Since February this year, ON/ON-030 is one of the two new SOTA’s in Belgium. What strikes me is that it is still not activated. On the map I can not find out if this top is, or is not accessible. But before I travel to this SOTA, I would like to know If this summit can be reached.
Does anyone have an idea?
73 - Tonnie - PA9CW
Good question Tonnie!
73, Peter, ON association manager
Looking at it in Google street view, I can’t see any physical access restrictions - by the colour of the ground it looks like a pile of waste from a coal mine to me.
73 Ed.
I was also wondering why ON/ON-030 was still not activated as one day, me and my dad Tom @M1EYP would like to return to ON once the COVID19 restrictions have been lifted there including travelling there activate the remaining ON SOTA uniques there for us to activate all ON SOTA summits in the ON SOTA Association. Looking at Google Street View suggests that there maybe access issues for ON/ON-030, not sure though if that is the case and if it’s on private land, whether or not it will be possible to obtain permission for walk up ON/ON-030. I hope it is possible to activate ON/ON-030, otherwise there would be no point in me and my dad Tom @M1EYP returning to ON to activate the remaining ON SOTA uniques there.
Jimmy M0HGY
Terril does mean Slag Heap in English
Actually, I find this strange that a slag heap is a summit, there are a few in France which are not, for example, Terril 81 at Lens which can be seen from the Vimy Ridge memorial
Prominence and natural recovery turning it from a spoil heap to what looks like a natural feature.
So Silverhill in Nottinghamshire could fit the criteria then? Silverhill, Nottinghamshire - Wikipedia
If you look on this Wikipedia page for Silverhill in Nottinghamshire, you will see that this only has a promience of 62m so therefore would not quailfy as a SOTA summit. In England (G), the minimum promience that a hill must have to qualify as a SOTA summit is 150m.
Jimmy M0HGY
G - Association Manager
Tbh I missed that bit was looking more at the OS to see what was around it
I suppose what we need here is input from the Association Manager Peter Preud’homme, ON4UP? I take it he will have inputted it in the Summit List??
Yes, we have a slag heap summit in Britain too. Hensbarrow Down G/DC-008. The slag heap composed of the remnants from China Clay excavation nearby is well above the original top. The trig point is well below it. Activated by me one time in January 2019 with Geoff @M0PYG in tow who I met in Bristol on the way down. He forgot the VHF antenna so the only guy we worked with the rubber ducky on 2m was Don G0RQL. The intention was to use HF anyway, so no problem qualifying it after the long trek darn saaarth… 25 HF QSOs logged.
73 Phil G4OBK
I remember several years ago the MT had a long email debate before deciding that spoil heaps would be valid for SOTA if they (a) met the prominence qualification, and (b) were covered in vegetation. Vegetation indicates long term stability, and gives resistance to weathering, a vegetated spoil heap is likely to be as permanent a feature as a volcanic cinder cone and we have included a number of those in volcanic areas!
“I suppose what we need here is input from the Association Manager Peter Preud’homme, ON4UP? I take it he will have inputted it in the Summit List??”
Peter was the first person to reply on this thread, Tony.
I went there twice to see.
There is no path to the top, and the whole heap is probably on private property. The only path visible from the road is clearly marked “no entry”.
I met a local lady who was walking her dog, and she told me that she had climbed it once about 30 years ago, but had never done it again, because the ground was unstable, and because she had had trouble with her parents on her way home with her shoes and clothes full of coal dust.
I wouldn’t recommend trying it alone or without proper gear to make sure you don’t hurt yourself while slipping.
A perfect example is DM/NW-134, which, according to Wikipedia ( Sophienhöhe - Wikipedia ) is " the largest artificial hill worldwide, created by surface mining at [an] open cast lignite mine"
Okay, that’s a clear answer. If there is a sign “no entry”.
Thanks for the info.
Well, the thing is quite big, and one could climb from another side…
But I won’t be the first 
Yes , but all he said was “Good Question” ??
Tony
When there is nothing more to say …
Hereby I invite you to visit ON and even more activate ON/ON-030. I am looking forward to your activation report.
