I recently re-stumbled across some old photos from August 2012, when I was an art student and just starting on my journey into wandering up Munros. One of my earlier efforts had been Stob Ghabhar GM/WS-022 and its neighbour Stob a’ Choire Odhair GM/WS-083, and I remember being slightly confused on getting to the top and finding someone there with a strange looking contraption on a mast. We exchanged the customary hilltop pleasantries, and he was good enough to explain the reason he was up there, apparently some mad scheme called Summits on the Air. I snapped a couple of out-of-focus pictures, and that was that (or so I thought).
Some 13+ years later, here I am now, one of those guys with the antenna sitting on top of hills for fun. Feeling in the mood for a wee bit of detective work, I checked the metadata on the pictures and found that they were taken on the 12th of August 2012. By looking up the hill on Sotl.as, I spotted that there was indeed a SOTA activation that day, by @GM7PKT.
So here I just thought I’d share this picture from 2012 in case it’s of any interest, and the story of how I first found out about SOTA but failed to actually do anything about it for thirteen and a bit years.
It was after chatting to Robin on the Mull repeater that I decided to give SOTA a go. I was sitting directly below the repeater at the time, having just climbed Dun da Ghaoithe GM/SI-016.
Haha, I worked Robin s2s on that summit, that day, according to my log. I was on the last (for me) summit of the south Glen shiel ridge (GM/WS-100, Creag nan Damh), having bivied on Aonach a Chirth overnight, I’ll have some photos somewhere.
My experience was similar although nowhere near 13 years, having started a new job which resulted in me working with Keith, G0OXV and over the next few weeks/months “bumped” into Rob, G4RQJ on wards stone (G/SP-003) and Neil, 2M0NCM on Ben More (GM/SS-001) before G0OXV persuaded me to take the foundation licence.
Thanks for sharing that photo. That certainly brings back some memories of an amazing weekend.
For most people, if they remember that weekend, it will be as the last weekend of the London 2012 Olympics. For me, that weekend is mainly remembered for sitting on summits in warm sunshine and amazing VHF conditions. Something akin to Thomas’s (DF7TR) recent report of his memorable activation OK/PL-022.
Active amateurs are scarce in this part of the world so a VHF activation of any GM/WS summit is never guaranteed. No such worries on my activation of Stob Coire Easain, GM/WS-015, on Saturday 11th August 2012. I had 4 x 2m FM QSO logged within 10 minutes. After about an hour I had 10 FM QSOs but the fun really began when I hooked up the FT-817 and started calling on 144.300. A total of 60 x 2m ssb QSOs from GM, G, ON, PA, F, DL and OZ AND I bagged 2O12L – the London Olympics special event station.
My only complaint! I spent so long on the summit that I was 30 seconds too late getting home to see Mo Farrah win 5000m Olympic final.
Sunday the 12th August wasn’t quite so sunny but still very warm and pleasant ( a real bonus for a GM/WS summit) sitting on the summit of GM/WS-022. A total of 14 x 2m FM , 5 x 2m SSB & 2 x 6m SSB QSOs.
All together a very memorable weekend! Thanks once again for sharing that photo.
Ah, good to hear it’s got some fond memories for you! I saw that you were a user of this forum, but wasn’t sure if it’d get to you at all. I don’t really remember much about the broader context of the olympics etc., but I did remember it being a cracking day out on the hill with my mate, I think it was maybe only my third or fourth Munro at that point. Cool hearing you were able to get the olympics station in the log too!
It brings back memories of seeing a strange guy with a fishing rod up Beinn Alligin GM/WS-068 in 2023. I decided that looked like fun so a quick google led me to YouTube channel where I found the Radio Rover, who has evens more fishing rods…
Nowadays I regularly get asked if I’m fishing and I have yet to actually caught a fish….
And isn’t VHF amazing in western Scotland if you get lucky. My most memorable QSO’s are 2m in GM/WS….
That’s a great story. I think for many of us life has two distinct phases, pre-sota and post-sota. There are of course those who have always looked up and climbed up, but for the rest of us there is this complex mix of scenery and determination that comes with sota activations.
For all sorts of reasons, mainly young family, I had never ventured seriously onto the Lake District Fells, and my exercise of choice pre-sota was road bike.
That all changed on 28th December 2016 on a very winter Red Screes. The fact that the date is ingrained in my memory should be a good indication.
Mine is indirectly influenced from SOTA. I had a friend who I did Audax rides with, and he got his Foundation license after seeing someone activating Titterstone Clee Hill G/WB-004 whilst riding his bike to the summit.
I decided to try out amateur radio after hearing his rides and going to high points on his bike, and soon got hooked into SOTA as I now enjoy being in the mountains than doing Audaxes, though maybe one day I will return and do a few of their awards.
