Activation Report for G/NP-017 Fountains Fell on 28-12-25
Iss-1 Pse Rprt Errors
Activation of Fountains Fell G/NP-017 - 4 points using G4YSS/P
Sunday 28th December 2025
Bands: 30m-20m-15m CW/ SSB QRO & 2m-FM QRP
Unaccompanied
All times: UTC
EQUIPMENT:
FT817ND HF/VHF/UHF 5W Transceiver
MX-P50M, 50 Watt HF Linear Amplifier
Link dipole for 40m & 20m (30m & 15m) on a 5m H/B CFC mast
HRB 11.1V/ 5 Ah Li-Po (No8) battery
Vertex (Yaesu) VX150 monoband, 5W-FM H/H & J-Pole for 2m FM
UV-3R H/H. 2-Band, 2W-FM in top pocket
Garmin GEKO-301 GPS
Pack weight:10kg (22 pounds) inc Primaloft jacket
INTRODUCTION:
This was another old familiar one to finish the Christmas break. Going through the list of NP summits, there were a few that I thought I may still be able to do. A short list of four or five had NP5 Ingleborough and NP17 Fountain’s Fell on it. The list of what I perceived to be too difficult was much longer and some were a bit far to drive. Initially I opted for Ingleborough from Newby Cote Farm which I thought possible. It’s a long, boring route of 2.5 miles each way but the path is grassy and well graded. Because of the 5 miles of walking, I packed 2m-FM only.
The night before I got cold feet and switched to Fountains Fell G/NP-017 but not the 1.4km route straight up by the wall like I’ve mainly done in the past. It would have to the longer round-the-houses route which uses more on the PW (Pennine Way). I have been that way twice in the past; once to avoid impossible deep snow and the other time to backpack my Grandson Jack up there. The shorter walk compared to NP5 with less ascent meant that I could probably manage HF so that’s what went into the rucksack just before setting off.
ROUTE:
Park either side of Blishmire cattle grid. My preferred spot is the grass verge at the start of the path - SD 8531 7233. From here head up the PW and through the gate at SD 8549 7218. Follow the PW as it turns left SD 8585 7197 (an option is to go straight up from here with the wall on your left – my preferred route but though it is quicker it’s much steeper). Continue east along the PW. At SD 8666 7213 after making almost all the height required, it turns sharp right. Stay on the PW, climbing the wall stile at SD 8678 7201 but at SD 8681 7192 leave the PW to the right taking the grass track.
A good path, boggy in places, goes all the way to the summit cairn via SD 8678 7188 and passing a low building – an ancient coke oven at SD 8672 7180; built in the early C19. This is fenced as are some of the more dangerous disused mine shafts. The path winds around a bit but is easy to follow to the summit. However the following waypoints define it in case there’s deep snow cover and/ or low-cloud or darkness: SD 8671 7176; SD 8661 7168; SD 8655 7166; SD 8652 7162 and SD 86445 7160 to the cairn at SD 8641 7157. This route continuation was GPS marked today.
EXECUTION:
The drive to Blishmire cattle grid from Gargrave took around 40 minutes but the satnav took me via Malham and Malham Cove. Further on; just before Pen-y-Ghent, I stopped where a small group of people seemed to be preparing for I knew not what. Judging by their getup, I thought they were potholers and having done this activity on an outward bound course around these parts in 1968, I was curious.
‘Good Morning; are you going potholing?’ ‘Yes, sort of but we’re digging.’ 'Digging? 'One chap pointed towards Silverdale Gill – ‘Down there.’ They explained that they were trying to break through from one pot to another by joining up two tunnels. Kind of forcing the issue. I think this was achieved on a larger scale at Ingleborough Caves many years ago when it got joined it up with the Gaping Gill system. I wished them luck and to ‘stay safe.’
Upon arrival at Blishmire, two men were approaching the van which I’d just parked beside. I asked what it was like up there and was told it was cold. I learned that they’d spent the night on the 624m Darnbrook Fell Fountains Fell’s next door neighbour to the NE. This was their main pastime so we had a lot in common to talk about. This slight distraction while getting the rucksack out, switching on the GPS, writing the note for the car, had me setting off with my shoes on, so I had to QSY back into the vehicle to don the walking boots.
I got away the second time at 10:21 in dull overcast, taking it steady and being careful where I put my feet while re-familiarising myself with this indirect route and promising myself I’d find a proper path this time if one existed. After climbing the wall stile I started looking, finding a likely candidate and turning right (see Route).
