Stob an Aonaich Mhoir GM/CS-062 11/04/2021

Activation Reports
1

MM0EFI is making me feel guilty with his nice video, I am too lazy to record clips but for once the fine weather encouraged me to snap a few pictures!

This hill had been on my radar for a while, luckily its within Perth & Kinross so full compliance with current rules in GM. It had only been activated once, almost 10 years ago by Colwyn YCJ. When you look at its location you realise why, about 30km round trip! But its not so bad, a private road runs to within 1km of the summit so perfect for a bike.

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Bike ready to go at Bridge of Ericht, beside Loch Rannoch. I managed to use the tax efficient Cycle to Work scheme through my employer to trade up to a lighter carbon Hardtail in January.
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Track is pretty good, although tarmac is breaking up in places. 13Km of uphill with 460m of ascent so a good workout and glad of the lighter bike :slight_smile:
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Hydro pipes taking water from Loch Ericht to Rannoch power station below.
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First sight of Ben Alder GM/WS-009
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Up we go
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Time to dump the bike, looking back to south west.
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Road and power lines continue down to Corrievarkie Lodge, available as a holiday let for a price!
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Been below freezing up here all week so ground very solid and easy walking
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On top with Ben Alder GM/WS-009 and Beinn Bheoil GM/WS-047 looking very nice
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6m Travel pole with 9m Inverted L as normal.
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Just happy to be out again :slight_smile:

KX2 + 9m Inverted L with 4 radials
Icom 2m handheld with 2 element handheld pvc yagi

57 CW qso’s on 40 / 30 / 20m (best dx K4DY)
just one on 2m FM, Jack GM4COX

Cycle in was 1 hour 15 mins with a couple of stops. Cycle out was much more fun, a rapid 29 minutes!

73 Gavin
GM0GAV

16 Likes
2

That looked like an awesome day out! Stunning views over Loch Ericht.
I’m planning on Mount Keen again soon. That’s a similar length bike and hike to your expedition. It’s always worth the pain for the time and effort saved on the way back!

3

That’s on my list of cycle-activations for this year. But I need to get some fitness back first. And I think change my 32T front cog for a 30 or 28 to compensate for Old Father Time’s machinations.

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4

You could always use the route I used from NO367947 - if you are a masochist!!
No bicycle required - which is a plus in my book.

5

I did that a couple of weeks ago… with a bike but without radio gear. Yes, a tad masochistic but wonderful country.

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2 Likes
6

Good one ‘beardy’ boy (I see your going for the outdoor man look these days :bearded_person: - heard it makes you more interesting to the opposite sex - I guess my ‘GOATEE’ just doesnae cut it any more :crazy_face:) .

And thanks for the new one. Appreciated!

Jealous of course, you being out-and-about on such a day, but looking forward to the 26th when we are let off the lead - hi hi!

73

Jack(;>J

7

You watch the wonderful WX vanish once we can all move about!

Anyway, we’ll need to reboot the 13cms activity etc. as we have a number of new members of the GM13 group.

Is that a Reaction C:62 Race? 2.4 kilopounds, no wonder you leveraged the Cycle to Work system :wink: It’s about 3-4kg lighter than mine but that 32T & 10-51T 1x12 set is a huge win for this kind of thing.

8

It was a pleasure to catch you Jack, never a quick hello :slight_smile: Saw the 13cm Bowtie antenna on Wosars site, thanks.

Ref the bike Andy, correct. My wise XYL convinced me that the Cycle to Work would probably be chopped due to the country being seriously in debt!! She may well be right. I was hunting for a Cube Reaction C62 One or similar but like most bikes currently out of stock. But I found that one and had to dig a bit deeper into the wallet. On the upside second hand bikes are fetching good prices so between that and the tax relief didn’t feel so bad. The combination of the weight and the wide range 10 - 51T means it really zips along on the flat as well as spinning up hill. Hopefully keep me going for a few years until the legs go and a E-Bike calls!

73 Gavin
GM0GAV

9

Hi Gavin,

I’m off the train at Dalwhinnie for a long week up and around Ben Alder in June.
Weight is very limited - is there any chance of an activation on 2m in your opinion? Just won’t be able to take HF kit along with food / tent etc.

Thanks

Alex
2E(M!)0IGT

10

Alex,
you have a fair chance of getting 4 contacts on 2m with a handheld from the higher summits in that area, by that I mean the Munros. It might take a while and best if you can spot yourself, you should get mobile coverage on summits. It gets hard on lower summits.

Enjoy your week and hope to work you, its a lovely area.
73 Gavin
GM0GAV

1 Like
11

If you post your date and time in advance on here, I’ll make sure I’m on a hill with a 2m yagi pointing at Ben Alder. :blush: