This is just a quick note to let chasers know that Helen (M0YHB) and I (Carolyn G6WRW) will be hopefully activating one or two exotic locations while North of the border.
A couple of people have been told where we’re going but will not alert exactly where till a day or so before because of travelling and weather.
We will try to operate on as many bands as possible, none will be “walk by” activations.
Bands that we’ll hopefully be found on will be: 80, 60, 40, 20, 17 and 10 metres; 6 and 2 meters if there is a lift on.
I will, as always, be listening for you. So propagation and my work pattern allowing I look forward to getting some exotic summits in the log.
This year the AAV/AAU invasion of GM is down to one week. We will be stopping in Brora in East Sutherland first week in August with the following week the other side of the border in Northumberland. Hoping to do some rare GM summits and hopefully set up a station on the beach to put the well stated theory about the wonders of salt water for propagation to the test.
Good luck Carolyn with the activations. Sounds like you’re planning to “play radio”!
Steve & Helen - we will wave at you from the other side of the Moray Firth - we’re in Lossiemouth for the first week of August. Some NS to ES S2S should be possible.
Good Luck to all for your GM trips.
Hope you all get some summits activated that have not been activated before, that’s I’ll be doing while I’m in GM/ES area on the first week. I also hope to activate Ailsa Craig GM/SS-246 for the first time while I’m in GM/SS on the second. This first activation might not be possible because you need to ask permission to use a radio up there, and Jack GM4COX and Andy MM0FMF want to this activation with Me and my Dad M1EYP an they might get the first activation before me.
Hope you all have good weather.
It’s only considered by some to be the hardest Munro because you need ropes etc. to get up the last 50ft. However, that is trivial(*) as there are permanent ropes etc. so it’s only a case of having your own dangling-on-a-rope experience or paying a guide to introduce you to dangling-on-a-rope.
There are others which involve and damn fine walk in and out as well as good climb up. Sgurr na Ciche and Ladhar Bheinn spring to mind in that catagory and are probably a much more significant effort that the InPin.
Andy
MM0FMF
where trivial is defined as not being perturbed by dangling-on-a-rope and that the effort needed to get to the foot of the pinnacle is within your walking skills!
In reply to MM0FMF:
Andy, that is disgusting - to put permanent ropes on the Inn Pin degrades it to the status of an outside climbing wall, have they no respect for the mountains any more? The only things that were permanent last time I was up Sgurr Dearg were the queue and the high state of polish of the holds.
Signed
Disillusioned of Birmingham (Brian G8ADD)
PS In my book the queen of Scottish Mountains is Liathach.
In reply to G8ADD:
Hi Brian,
Was up in the Lakes last weekend supporting my son in his attempt on the Bob Graham. There were new eye bolts at the top of Broad Stand, possibly fitted by the MRT, as it is a popular spot for falls. Respect!!! Son completed in 22hrs 50.(72 miles,42 summits and 27,000 ft of ascent.
Frank,(G3RMD)
An incomparable hill! Mind you, its two SOTA summits are joined together by the pinnacled ridge of Am Fasarinen (The Teeth) which is guaranteed to severely slow down an overloaded activator!
In reply to MM0FMF:
Andy
I was up the Inn Pin a couple of years ago. There were no fixed ropes and as far as I know no one has placed any! To get up involves about 150 feet of climbing. It is very easy… if you are a climber… no more than a diff maybe a moderate. Because of the slope of the mountain unber the Pin the abseil to get back down is only 50 feet! The top is very small. No room for my 60 meter inverted v!!! Could try HF with a leg of the dipole on each side of the pin but I am not sure if this would work!!! Best try 2 meters beaming out to the Western Isles.
I intend to activate some time but no plans as yet.
Good luck with activating the Inn pin in the future. Is this true that you intend you climb up the sea stacks as well? Me and my Dad M1EYP will coming up to your neck of the woods on the first week of August. We are going to stay at Loisemounth, and we are going to do a joint activation with Barry GM4TOE inthe Cairngorms. Hope we can meet up with you for a drink some time while we’re up there.
It’s too much for me! I’ll check with someone who was there last September. I’m sure he said there was some fixed stuff. I just have to wait till he gets back from St. Kilda.
In reply to M3EYP:
Hi Jimmy
My home QTH is only about 20 miles from Lossiemouth. It would be great to meet up. I do a lot of climbing and mountaineering. Last year I worked Barry who was on the top of Braereach from 300ft up a 600ft rock face on Bennien Schuas. I went on to the summit after the climb and activated it (WS-198). I am around all of August. Try calling on S23 2 meters our local chat channel.
Hope to see you then
Adrian MM0DHY
In reply to MM0FMF:
Hi Andy
There are a couple of bits of old rope fixed at the top, small loops to abseil from… Good bit of climbing to do to reach these approx 150 ft. The pin is not very wide so it can feel rather airy!!!
Adrian
I’ll definatly call you on S23, because I’m planning to activate all the summits on 2m FM, if it’s possible. I’m amsuming that S23 is 145.575, if i’m right in thinking that? You’re welcome to call me on any of the summits I’m activating on 2m FM. I’m also hoping on activating some ES summits that have not been activated, so please don’t activate them before we activate them. Hopefully meet up with you there.
Have fun with the activations: hope you get decent weather.
Martyn M1MAJ and I are aiming to do some GM SOTA later this month. We’ll be based in
Crieff. We’ll be equipped to do 80, 60, 40, 20, 6 and 2m, but what we end up using will
depend on conditions and timings. I have noted some unactivated summits in the area
(not including the new Marilyn), so some of them may first activations.
We’ll back back in GM land for more SOTA in September, based in Galloway.
You will find that Jack GM4COX has activated these summits, but he hasn’t got round to adding them into the database yet. Have a good time up there, it makes a big difference to the lowlands where you’re living.
In reply to M3EYP:
What would be quite useful would be a database query that would allow you to search for any chaser records for a particular summit. That way you would be able to determine whether a summit had been activated either by an activator who had not recorded the activation or by an amateur who just happened to be there but was not a SOTA regular. If I happen to be heading for a summit that appears not to have been activated before, I usually do a search for that summit across a number of the key chasers to see if any have it recorded but a simple search for summit records across all chasers would be helpful. Given the database structure, it shouldn’t be that difficult to implement.
73
jim
Edit 10/06 19:50: For example - SI-148 shows no activation
yet from unique chaser summits …
G0NES 877 GM/SI-148 (Cruach na Seilcheig) 27/May/2007
G4JZF 906 GM/SI-148 (Cruach na Seilcheig) 27/May/2007
G4BLH 582 GM/SI-148 (Cruach na Seilcheig) 27/May/2007
GW4BVE 865 GM/SI-148 (Cruach na Seilcheig) 27/May/2007