Last weekend, the Feldberg DM/BW-001 and Herzogenhorn DM/BW-002 were to be activated. The last two summits for me this year that were still on the list.
Last weekend’s Feldberg was characterised by icy cold, lots of wind and snow. An exhausting activation. On the way there, I already knew that the Herzogenhorn would not be activated on the same day.
Today was the day. The ok from the family was there. I set off early in the morning from the Grafenmatt car park. It was incredibly quiet. No one on the road, no one on the ski slope. I really enjoyed the walk to the summit.
It was the first time I was actually asked if I would fish up here. My answer: Yes, ice fishing. I remembered this post. Short silence. Then a short conversation. A group leader who was conducting emergency exercises with a group. The topic was avalanche rescue.
Thanks to all the chasers for the QSOs. On 40m it didn’t go so well. There was a lot going on because of the contest and the cold didn’t make things any more relaxed. On 60m a wire came loose once. It was still a very nice activation. The weather and the climb all alone in the morning was beautiful. I can only recommend it.
Later I saw that Stephan @HB9EAJ was also active on the Herzogenhorn. A bit later than me. It’s a pity that we didn’t meet. I would have been very pleased. Next time then!
as explained by PM, until the last moment I was not sure to activate Feldberg or Herzogenhorn, but decided for the more quiet Herzogenhorn that I never activated in Winter before.
Your weather looks absolute fantastic, but 2h later, it was mostly covered and a strong wind was blowing on top of the summit.
The following picture shows the summit, still a bit away:
I quickly activated on 20m SSB and after realizing that 40m was completely crowded by Italian stations, I decided to call it a day. Down from the mountain, there was nearly no wind anymore and that’s where I ate my sandwich and enjoyed the nice winter landscape.
I’d just setup my radio and antenna when I heard you, but hadn’t checked the sidetone level before plugging my earphones in, When I called you I nearly jumped off the chair as it was very loud! A “feature” of the TX-500 is that you can only adjust the sidetone volume whilst on TX, so I just had to hit the dit paddle and quickly wind it down, sorry about that - thanks for your perseverance! It was great to contact you on 60m.
73, Jonathan
ps Stephan the band conditions weren’t good enough to hear you today on 20m, unfortunately.
Dear Marcel,
Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos. I activated the Herzogenhorn in July with a nice view to the Feldberg at that time, but I have to admit that the winter atmosphere has its own beauty and that you captured this very well.
Well done and THANKS again.
With best personal regards,
Peter, DO4TE
Stephan @HB9EAJ. Yes, it was busy on 40m because of the contest. Nice that you were still active. Next time we will meet Thanks for the pictures.
Thanks Jonathan @G4IVV. I basically had problems hearing because the wind was very strong from time to time and I didn’t have my headphones on. Thank you for your patience. I think that was our first QSO together
The CW glove idea was great Roman @DL3TU Much more comfortable when the rest of the hand is relatively warm and only the fingers are cold The feeling when pressing the key is better. Now I can also log well on the touch screen of the smartphone
Peter @DM7KN, this is indirectly an invitation to become active here in winter I am looking forward to our next QSO
Hmm, snow shoes. Now there’s something I certainly could spend my cash on. The problem is that the last time I encountered really decent snow conditions here in the UK was around 10 years ago. There has been some on the tops most years up in Scotland, but nothing that I encountered that needed anything more than a good pair of boots. I haven’t used my crampons for at least 10 years. Climate change has a lot to answer for!
Many thanks for the brilliant photos Marcel. It looks absolutely beautiful on the Herzogenhorn.
You are welcome to be qrv here in DM/BW. I will gladly organise a place for you to stay Maybe it’s worth buying snowshoes. You don’t really need crampons here in DM/BW
Mo and I have snow shoes. We had them on every time we went out last winter. Unfortunately it was during lockdown, so no one else was able to experience the wonderful powder we had in Aberdeenshire. Eventually the powder was too deep for even snowshoes and we were wading waist deep at times.
That certainly sounds like a plan Marcel if we get out of this current situation and the door is open to visit European countries once more. I was invited to activate in Hungary some years ago, but could not go because my mother was unwell at the time. After that I never got around to organising anything for a European trip and my focus became fixed on Scotland.
That evoked memories of activating Black Hill G/SP-002 back in February 2009. Never laughed so much on a descent in all my life! Base over apex… multiple times.
A “feature” of the TX-500 is that you can only adjust the sidetone volume whilst on TX, so I just had to hit the dit paddle and quickly wind it down, sorry about that - thanks for your perseverance! It was great to contact you on 60m.
The feeling when pressing the key is better. Now I can also log well on the touch screen of the smartphone 
I am looking forward to our next QSO 