I’m pleased to say it worked out but GPS marking and photography slowed progress on the final section going SW to the cairn. I also stopped to have a good look at the coke oven which is in good condition and well built. If anyone was hard pushed in foul weather, they could crawl in there for the night and survive. On the way back, rather than crawl in myself, I stuck the camera inside to see what it looked like.
G/NP-017 FOUNTAINS FELL, 668m, 4 pts, 11:17 to 15:46, 3C, 10 mph easterly wind. Overcast on the walk up, sunny later. (LOC: IO93CV; WAB: SE14; POTA: GB-0208). Useable EE Mobile signal at the summit. Most self spots needed two or three attempts but none failed.
Setting up:
After the usual ‘triumphal’ summit photos, I headed to the dry-stone wall corner at SD 8637 7159 to find some respite from the cold wind and erect the J-Pole and mast. Later the sun started shining into this corner making life a bit more comfortable than Boxing Day on NP8. All bands and modes were preceded by self-spots.
The 12 noon alerted freq was 145.400, but flicking through the 2m-FM band, I was surprised to find that almost every channel had QSO’s ongoing including the announced one. An early CQ on S20 ‘listening on 145.300’ (which I checked first) went wrong because in the few seconds it took to do the CQ, it became occupied too. I was later told that my antic had caused puzzlement with at least one op who’d followed me down there to find nothing.
I thought it best to wait out the QSO on .400 as they sounded like they were going for lunch. While I was busy getting ready and sitting on the alerted 145.400 patiently waiting, I heard an aeronautical mobile call them. G0GPZ/AM Kevin was en-route from Liverpool to Manchester. Some of this is going by memory but I think he mentioned getting into a low-level corridor at 1500ft to approach Manchester. He also said that this was his first flight to actually go somewhere rather than just test flights after major maintenance of the aircraft along with a recent re-installation of his amateur gear. He wasn’t on long, making his excuses to the two stations he was talking to. There followed a rushed QSY to presumably Manchester Approach. When he vacated 145.400 so did the other two, which left it free to use. Win win!
145.400 FM – 18 QSO’s:
With 5W to the half-wave J-Pole contact was made with the following stations:
M0XJA/M John and two for the price of one M0HMO/M Heather having just reached their car after putting on Brown Clee Hill G/WB-002. Next came G6AEK Dave in Blackpool; G7SXR Mark in Drighlington; GW4VPX Allan using 50W to a 5-ele vertical Yagi. Allan was animated about managing to work my modest station but what had already become obvious was that tropo was making its presence known.
Next:
G0TVB Paul with his KX3, 50W amp and collinear from Heptonstall; G4XPL/P Rik with H/H & rubber-duck walking on the estuary at Lytham St Anne’s; G7OOT Shane in WAB SK70/ IO92MP in Leicestershire; GW7CEA Dave at Brymbo nr Wrexham; M0PVA Mick at Billington; G4DEE Tony in Bury Lancs; 2E0MKE Mick on an FT991 and 6 miles E of Worksop, S. Yorks.
The final six on 2m:
M0RSF Chris in Leeds; M7HIJ John at Stoke-on-Trent; M5TEA/P (ex M0NOM) Mark on HEMA G/LDO-108; G4MYU Art at 650ft ASL in Briarfield; G4JHS Phil in Thornton, Bradford and M0KPW/P Chris S2S and shivering with numb hands on Whitfell G/LD-032.
Reports were between 56 and 59 going out with the full range 59 down to 52 in response to my 5W output. Understandably the 52 was from Rik’s handheld at sea level and I got a 53 to 54 from Bradford. When Mark M5TEA came on and mentioned M0NOM, I asked if he was using a club-call but he’d swapped it for a easier life when using CW. We also had a short over on the subject of the WOTA Database.
14.062 CW – 12 QSO’s:
With the power set to 30W I logged:
EA2WX/P Marcial S2S on EA2/BI-055; S52AU Borut - Ljubljana; DL3NM Hannes - Leipzig; SM5LNE Jan in Kungsor; HB9DIZ Marcus - Lucerne; IU1KGS Carlo - JN44; SP4JFR Boleslaw - Ketryzn; LA1ENA Aage in Stathelle; EA4T??; OH3GZ Jukka at Toivakka; LY2BNL Valdas – Vilnius and F5SGP Jean-Marc in Tantonville. Apart from the S2S (55/ 55) outgoing reports were all 599.
14.262 SSB – 4 QSO’s:
Stations logged from 14:45z:
SA5BLM Lars - Siljansnas; EA6/M0DLL David calling in from Menorca again having worked me on NP28 and read the report; EA2DT/P Manuel P2P in ES1812 and EA3EVL Pablo in Tarragona. Power was 30W again with reports in the range 55 to 59. I didn’t expect this frequency to dry up so quickly but it did. I apologised to Manuel for not having my POTA ref at the ready.
21.062 CW – 8 QSO’s:
Any DX? 50W to the 40m dipole produced one or two:
WF4I Derek – South West End NC; SP4JFR Boleslaw - Ketryzn; SV2OXS Christos in Katerini; IT9GNJ Rino; LZ4GL George - Byala; N1ZF Paul in Willington CT; OH6NPV Rauno – Moksi; and IK5QLO Andrea in Lucca.
I sent out 579 to 599 but it was optimistic. The QSB was brutal and one or two signals were lost in one direction or the other. At around 14:28 I heard a weak station calling under a strong one but after working the latter I couldn’t make a QSO of it. That after ten tries and further CQ’s. Near the end I heard a ‘K’ callsign and he was quite loud. The problem was I had my hands in the rucksack and no way to write down his call, otherwise I think I could have logged him had I known who to call back. I can be very tenacious in those circumstances. He didn’t appear again probably due to deep QSB.
21.320 SSB – 11 QSO’s:
50W again:
EA3EVL Pablo - Tarragona; EA7ANC Antonio in Granada; OH3GZ Jukka at Toivakka; I0KHY Claudio - Rome; CT1EHX/P Jose P2P POTA PT-0373; EC8ADS Alfredo – Las Palmas; SP9DPM Dariusz - Nowysacz; EA2??CCA; SP2HEL Artur - Hel; EA8DKP; EA8DQO Ayoze – Santa Cruz, Tenerife.
Apart from I0KHY, no one was 59 to me. Mostly I sent out 57 and one or two 55’s and 56’s. Most of the reports coming back were 55 with a 52 from SP9, a 56 from SP2 and two 57’s. As per the CW session QSB was deep and could be quite sudden.
Sorry - no 40m:
Now I had a look on 40m but was eventually put off. I settled on 7.033 and checked it but someone came on calling CQ while I was fiddling with the phone. There were delays sending spots because the signal wasn’t good enough. I moved to 7.032 and then 7.032.5 with similar results.
The SSB sub-band was no better and it was very full. I don’t know how we managed when it was only half as wide? I couldn’t find a gap and if I found ‘half a gap’ accepting splash both sides, I would ‘QRL? it’ and some gruff voice would immediately come on to see me off. No wonder there was no WAB net on 7.160, it was mayhem and I gave up.
10.119 CW – 6 QSO’s:
On QSY, 10.118 was free but what happened on 40m was repeated here. One kc up was free and luckily stayed free long enough for me to spot it.
Callsigns logged on 30m:
ON7GO Phillippe in Marke; ON6QS Gilbert - Chaumont-Gistoux; HB9CIC Josef - Shaffhausen; GM4ZMK Richard in Clydebank; DL6AP Andy in Rostok and final QSO of the day – PA0B Rob in Heemstede, who I haven’t heard for quite a few years..
That was it. I definitely felt like I’d had enough and besides if I didn’t move fast it would get dark half way down.
Descent:
Slow and uneventful apart from another look at the coke oven. Walking down the deserted PW while talking to myself. The sunshine had long gone and by the time I got to the car at 16:38 it was dark. The 40 min drive to Gargrave by 17:30 was via Stainforth and Settle; a better prospect and avoiding all the little lanes on the way in.
QSO’s:
18 on 2m-FM (QRP)
12 on 20m-CW
4 on 20m-SSB
8 on 15m-CW
11 on 15m-SSB
6 on 30m-SSB
Total: 59
ASCENT & DISTANCE:
Ascent 246m (807ft) / Distance 2 x 2.6km (3.3 miles in total)
Start point at 425m ASL
Walking times:
Ascent: 56 min
Descent: 52 min
Summit time: 4hrs-29min
COMMENTS:
Sixteen times up NP17 and I’ve only just found the proper route across the plateau. This activation, the final one of our stay, was the most comfortable. That was mostly down to the wall which cheated the cold wind but also there was sunshine later on. I noticed a wall stile there which I either hadn’t seen before or it wasn’t there last time. It allows access to the summit cairn from the direct route up beside the wall as well as providing more options to activate out of the wind. A small group of walkers climbed it while I was on the air.
I saw another family at the cairn but they left on a path which seemed to be going SE. The quad track leaves this area going SW. I know nothing about those ways off NP17. Maybe the first one goes back to the PW?
2m-FM:
VHF was the most alive I’ve heard it for a long time. It came as quite a shock when you live in a 2m desert. People were talking about a lift which helped me log Allan in Pencader and to work into Leicestershire and Stoke-on-Trent quite easily. Unlike a Tropo event when I was up on Dale Head LD20 many years ago, it didn’t impede the local signals. Even given my modest setup, I could possibly have made more of the conditions but it would have been time consuming and the attention moved to HF.
