPS, the ascent would have taken a lot longer as the snow was deep in most places, though frozen in others. I noticed one other set of footprints, probably from the day before doing the same as me but at one point I sunk abruptly into a deep drift, falling forward and freezing my un-gloved hands in powdered snow. I kept stopping to take photographs on the way or was that just an excuse for a breather?
Whilst crossing Little Shunner Fell and the stile at SD 8503 9723, Smooth 70son the tiny DAB radio (intermittent lower down) added to an already good mood produced by stunning views and sunshine. The snow cover between the stile and the summit shelter made for difficult going but its only a short distance. I found on the retreat that it was much easier to follow the quad tracks outside the fence instead of using the stile. That would apply equally in summer because of tussock grass. The Pennine Way looked as though it had been quite well walked as I reached the iced up summit shelter.
G/NP-006: GT.SHUNNER FELL, 716m, 6 pts, 07:57 to 09:31. Minus 4 deg.C. Wind: 10 mph. Sunshine then overcast. Up to 30cm lying snow but grass showing through in most places. IO84VI, WAB SD89. (The Orange phone signal was intermittent today.)
Finding a convenient way of inserting the mast into the top of the shelter wall added some useful height. 145-FM was set up first.
145.375 FM - 8 QSO`s:
The first call was almost on time as far as the alert was concerned but I was not as early as usual for the first activation of the day. In a short while, five Watt CQ’s on S20 produced results in the form of Ronnie M3RNO; mobile in a truck near Middlesbrough.
Colin was next and this was a summit to summit QSO with M0CGH/P on Ingleborough. We compared notes on snow conditions, routes and Top Band loading coils until Mike 2E0YYY/P QSKd from Shining Tor making it two S2Ss. What a good start.
After these came regular chasers G4WHA/M Geoff (M6 nr Carlisle); G4UXH Colin in Milnthorpe; G6LKB Dave in Ulverston and G6XBF Walt in Leeds. In addition I worked G3SMT Peter in Oswestry. According to Peter the range was 175 km, calculated from our locators. Surprisingly he gave me a 58. He was 59 to me with his 20 Watts to a “whip on the house gutter.”
I could hear two stations local to my home QTH, chatting on 145.475MHz at 08:40. These were G8YQN Stewart in Filey (53) and G0OII/M, Richard (51) in is ambulance car on the A170. Try as I may I could not break into their QSO with my 5 Watts compared to their probable 50. I tried again when they returned to the calling frequency but to no avail. This was when I really missed the IC706-2G.
Incredibly these 8 QSOs had filled an hour which came as something of a shock after having temporarily abandoned,time consuming multi band, multi mode HF QRO in favour of simple QRP VHF.` Nonetheless, despite the cold I did enjoy the chats but with no further takers it was time to put on 4m.
70.424 FM - 3 QSOs: After swapping the VX150 for the IC-E90 and setting up the 4m vertical, I heard the call,GX0OOO/P from G4WHA/M`. Geoff (now in Penrith) was 59. The reliable 4m op John MW1FGQ, with a 650m ASL QTH near Holywell was next in; giving my 3 Watts a 55 report. Finally Colin G4UXH, who was hearing me 31 to 41, managed a QSO without too much difficulty; seemingly quite pleased about logging NP6 on 4m.
At the end I could hear Dave G6LKB calling at about 53 but he was using 50 Watts and I could not get back to him with just 3W. Colin QSP’d the fact that he could hear something but it was not intelligible.
It took almost as long to walk down as it had to walk up. With the assistance of only 190m of descent and some minor re-ascent, superimposed on a walk of more than two miles, its not really too surprising when you think about it. The car was still there when I reached it at 10:12 which is always a nice surprise as well as avoiding show-stopping inconvenience. For the latter reason I make a point of locking it when Im doing SOTA.
Drive to the Coal Road:
The Coal road looked picturesque in sunshine but attention was needed when negotiating the areas of frozen snow covering it. Some of this was deep enough to scrape along the car`s underbody and exhaust. Because of a short but fairly steep incline, there was some doubt as to whether this drive could be reversed.
NP15 Route:
By 10:49 I was walking from the Coal Road (SD 7796 8805) for NP15, Gt. Knoutberry. This was an hour later than the 2012 time but I would be following the longer, easier route again. This goes via the track, turning left at the gate and sheep pen at (SD 7768 8744) to walk up beside the fence.
Today I walked along the track with a paraglider pilot, who was carrying the 25kg device on his back in a huge rucksack. It turned out that we were both 49ersso we had a bit in common in addition to the carrying of heavy weights up mountains. He told me of his rapid descents from the summit of Conistons Old Man and I was green with envy. Also he had a permit to drive along the tracks; something I would value too. Today he would be ridge soaring near the track; there being no sun to produce thermals. In fact, apart from a couple of one minute bursts, the sun had just made its final appearance of the day and it would be downhill weather wise, from now on.
