Yesterday I completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks and managed to activate all three summits for SOTA in a single day, finishing in 11 hours 27 minutes (sub-12). I set off at 05:40 in the dark.
Given the scale of the walk and the overall time constraint, I had to be disciplined with activation lengths and operate efficiently on each summit in order to keep moving.
All activations were carried out using a Yaesu FT-3D at 5 W with a Slim-G antenna. This was handheld-only equipment. Unfortunately, I do not currently have the equipment for 2m SSB - although it would’ve been great!
The first summit was Ingleborough (G/NP-005). This was an extremely early arrival, reaching the summit in darkness with heavy fog and very poor visibility. Due to the conditions, I took a safety stop until first light. As expected at that hour, chasers were still waking up, so this became my longest activation window of the day. I completed 5 QSOs, including G7VNM in Stanley Crook, County Durham.
A slightly surreal moment from this summit was having a few walkers pass me in the pitch black, seeing someone sat in thick fog with a head torch and a handheld radio. Many hours later, I crossed paths with the same walkers again near the final summit, who asked if I was “the guy on Ingleborough earlier who looked like he was in a Teams meeting for work”. Apparently I’d been a topic of conversation - definitely not a Teams call, just SOTA before sunrise. Had a nice few minutes promoting the hobby!
The second summit was Pen-y-Ghent (G/NP-010). This activation was deliberately kept short to maintain the overall schedule. I completed 4 QSOs in 6 minutes and left the summit immediately, mainly due to the fog.
The final summit was Whernside (G/NP-006). Legs were tired by this point, but conditions were workable. I completed 6 QSOs with an activation time of around 20 minutes before starting the descent.
Overall summary:
Three summits activated (G/NP-005, G/NP-010, G/NP-006).
25 SOTA points including winter bonus.
All activations on 5 W using an FT-3D and Slim-G.
Start time: 05:40.
End time: 17:08.
Total elapsed time: 11 hours 27 minutes.
Very tired legs, but a memorable day.
A very special thanks to M1DHA (Alan), who chased all three summits, and to M9OUD (Tony), who also chased all three, including two S2S QSOs. The support throughout the day was very much appreciated and made a real difference, particularly with tight timing.
73
Tom – M9TQM
