Ord Ban GM/ES-074
We decided to escape to Aviemore today (30th November) to escape the perma-frost of Deeside. Mo would have some retail therapy and I’d nip up Ord Ban, annoyingly the most out-lying GM/ES summit that I had yet to activate. With a low number of sunspots and K/A indexes fairly high, I didn’t have high expectations of anything more than a few contacts on 40 m SSB.
Mo dropped me off at the car park for Loch an Eilein (£1.50 for parking and worth a visit) at 1020. I’d been in this area in summer and failed to spot any track up this small but steep hill. However, today, with shorter and frosted vegetation, it was easy to pick out.
Ord Ban
I spotted a gate in the deer fence, just behind the stone cottage in this picture. A track led back along the other side of the deer fence and soon zig-zagged up the hill. Eventually I popped out on top and walked the last 150 m to the summit on easy ground. Time taken - 20 minutes.
Higher Cairngorm summits remained in cloud
Trees - just what I needed. One for the mast and one for each end of the EFHW. I always feel so American when I’m stringing a wire up in trees. And then immediately worry about how I’m going to get them back down. The antenna was arranged like an inverted L, except the horizontal(ish) part was at the feed point and the vertical part down the far end. I didn’t expect to see anyone else up here, so commandeered the rather fine trig as a pedestal for my KX2. Today I’d be operating standing up, which was a nice change.
KX2 on the trig, EFHW suspended above a nearby rock and through the trees
When I turned the radio on, it was set to 14.285 and IU3OJA was calling from a summit. We exchanged details. On up-loading my log later, it kept returning an error for his summit. I think it may have been one of those “unique” Italian ones - SOTL.as tells me it was deactivated in 2016.
A spot on 40 m. @GM4JXP was waiting. 5/9 both ways just over the big hills to Deeside. Then…
Well, I titled this “SOTA with Friends” because over the next 30 minutes, I think I worked just about everyone I know and who has ever worked me on 40 m! Ok, not you Gerald @G4OIG because you always miss me 
It was wild - just never stopped. I made 40 QSO’s, with couple of summit contacts too. Many Chasers commented on the pile-up too. The most fun I’ve had on a 1 point summit. Brilliant, brilliant fun.
That done, I wandered around the summit for a few moments, just trying to get my brain untied. At 1140 I decided to go back on the radio - 20 m this time. I’d expected it to be marginal today, but it wasn’t too bad, with another 17 in the log and some nice summit to summits too.
I was about to pack up, when I decided to “swipe left”. No, not Tinder but VK-Port-a-Log. It showed that Phil EA8/ @G4OBK had just spotted on 20 m SSB from EA8/FU-036, just a few clicks up the band from me. I re-tuned called “summit to summit” and aided by @EA2DT who let Phil know I was calling, we made our QSO. A brilliant finish to a great hour spent on a cracking wee hill.
I’ll bet @G4OBK had less clothes on than me!
Twenty five minutes later (1225), I was back at the car and being collected by Mo, having spent a great couple of hours in fantastic surroundings, with friends.
Thanks All, 73.
Fraser
PS Both @SA4BLM and @EA2DT made my log today. Welcome back Guys!!
I’ve been thinking it’s time for an adventure bike, any recommendations and advice much appreciated.