The walk up through snowdrifts, deep in places, took 31 minutes. There was no sign of the expected paraglider however. Since the wind was straight down the wall today, I set up on the far side of the stone seat.
G/NP-015: GREAT KNOUTBERRY HILL, 672m, 4 pts. 11:20 to 12:37, 0 Deg.C. 10 mph wind. Overcast with a short sunny period at first. Low-cloud and light falling snow later. IO84KP, WAB SD78. (Orange phone signal.)
With no prior spotting facilities available, several CQ calls on S20 from 11:32 were not responded to so I set up the 4m gear in the hope that I might do better there.
70.450 FM - 1 QSO:
After a quick exchange with John MW1FGQ at 11:39 (59 / 55), there were no further replies to CQ`s on here either. There was no other option but to return to 2m and try again.
145.400 FM - 6 QSOs: With 5 Watts to the J-Pole I worked: G4UXH Colin; G6LKB Dave; G3BPP (Ron in Hutton Rudby) M0CGH/P Colin on NP5; G4OWG Roger and G6XBF Walt. Roger mentioned that NP15 was his favourite Hill, around which he takes a circular walk instead of a boring but efficientthere and back` favoured by most SOTA activators.
I was grateful to receive a weather report from Colin on Ingleborough. NP5 was now in low-cloud and it was starting to snow there. There were reports of rain in Ulverston and South Lakes too. It looked like the expected weather front was coming in from the southwest and a glance towards NP5 confirmed it. I had thoughts of making a mad dash towards the east in the car but dismissed that idea on realising Id already activated Buckden Pike and others in that area. Within 30 minutes of Colins warning, I too was in clag and it was beginning to snow.
70.425 FM - 1 QSO:
A call on 70.450 FM with 3 Watts brought back Colin G4UXH in Milnthorpe, South Lakes but this turned out to be the final QSO for NP15.
The walk down was unpleasant in low-cloud and falling snow but I didnt bother with a coat; preferring to keep it dry. On arriving back at the Coal Road at 12:58, I noticed that the paraglider mans car had gone to be replaced by a gritting truck, complete with crew having a break.
What next? SOTA number three or home?
At the end of what had evolved into a snowy, foggy activation, going home was uppermost in my mind but that was defeatism. As far as further SOTAs were concerned, there were basically four choices grouped in two pairs; NP10 and NP17 or NP4 and NP11? Last year I managed four NPs but today there was little chance of repeating it, not least with the start from home an hour later.
It now boiled down to which one would be easiest in bad weather. NP11 (Gt. Coum) involved too long a walk, NP10 (Pen-y-Ghent) might have ice on the craggy south approach and NP4 (Whernside) needed a 900 foot ascent from a 1500 foot ASL road which may or may not have been open. Whatever the choice, I was certainly going to need a wall that could block a SW wind.
Being the shortest walk, Fountains Fell, NP17 was the mountain of choice but it would depend on conditions on the minor road to Blishmire. Choosing this one over NP4 or NP11, might buy time as NP17 is further east and would get the snow and low cloud marginally later. It also had the required wall orientation.
Relatively speaking NP17 is a quick and an easy one but unless you go via the PW, it has a sting in the tail in the form of a very steep final ascent. In todays conditions, there was the possibility of ice under snow which could be quite risky on a 30 degree slope. Though ice was present, neither of the first two SOTAs had this potential because neither were really steep.
NP17 - The Final summit:
At the end of a 21 mile drive on snow-free roads, I parked at Blishmire cattle grid (SD 8531 7233). It was around 13:45 but just after arrival the snow started. This quickly became heavy with large flakes. Again thoughts of going home receded after 10 minutes, when the snowfall became marginally lighter. The different weather conditions led to different rucksack preparations. I strapped on an umbrella in the hope of protecting the log and got the axe from the car boot in case of ice.
Once again opting to keep the coat dry in the rucksack, I set off in poor viz and falling snow with the wind blowing from my right. After the PW turns left there is no path and you have to struggle through (or try to go around) reed beds which today were half covered by a thick layer of soft snow. At some points it was possible to walk in the narrow gap between the wall and its associated snowdrift. The latter had turned to ice but still offered a certain amount of grip owing to snowflakes which had frozen on impact. Otherwise I tried to follow lines of vegetation where it could be seen sticking through.
Eventually a level platform precedes the final push up the really steep part. This 80m long section is at an angle of just over 30 degrees. Here the snow was deeper and in places it had turned to ice or there was ice under it. At these points the axe came in handy but if progress was to be made, slipping back or sinking way above the knee just had to be endured in the knowledge that there wasn`t too much further to go.
