Great report Fraser, sums an epic day up really well. Fantastic to meet you and work you while I did the Grey Corries, I had a great day in the hills with the highlight being able to work both you and Ben on all summits.
It did help to have two SOTA celebs nearby… qualified my first two peaks on 2m, easily, and in the highlands and then had my largest pile up on 40m ever on GM/WS-003 with the chasers eagerly awaiting Ben.
Here are all 4 munros views from my last, Sgurr Chonnich Mor GM/WS-021. Doesn’t do justice to your route but I got all four summits on one picture!
Many thanks for the fantastic report Fraser. The photographs were particularly interesting as I doubt I would ever have been capable of doing the route you walked even in my youth and to see what you saw was a delight.
I was very pleased to work Ben on the first two, but the timing of “Ben on The Ben” clashed with a family meeting. As to whether I can ever turn either of the contacts into a Complete is debateable… time is definitely running out.
Thanks James. I meant to take a better antenna for aprs, however looking at aprs.fi on my return, it seems to have done ok except for the middle peak and obviously down in the valley.
I actually had my LoRa 439MHz tracker on my pack because I saw that GM4OAS Gordon had an i-gate, however when I was talking to him on the radio he told me he just had a small indoor antenna, so unfortunately no packets were received by him.
Tom, you easily can climb over Aonacch Mor to Aonach Beag, as we did. Options for descent are to continue down to the head of Glen Nevis and get a lift back to the ski centre or to retrace your route back to the gondola, which you’d be as well doing as you will have paid for a return ticket.
HaHa! I think when a few folk are out on the hills it definitely makes it more worthwhile for the chasers, especially for VHF. I did a lot of pre publicity on here, X and some facebook groups, as well as message a few folks. Anyone who worked all of our summits would have gained 44 points.
I’m glad you did hang around Douglas. That looks like a nice summit. Now that I’ve chased it three times, the least I can do it activate it.
Gerald, you would manage Aonach Beag no problem at all, especially if you used the gondola. If you want to be a purist, it can be climbed from the top of Glen Nevis. That way you don’t have to go over Aonach Mor to get to it.
Ok, thanks to a mix of my bad maths and the way that sotl.as updates some stuff immediately, ie logs, but updates other stuff overnight, ie number of activations, it turns out Ben Nevis has now had 100 activations.
We both recorded our first QSO on the exact same minute, so I wonder how the software chose the order of things? I imagine that is related to the SOTA DB.
That was going to be one of the summits during a week’s stay in the area back in 2020. Paul G4MD and myself were going to do The Ben and others and had booked a cottage for the week, but Covid had other ideas. Since then there have been numerous health issues and the proposal is now firmly on the back burner and may stay there never to come to fruition.
What can I say after reading the fantastic report Fraser has wrote - what a cracking day out on the high mountains and a perfect end to my Scottish trip I can certainly confirm that Fraser got Ben on the Ben in style - thank you very much for organising this epic route @MM0EFI
I would also like to thank all chasers who called into me on HF - the support was great, band conditions were working well, and the pile-ups were amazing! I managed a few S2S contacts as well with @G4TQE John, @G5OLD Tim and @N6JFD Jamie - thanks all
I’d just like to finish off by putting the below picture up - after walking 21.5km on rock / boggy grass and snow, with 2182m/7158’ of ascent, look at the smiles on both our faces at the top of the Ben where all the hard work was complete - this is what SOTA is all about; having a great time!
that S2S to Nevis was such a happy accident, tu for the SOTA complete on UK’s Big One. Little did I know at the time I was doing an S2S with UK Radio Royalty!!! Nice Milestone being activation 100 as well!!
If you’ve not done fisherfield, do it. I am still in awe of the view from A’Mhaigdean, has to be the best in Scotland IMHO. It’s just so inaccessible… but i would do that traverse again in a flash.
Ladhar Bheinn is left on my list and planned for this summer. I could definitely be persuaded to do the ridge in from Glen Dessary, Sgurr na ciche is top summit and I do like the look of Ben Arden. More importantly I haven’t visited the pub in Inverie yet!
Gerald, I thought of you on my peak today. A top choice for a summit to summit day aided by a nice high start at the head of glencoe. GM/WS-146. 10/10 for scenery. 0/10 for parking
Absolutely fantastic, well done to you all, including the hunters. You certainly book the weather!!
Fraser, is you pole carbon or fibreglass? I ask as I use a velcro tie to hold the base of the G against the pole as it tends to lessen the wind loading and whipping effect. 73
I would add the Blackmount to that, despite the skiers though they offer an easier ascent! Also I particularly love the Torridon summits, particularly Liathach - which properly pronounced sounds like someone clearing their throat!
I was using a 4m fibreglass pole due to me only carrying a VHF radio that day. When I’m carrying HF and VHF I just string the slim-G near the top of my Carbon 6 pole, with the pole slanted so the antenna hangs away from it. I do carry a piece or two of velcro usually. I didn’t have any on Tuesday. Thankfully there wasn’t a breath of wind on the summits. We were very lucky!
highlands and then had my largest pile up on 40m ever on GM/WS-003 with the chasers eagerly awaiting Ben.
I can certainly confirm that Fraser got Ben on the Ben in style - thank you very much for organising this epic route 
