I had a dream of going on a ski trip with my daughter. From year to year, this dream did not come true. For some visible reasons. This winter Masha came home from Prague for the holidays. Nobody and nothing could stop us!
On January 2, together with Alex (R9WGK), we went to the Amshar ridge. Summit R9U / SO-071. The automobile part of the route ended in the small village of Bedyarysh, hidden among the Ural mountains. From here the skiing part of our journey began. There was a lot of snow this season.
This noticeably slowed down the speed of our ascent. The snowfall did not stop throughout our entire trip.
Of course, we tried to be in time by the announced time, 12 GMT. But, having spent almost 6 hours on the rise, we only reached the summit at about 13 GMT.
At this time, it gets dark quickly, so we did not immediately start working on radio. First of all, they took up the installation of the camp and the fire. hot tea and dinner were needed after a hard day’s running.
Only after dinner did Alex begin to activate the summit. Since it was already dark at that time, the 7 MHz band was selected.
While Alex was QRV I was busy with wood and boiling water for tea. Propogation at 7MHz was poor and only a few QSOs were received. Perhaps the situation was better at 10 MHz, but we no longer had the strength to install another antenna. Snowfall and darkness were all around us.
We all decided to rest. And I considered it possible to be QRV the next morning.
The night passed. Again the falling snow.
Sometimes the wind tore off the snow caps from the trees. In the morning - snowfall again.
Our camp was covered with snow. After consulting, we decided not to waste time on the radio in the morning. There was a long way home, almost the whole day and evening. After breakfast by the fire, our entire team began to fold the camp.
The equipment was covered with ice, we had to spend time cleaning and drying it. Usually skiing downhill is much faster than going uphill. But this time it was not quite so. Snowfall covered our ski track during the night. And just like yesterday, I had to wade through the branches of trees bent down by heavy snow.
Our descent lasted four and a half hours. I was already seriously thinking about how I would drive the car on mountainous, snowy roads. It was clear that the main part of the journey would have to be done in the dark. But everything went well. invigorating strong tea with the smell of smoke gave me strength.
I went camping with my daughter, whom I hadn’t seen for over two years. Alex got his first “new one” summit, and the r9u / so-071 is no longer a blank spot on the SOTA map!
73!
Vlad
RX9WT
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Well done. Hopefully many returns !