At the top lip of this slope was a slab of ice and a step with deep snow, which I did not succeed in climbing first time. This is where the axe came in handy again. A big reach and a firm blow gave something to pull on and I was up.
G/NP-017: FOUNTAINS FELL, 668m, 4pts, 14:39 to 15:58. 0 Deg.C. 10 mph wind. Overcast with low cloud and moderate to heavy falling snow. LOC: IO84VD, WAB: SD87. (Orange phone signal.)
Thank goodness for the dry stone wall which, combined with todays wind direction, provided a fine shelter. The wall wasnt as high as usual due to the 2 foot icy snowdrift beside it. There was a gap into which I kicked loose snow, firming it down to take the map case after donning my warm coat.
A lightweight vertical can often be wedged on the wall top and so it was today, albeit not without a face full of wind-driven snow in the process. The umbrella was deployed and held awkwardly; somewhat impeding radio operation and logging. How would this go? Taking into account the WX I hoped quickly but it wasn`t the most uncomfortable situation that 11 years of winter activating had brought me.
145.525 FM - 10 QSO`s:
For the final time on 2m, 5 Watts to the J-Pole got reports from: G6LKB Dave in Ulverston; G1OHH Sue (Lancaster); G6ODU Bob (Ormskirk); G4FQW Brian (Accrington); G4OWG Roger (Rawdon); G1HIB Mike (Morecambe); G4WHA/M Geoff in Penrith and G6XBF Walt in north Leeds.
This was the best attended session of the day and I found out why. One or two ops mentioned that they could not hear me on the earlier summits; no doubt the simple QRP gear and omni aerial being the problem. 5 Watts might have got me down as far as Oswestry but if there are a couple of big hills in the way, you will hear very little even if you`re closer.
Take Sue in Lancaster for instance. Whernside and Great Coum may cause a blockage. With Bob in Ormskirk it could be Whernside or Ingleborough whereas a signal to Oswestry may find a gap. That said, upon further investigation, the QSO with G3SMT from NP6 was helped greatly by a chaser ASL of over 1000 feet! Finally, the QRP used on these hills compares unfavourably with the 50 Watts of FM I have been putting out recently after HF activations, when time and battery allow.
By now the snowfall had increased markedly and with the wind curling over the wall the first casualty was the log. The snowflakes were quite big and from time to time there would be minor avalanches slipping from the sides of the umbrella many of which were spilling onto the rucksack.
70.475 FM - 6 QSO`s:
Now with the 4m vertical wedged in the wall, I selected 70.450 and tried to call M0MDA who I had heard calling GX0OOO/P. There were others calling me too. As I did so, I noticed that the IC-E90 had shutdown to 0.5 Watts; probably because of cold or damp and I can never remember how to change it back to 5W. It would seem that because I pressed a button momentarily and not for 2 seconds, the memory display went blank which was just what I needed in a snow storm! I only use this rig occasionally on a couple of frequencies with the result that I am now unfamiliar with it.
After messing with the rig in VFO mode; changing bands & modes, I finally homed in on 70.450 FM from many MHz away and also managed to get the thing back on 5 Watts. The channel spacing was now 5 kHz which didn`t help me to pre-check for a clear QSY freq but contact was finally made and the final session started.
This was also the best effort of the day on 4m as follows: G0KTQ Martin in Oldham with 20W to a half-wave; G6LKB Dave with his antenna sited unfavourably in relation to its support; G4UXH Colin who was noticeably pleased to get NP17 on 4m; M3RDZ Roy in Burnley with an FM1000 and an operating style all his own; MW1FGQ, our reliable 4m friend from N.Wales again and G6ODU Bob in Ormskirk. A casualty of my earlier finger trouble, I never heard M0MDA again.
Packing up was done as quickly as possible but first the umbrella and rucksack had to be cleared of snow which had thankfully eased off a little just in time for the descent. Though it isn`t supposed to be waterproof, I kept my coat on for the descent and just ‘bashed down’ avoiding the ice and using the deep snow as a brake. The axe was employed as a sheet anchor behind. The cloud was down but breaking with habit, I was at least going down in daylight. I arrived at the car at 16:19 with boot tops full of snow and coat beginning to leak but at that stage it mattered little.
Before setting off I had to clear the new snow from the car after it stalled the rear screen wiper. Driving via Settle, Skipton, Harrogate, York and the A64, I was home for 19:15 despite rush hour traffic. The first part of the drive down Silverdale Road via Stainforth was slow and treacherous until below 1000 feet ASL when the snow turned to rain. Total distance driven today was a mere 225 miles but I find that more than enough these days.
On the way back I worked three stations via Harrogate repeater. M0KLM Bryn in Selby, Kevin a 2E in Harrogate and an M6 with an FT60 Handheld on York Railway Station. Passing the transmission round certainly seemed to shorten the journey as well as reducing the frustration of slow or stopped traffic around the York Bypass.