HF:
Conditions were pretty good but being the Sunday after Christmas, the bands were busy. 20m CW was top scorer on HF but unexpectedly, 15m SSB was only one QSO behind it. The difference was that 15m was carrying DX but severe QSB lost me a few QSO’s.
CW Skills:
I regret missing the K or K1? station who called me around 14:30z on 15-CW while my attention was on my lunch and returning what was left of it to the rucksack. My CW skills are such that if anything is not written down as it comes in, I have no chance of remembering it. I shouldn’t be doing CW at all but the truth is I enjoy it, it gets through better and the QSO rate is potentially quicker. It also took me 6-months of hard slog to learn it way back in 1983, so I’m invested. The RAE was nothing compared to that. In my experience a hard-won thing is much more valuable and often more enjoyable but unlike the lads I know who worked for our local government establishment on Irton Moor, I’m very far from a CW natural.
So? I assume (hope) that the CW chasers will forgive me if they have to exercise a little more patience than normal. You can hear them coming in fast and confident only to be faced with ‘XYZ?’ Then there’s the errors from sending on a toggle switch when trying to hurry. Even worse is when there’s so many of them coming in at once that it’s just a single long note with nothing to go by. In that situation the last to call is often first in the log when the pileup is tail ended. Either that or there’s the clever fellow who stands out by sending 100Hx up or down. Both of these chaser types help me. Our late friend G4SSH Roy had it all. PLL’s and accurate digital displays have a lot to answer for in producing that long note. No matter, almost half of the day’s QSO’s used the CW mode and I’m quite proud of that.
Phonetics and Accent:
Another problem I have from time to time is on SSB. If phonetics are pronounced in English but with a very strong accent I’m sometimes completely stumped no matter how many repeats I ask for. The distant op must assume that part of his callsign is being repeatedly swallowed up by QSB or QRM when in fact I’m receiving every word. It’s just that I can’t decipher what the words are. The more I hear them the worse it gets and I’m willing someone to QSP which never happens. I ask, ‘please try a different phonetic’ but that hardly ever works either.
It happened on this activation I was left none the wiser as to what a particular prefix was. Yes, I admit to being increasingly cloth-eared. (I hear very little of what my wife says to me these days or is that just the E2E bypass system that many men, long-married, are fitted with? HI). I’m always looking to do my best for chasers whatever that takes but this situation is mildly embarrassing though fortunately rare.
I was asked by Manuel EA2DT for my POTA ref. I’ve worked Manuel many times but never knew he did POTA as well as SOTA, it being the first time he asked me this question. After disappointing him, I text my son who sent back the ref which was subsequently used to good effect in another P2P.
The Week Overall:
First of all I’ll mention the weather. It’s not often you can go away for a week in late December and experience almost zero rain in the UK, not to mention snow. It wasn’t desperately cold or overly windy either. Summit temperatures got down to 0C for the NP8 activation but no lower, that being the coldest activation due to a lively wind. The other two were 3C. Having operated in conditions much more desperate than these over the years, it was a bonus. Talking of bonus. NP8 and NP17 provided my first and only winter bonus of 2025. As little as a few weeks ago, I wasn’t expecting any. With a total of 159 contacts over the three activations, you could say I enjoyed myself for sure.
The Premier at Gargrave was substituted at 24 hours notice after we discovered, quite by chance, that the Derwentwater Hotel closed in October for a 6-month refurb. More accurately described as Premier - Skipton North, our alternative accommodation was comfortable enough, had nice staff and wasn’t busy over Christmas. Though the menu is a bit limited, it was also cheaper at £904 for the 7-nights as against £1,053 for Keswick. That included the room, breakfast and 2-course evening meal with a drink but it cost a bit less than that. One evening the dining room was closed at short notice when the chef was ill which produced a £32 refund. A trip to the Coop shop stopped us starving but even they had run out of sandwiches and bread over Christmas. I had to downgrade to pot noodles. the last two crusty bread rolls and a trifle but that didn’t bother me. I’ve been camping a lot!
I didn’t mind being in the Dales and amongst the NP’s. To be honest, in my current state, I was becoming concerned about having to tackle the harder LD’s, so in a way this closed hotel glitch came as something of a blessing.
Sticks:
On NP8 and NP17 I used sticks. This is a new thing for me and one that has been non-preferred. They can be an encumbrance when you’re trying to take photos, use maps, a GPS or a phone or go fast. In cold weather they make gloves a must, whereas normally I might just choose to stick my hands in a pocket unless the cold is very severe.
