VIDEO: OE5YYN, OE5HDX and OE5JFE on Wildspitze, OE/TI-002, 3768m

Hello everyone,

This time we are happy to share an alpine SOTA adventure from the highest summit in OE/TI and at the same time the second highest summit of Austria the Wildspitze OE/TI-002.

The group members were Sylvia OE5YYN, Daniel OE5HDX, Dominik, Robert, Bertram (our guide) and Joe OE5JFE.

The summit is located near the town of Vent in the Ötztal - not too far from where the famous glacier mummy Ötzi was found. The second highest mountain in Austria by the way is of course a guarantee for an extraordinary high alpine adventure.

The warm summer season made us question this endeavour upfront. Rock- and icefall from the glaciers were unfortunatly to common this season. But good planning using a less impacted route made it possible.

An early start was needed so we began our trip on Friday by train and bus to the town Vent. There we hiked up to 2844 m a.s.l to the Breslauerhütte. A very nice and well organized mountainhut.
After a fun and relaxed dinner we went to bed early as the alarm would ring already before 5 o’clock in the morning.

After breakfast and packing up all our gear we were on our way at 5:50. Headlamps on until the sunrise welcomed the new day.
We reached the edge of the first glacier and put our gear on. With changing weather conditions we traversed crevasses and ice plates covered by a fresh layer of snow.
Making our way upward the thin air made it more and more challenging. Breathing frequency and heartrate climing to new levels.

Slow but steady we made it to the Taschferner glacier and followed the footsteps of others. So we unintentionally ended up at the Jubiläumsgrat (ridge) which was not too bad overall.
We reached the northern firn summit and shortly after that the main summit at 3768m after 5 hours of ascend.

Everyone was happy and for a short while the clouds opened and we felt the warm sun.

Of course with 3 radio amateurs it was time for SOTA.

Sylvia OE5YYN and Joe OE5JFE setup their 2m stations and Daniel OE5HDX brought this KX2 with the AX1 antenna to work HF.
Have a look at the video to see our minimal setup in action.

Chasers and fellow activators were already in position waiting for us despite our delay. @OE6PGM and @OE5MKE were working us S2S from OK/JC-001 Plechy 306 km away.
Markus @IN3ADF was mobilizing his local club members and was the first in our log. A big thanks to our radio friends in IN3. Great support and a pleasure to meet you all on the air.
DL was also in the log multiple time with contact to OM near Munich and beyond.

Daniel worked 12 stations on 20 m SSB including @OE7MPI/P Michael and @OE7MPN/P Veronika for a S2S.
The perfect HF setup for the small summit area.

But the cold temperatures and our waiting hiking partners reminded us to packup and make our way onward.
Down via the normal path - mastering a grade II climing section - we reached the glacier.
Linked again with a rope - iceaxe ready - we continued of another 4 hours on the glacier. Vigiland at every crevasse our focus was challenged in addition to the physical demands.

After a total of 11 hours we reached the hut Taschachhaus and enjoyed our well deserved dinner and celebrated our success.

Great team work made it happen.

Video:

And some pictures:

Hiking up from town Vent

Breslauerhütte in view

Hut reached 2844m

Great views

Getting ready glacier gear on

Sun still out

And into the clouds

On the ridge to the summit

Jubiläumsgrat in the clouds

Summit reached

Getting ready for SOTA (Sylvia OE5YYN and Daniel OE5HDX)

Summit cross

SOTA in 3768 m - with a little bit of sun :slight_smile:


Crevasses hopping on Taschaschferner glacier

Mind every step

And of course this is part of my OE5JFE Tops of SOTA Austria challenge. So another one to tick off the list:

  1. 25 Jun 2018 OE/KT-001 Großglockner
  2. 28 Oct 2021 OE/NO-001 Klosterwappen
  3. 29 Oct 2021 OE/BL-020 Rosalienkapelle (Rosalia)
  4. 29 Oct 2021 OE/WI-001 Hermannskogel
  5. 16 Jun 2022 OE/ST-001 Hochgolling, 2862m
  6. 18 Jun 2022 OE/OE-001 Dachstein, 2995m
  7. 27 Aug 2022 OE/TI-002 Wildspitze, 3768m :white_check_mark:
  8. TODO OE/VB-001 Großer Piz Buin, 3312m
  9. TODO OE/SB-339 Großes Wiesbachhorn, 3564m
  10. Bonus; Haidachsteilwand OE/TL-001 - just because Tyrol is split in two assoziations

73 de Joe

29 Likes

Hello all, Sylvia @OE5YYN, Joe @OE5JFE and Daniel @OE5HDX and of course the guide Bertram with Dominik and Robert.

The intro made you wait a bit :wink: But it was worth it. Congratulations on this joint successful activation and glad that everyone is back in good health :mountain_snow: :+1: :clap: Thanks for this exciting video report.

73 Marcel DM3FAM

1 Like

Thank you Marcel. The countdown is only visible in the Youtube Live Premiere mode. From now on one can watch without the extra 2 minutes waiting.

A great adventure indeed and fortunatly it worked out very well. Sore feet and the one or other blister for Dominik but otherwise smooth “ice” sailing hi.

73 Joe

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Just one word. Stunning!
73 Jim

2 Likes

Incredible effort, thanks for sharing your video.
73 Fred

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WoW, nice alpine landscapes. Thanks for share us.

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Hello Joe and friends, what a spectacular video of your video and photos. Well done to you all. :clap:

cheers :beers:
Geoff vk3sq

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Congratulations on your successful activation and thank you for the exciting video!

73, Rudi
OE7RDI

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Hello to the team.
Only one word, BRAVO!.
Take care!
Andre f5ukl

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Hello Sylvia, Daniel and Joe and the companions,
Congratulations on the successful ascent and activation of the Wildspitze.
Thank you for the detailed report and the beautiful pictures.
Many memories are awakened of your own ascent of the long time ago. Continued success and I hope to hear from you again.
Best regards
Paul DL6FBK

3 Likes

Wow, I really enjoyed watching the adventure and felt exhausted as the team progressed with dificulty to breath.

Well done and thanks for another great video. Congratulations!
73 Ignacio

2 Likes

Chapeau bas Friends :exclamation:
WOW :exclamation:

73, Jarek

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Hi all,

again a great adventure report here on the Reflector, now on this side of the pond. Great achievement, good story! Had seen this summit once from far with respect – so now Jarek’s “Chapeau bas!” also from my side.

Good team here on tour, through all age segments. Exemplary!

Vy 73 de Markus, HB9DIZ

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It was for us too. The ice bridge and numerous crevasses made it a thrill.

Thanks Fred. I was needing breaks from time to time to calm down. But we managed safely and that’s all that matters.

Thanks Geoff

Danke Rudi für das QSO. Super auch OE7 im Log zu haben :+1:

Thanks Paul. Robert was actually commenting during our hike that this is one of the reasons for him to do such hikes.

Thanks Jarek

Indeed Markus. We can all be proud.

And on to the next adventure :smiley:
73 Joe

3 Likes

Thank you all for sharing that great adventure. I have watched it a few times and it gives me goose bumps! Good luck on your future trips.

73
Nick G4OOE

2 Likes

That applies to me on one end :stuck_out_tongue:
73 Sylvia
OE5YYN

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Sylvia absolutely not because ladies age divides onto 2 groups only:

  1. below 18
  2. 18

Men in the team were older I guess :wink:

73, Jarek

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That’s very nice of you to say :blush:
However, age was no problem: I was quite content with my fitness and performance.
Female Power :partying_face: :muscle: !

73, Sylvia

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… we are timeless, Sylvia, and built for eternity, hi.

73, DIZ

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I can fully confirm that. And btw I was the one asking for breaks to catch some air. Draw your conclusions :sweat_smile:

3 Likes