Total: Just 35 QSO`s, comprising:
2m-FM:
NP6: 8
NP15: 6
NP17:10
4m-FM:
NP6: 3
NP15: 2
NP17: 6
QSO Breakdown:
11 on NP6
8 on NP15
16 on NP17
Round Trip Ascent & Distance:
NP6: 195m (640ft) ascent, 7.1 km. (4.4 miles) 49U, 41D.
NP15: 176m (577ft) ascent, 3.9 km. (2.4 miles) 31U, 21D.
NP17: 241m (791ft) ascent, 2.9 km (1.8 miles). 35U, 21D.
Total ascent & distance: 612m (2008ft) ascent 13.9 km (8.7 miles) walked.
Walking time: 3hr-18 min.
Summit time: NP6: 1h-34m. NP15: 1h-17m. NP17: 1h-19m. Tot: 4hr-10m.
Distance driven: 225 miles. (87+13+21+104).
Activator points: 23.
Times:
Scarborough: 04:35 (87 miles on icy roads at first)
Arr. Buttertubs: 06:55
Walk for NP6: 07:08
NP6: 07:57 to 09:31
Rtn. Buttertubs: 10:12
Drive 13 miles to Coal Rd: 10:16 to 10:45
Walk for NP15: 10:49
NP15: 11:20 to 12:37
Rtn. Coal Rd: 12:58
Drive 21 miles to Blishmire: 12:09 to 13:45
Walk for NP17: 14:04
NP17: 14:39 to 15:58
Rtn. Blishmire: 16:19
Drive home 104 miles: 16:32 to 19:15.
OBSERVATIONS:
The day had started very cold but sunny with no precipitation. All of that seemed to become a dream-like memory by noon making the final summit a bit of a challenge.
I saw no other walkers apart from the paraglider man on the track to Gt. Knoutberry and a chap with a large expensive looking camera briefly at the summit. Up to that point photography was a must. With summits attracting low-cloud as often as they do, images like today`s must be obtained when they are available. The ones later in the day have a decidedly more bleak and desperate look about them.
As SOTA day’s go, this was so much easier that the usual multi band HF QRO expedition with all the dipole erecting and big pack weights it entails. I used to reckon that a pack weight of 15 pounds or below was almost unnoticeable. I have also found that over about 30 to 35 pounds each additional pound seems to count double. The 16 or so pounds carried today felt like helium. Maybe the time will come when HF QRO kit will become almost this light. Certainly lithium batteries have helped bring that day closer.
I wrongly assumed that my summit times would be halved and the easy 2m/ 4m QRP VHFM Omni approach had other disadvantages. It wasnt as flexible as HF at the times when QSOs came slower than I thought they should and it didn’t reach many chasers.
Though I dont actively seek them, it was pleasing to get three S2Ss which gave a snapshot of what it was like on other summits weather wise. I don`t get as many summit chases as pre 2005, which was when I retired and stopped activating at weekends.
Walking under 9 miles whilst climbing just 2000 feet was a comparative steal for 23 SOTA points but it still needed a 225 mile drive. With the car available between sorties, there is no need to carry much food or water. In fact the half litre of juice and a couple of sandwiches I did carry were not touched all day because food could be obtained whilst driving between SOTA`s.
4m is rarely very busy. It went quite well today though I was sorry that some of the original stalwarts of the band no longer seem to use it as much. Chinese rigs are perhaps making their mark along with the converted PMR`s nowadays. Certainly I could hear a few signals that could not be reached with my 3 watts, though I did have a decent antenna.
35 QSOs in the day spread across 3 summits sounds terrible by the usual standards but it wasnt for the lack of trying. The location of the first two hills in particular played its part in this. I think many activators who use VHF QRP take an FT817 and use HF to increase the QSO count. The modus operandi, the chatty easy QSO rate, the lack of pileups and the feel of the equipment took me right back to the start of SOTA, which was a refreshing change from HF.
Hanging on to the idea of a final summit was well worth the effort. In providing something of an ‘X-Factor’ (however minor) the weather conditions and snow on Fountains Fell made it the most memorable activation of the day with a welcome bonus of the most QSO`s.
Thanks to ALL STATIONS WORKED; not least for the friendly conversations throughout the day and to the spotters: G0VOF; G4WHA; G4UXH and G6LKB who did splendid work for me in the absence (to Cornwall) of G4SSH.
Not only does a spot help to gather in the chasers, it has the much more important feature of indicating an activators last known location in the event of an emergency. Unlicensed family members can alsotrack` an activator. This factor becomes much more important in areas that mobile phones still do not cover.
73, John G4YSS.
(Using GX0OOO/P; Scarborough Special Events Group Club Call)
