SOTA Challenge Flavour 1-7 December

Looking at your alert time compared to mine, I suspect I’ll miss you. I’ll be as fast as I can but this particular school doesn’t have hometime until 1545!

Still not out, so alert put back a bit. Will be lucky to set up before sunset.

Abandoned - I’ll let @G4TJC explain :cold_face: :cold_face: :cold_face:

Sorry Tom, but I didn’t make it.

I got about a third of the way in from Holme Moss, reaching the point where I nearly got a wet foot earlier this year. It was icy but not icy enough to save me from going through the crust and deep into the clag, well over my knees. No cause for panic - I managed to crawl out. But being soaked through most of the way up my legs I thought it unwise to continue to the summit given the freezing conditions. I came home for a hose down (literally) and a change of clothes.

2 Likes

Good decision. I’ve just set up on G/SP-015.

Edit…

Now back at the car. The 12m band was dying out as I started. A handful of weak sigs rxd from EA, LU, PY, CO and W. Just one QSO made on FT8 by me - a CT station. Managed to complete that and then the band seemed to deteriorate sharply even more. The only sigs heard were FT8; zero in the CW and SSB portions of the band, and nothing at all on 10m.

I suspect that by the time you would have set up Simon @G4TJC, there would have been nothing left for you. Definitely the optimal choice taken to get home and get warm. Which is what I shall do now too.

Indeed. No sign of anything at all RXed at home on 12m FT8 when you were on.

1 Like

Simon, I am sorry to hear that you got soaked in freezing water on your last expedition. A few days ago you needed only one more summit and 7 new contacts to draw level with Viki M6BWA and me VE6IXD in the Challenge. I was fully expecting you to make the move and overtake us!
I wasn’t expecting to have much success on the 12/10/6m flavour here in western Canada, but I felt that FT8 on 12m would be the mode and band to try. Imagine my chagrin when my computer developed a glitch on the summit of Tunnel Mountain in Banff National Park. I had no choice but to pull out the microphone and try SSB. It was successful! I don’t know who was more surprised, me or the chasers who were able to get through.
By the way, thanks for your help in setting up Saskatchewan, a couple of VE6 activators have already made the long drive to activate several of the Cypress Hills summits. I think I will be waiting for good weather in the spring!

Stay well,
Ian
VE6IXD

2 Likes