Saturday 14th December 2024 dawned overcast but calm and I set off to activate GM/CS-103 (Beinn Mheadhoin, 556 metres) a modest 2 pointer but an easy, pleasant walk, although much was on wide windfarm access roads. UK Grid Ref: NH 604214, QTH Locator: IO77ug. A pair of Red Kites circled above as I vigorously strode out to try and get warm.
During a quick exchange through his truck window with a passing gamekeeper, to check there was no shooting near the peak, I discovered I was parked illegally, but the gamekeeper said, “you’ll be fine today.” Thank goodness for weekends.
There has been a lot of new fenced enclosures on the estate to allow natural tree regeneration, a couple more Red Kites appeared, and the enclosures meant climbing a couple of rudimentary stiles over the 2 metre high deer fences. There were a lot of frozen pools and some intermittent patches of snow as I got to the large flat summit with a small summit cairn (stoneman) and a second well-made 6-foot cairn to indicate the top of the northeast ridge probably used in descent by deer stalkers and other estate workers.
There was a stiff breeze and a few metres east of the summit got me to a more sheltered position. The cloud was just around the 1000metre level as the top of nearby Carn na Saobhaidhe (GM/CS-074, 811m) was visible, but none of the slightly higher hills just beyond. The cairn became the anchor for a one end of a 20/40m half wave end fed antenna, up a 5 metres decathlon roach pole and the trusty KX2. I got a 22 SSB QSOs on 10m, 40m and 20m to activate my 334th winter bonus peak. So now I am a winter mountain goat, or perhaps more of a Musk Ox?
This has taken me 13 years, an average of 25.4 winter summits each year, ranging from 12 in 2011 (unsurprisingly lowest in my first year) to 35 this year, motivated by getting close to the 1000 points, although I did activate 33 summits in 2016 but only 14 in both 2020 and 2021, no idea why but the SARS Cov2 virus might be an influence!
Clearly my native land, Scotland was the most popular with 190 of them and second was Switzerland at 35. Austria 34, France 25, Spain 13, England 10, Italy 6, Japan 5, Belgium 3, Norway and Germany 2 each and single winter bonus activations in both Canada and the USA. I realise I have been very lucky to be able to travel so widely, usually on skiing trips, and I am so very grateful to the many, many chasers that have helped me in this often cold, occasionally risky but enjoyable and satisfying activity. Thanks to you all and also to my wife who often accompanies me on these outings, but not this Saturday as she had a better offer!!!
There are 13 activators who have already made Winter Mountain Goat, looking down the first 103 positions in the “all associations” list. So, it looks like I am only the 14th, but owing to my singular obsession of only activating summits unique to me, I wonder if I am the first Winter Mountain Goat achieved on 334 unique summits?
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I will crawl away back to my much visited lowly south Wales summits, completely outclassed but I am glad to find someone else who doesn’t like rickety deer fence stiles. I had no idea there were so many red kites in your area - I thought they were all in the Chilterns.