All that said, I’m forced to admit that they were instrumental in reducing some of the forces acting through my lower limbs and they helped with balance too. Since April, my main worry has been up-gradients and their effect on reducing the angle between leg and foot to such a degree that the newly healed tendon sees undue tensile strain. I didn’t need them on NP28; it’s a flat walk but I wouldn’t have been without them on the other two, particularly on NP8’s steep gullies. They are also handy when descending as there’s a lot further to fall and I’m certain they’d be a massive help when fording. I never thought I’d ever say this but reluctantly I’m currently voting for sticks.
My ‘New’ Car:
I took delivery of my latest SOTA vehicle in mid December. Well, I say delivery. I had to fetch it from Doncaster via a £24 train ticket from Seamer. I’ve only been on half a dozen trains since 1957 so this was the main worry and a greater one than buying a car unseen for the first time ever. All this tickets on your phone nonsense and dire threats if you accidentally board the wrong train. Anyway, it went well and I met some really friendly people on there.
The car was on ebay but the auction winner never made contact with the seller and it eventually got offered to me. My 2001 Ford Fiesta Mk5 failed its MOT in November with rotten sills plus a list of other stuff that made it BER. This latest one is a 2000 model, has a long MOT and only 41k on the clock. It was a risk but I had a good look at it and a drive before handing over wads of cash that I’d gradually gleaned from various ATM’s and the Post Office.
At £941, apart from a 1966 Healey Sprite Mk3 which I sold last year, this is by far the most expensive car I’ve ever bought and at coming up to 26, it’s also the oldest. It drove back OK through torrential rain and flooded roads and though it needs a bit of attention here and there, I’m hoping for good things. At least my VHF radio installation, roof rack and towing gear will be a straight swap which is why I looked for a replacement Mk5. Trouble is they’re rare.
Let’s hope it doesn’t live up to the following:
‘A Ford, a fraud, four wheels and a board, guaranteed to go when you push it.’
I forget the next verse but don’t knock Fords - the spares are cheap! It’s a little ditty my son comes out with now and again. Usually when I buy yet another Fiesta. This is my seventh in the range Mk2 to Mk5 and they can fit on the tiniest of grass verges. The Mk3 Diesel was converted to a camper complete with one side of an old wardrobe and curtains (I was reminded of the curtains by Phil G4OBK at the SARS club Buffet recently). It served me well during a 2008 two-night stay in GM/NS to put on Suilven, Arkle and An Teallach – all absolutely wonderful summits.
THANKS to ALL STATIONS WORKED and the SOTA spotting app and the many New Year greetings exchanged. Thanks to my XYL for the transport – 316 miles covered including SOTA’s and some trips out to Skipton and Settle.
HAPPY NEW YEAR greetings to all chasers, activators, SWL’s plus the many who provide peripheral support behind the scenes such as spotting facilities, mapping apps, database, reflector etc, over the past year and into the future.
To all those who provided advice, support and wished me well after my Achilles break and subsequent 6-months in ‘dry dock.’ To the GMRT for their hard work and dedication in rescuing me and others from the hills and to the Air Ambulance who attended even though they couldn’t properly land.
Last but by no means least:
TO THE SOTA MT - THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER GREAT YEAR OF PURE ENJOYMENT!
Special thanks to John G3WGV for his original concept back in 2001/2002. SOTA is nearly as old as my car!
73, John G4YSS
Next I’ll try to answer comments on my other reports and finally put my QSO’s in.
Photos:
1-3-7-8-13-16-17-22-21-57-59-60-26-052P-711P-510P-55P-62-65-66-Map
Above: Malham Cove on the way to the start
Above: Dull conditions a short way up the PW (Pennine Way) looking back
Above: The PW
Above: The PW looking back down
Above: Climb the wall stile
Above: Fork right off the PW here
Above: Looking SW past the coke oven (right)
Above: The coke oven
Above: Coke oven - a peek inside
Above: Summit cairn with path heading off SE
Above: A short walk from the cairn to the wall corner
Above: Activation of G/NP-017 on 2m-FM at the wall corner
Above: Above: HF activation of G/NP-017. Looking NW with G/NP-010 Pen-y-Ghent behind
Above: HF station. FT817ND & 50W amp
Above: 40m-20m-(30m)-15m) dipole and summit cairn
Above: Back on the PW for the descent. Wall stile ahead
Above: Warning notice with sun about to set
Above: Wall stile on PW
Above: QTH on 50k map & grid ref. Start point is cattle grid
HNY, John
…I hope it happens again in 2026 
.