SOTA - Sugar Loaf - GW/SW-011

Sugar Loaf - 596m, 2 points
Association: Wales Region: South Wales
Latitude: 51 51 46 N, Longitude: 3 3 30 W
Grid Reference: SO 272188, QTH Locator: IO81LU

I started off for Sugar Loaf from the carpark in Forest Coal Pit to the north east of the summit.
This is a nice ascent from this side. This is a popular summit and for the first time I met several others ascending and descending from this side.

Approach from the NE

It's a fair pull up to the top, and as I arrived I was surprised to find probably 30 or 40 people already there around the trig point. This is a really narrow summit with only a small amount of real estate, so I took myself off to the eastern flank and tried to install myself out of the way of the public. As I was setting up a group of about 20 more people were ascending just below me.

Squeezing into a tight spot

 It was almost 1600z by the time I got on the air, and with sunset at 1730 and an hour's walk out, I didn't loose any time in getting down to business. I quickly rattled off 34 QSO's in the next 30 minutes, alas no S2Ss or time to search around for any.

Log

The shack

The summit was now long devoid of any other visitors, most having left not long after I arrived. The temperature was dropping rapidly with the setting sun and I quickly packed up and started on the trek back to the car.

Summary

Log2Map

The setting sun brought out the rich colours of the surrounding hills, a perfect end to a great day activating.

The summit to myself.

SOTA - GW/SW-011 - Sugar Loaf

Sugar Loaf - 596m, 2 points

Association: Wales Region: South Wales
Latitude: 51 51 46 N, Longitude: 3 3 30 W
Grid Reference: SO 272188, QTH Locator: IO81LU

I didn't arrive at the parking spot at Forest Coal Pit, on the Northern side of Sugar Loaf, until 14:45.

I had not approached Sugar Loaf from this direction before and so it was something of an unknown.

From the carpark it's an easy to navigate route with a well marked and trodden path to within sight of the summit. The last steep part of the ascent is a bit vague, you just look around for the obvious steps up to the summit! 

It's a good 2 mile walk and I was not setup and ready until 1600. The sun was already low in the sky and the chill in the air was increasing.

This is a popular and busy summit, with very little space, so I was glad that most people were packing up and descending as I arrived. There were a few people who came over and chatted about what I was doing.

I started off on 40 metres and the chasers soon found me!

A straight run of 38 contacts in 27 minutes saw most of the regulars in the bag.

I tuned up on 14Mhz and made a couple of calls but nothing materialised.

Very conscious of the time, the setting sun, the 1 hour descent and my frozen fingers, I decided not to persevere but pack up and call it a day.

I packed up with the sun rapidly dropping towards the western horizon, now the only person left on the summit.

Only 38 contacts on 40 metres and no S2S, but a pleasant walk and much nicer than the southern route as there is no steep single track road to negotiate on the way to the parking spot!

Total distance was 4.2 miles and 1230' of ascent.

Daily Total of 9.0 Miles and 2057' ascent.

93 QSOs, 4 S2S.

14 activator points.

On the descent. The sun sets.

SOTA - GW/SW-011 - Sugar Loaf

Sugar Loaf - 596m, 2 points

Association: Wales  Region: South Wales  
Latitude: 51 51 46 N, Longitude: 3 3 30 W
Grid Reference: SO 272188, QTH Locator: IO81LU

SOTA - Sugar Loaf - GW/SW-011

Sugar Loaf - 596m, 2 points

Association: Wales  Region: South Wales  
Latitude: 51 51 46 N, Longitude: 3 3 30 W
Grid Reference: SO 272188, QTH Locator: IO81LU

Next stop after Coity Mountain was Sugar Loaf. It rained quite heavily on the way to Sugar Loaf, but the sun was once again shining as arrived at the car park, although there were plenty of big rain clouds around. I set off on the walk towards the distant summit.
I met only 4 other people descending and a women out exercising her horse.The sun was shining down over Abergavenny and I was hopeful of a dry activation. The summit itself is fairly narrow with  very little room for HF antennas. Luckily it looked like I'd have the place to myself so used the trig point to lash the pole . There were very few other positions to mount it so this would be a problem if you were to visit on a busy weekend. My CQ was rapidly answered by the hoards just as te snow started to fall in earnest. 10 Minutes into the activation and I'm in a complete white out as the snow and clouds roll in and surround me. The crashes in my headphones left me a bit uneasy sitting up 600 metres in the clouds. Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing I decided to call it quits and get out whilst the going was good, unfortunately leaving a whole pack of chasers without a QSO. So only 16 QSOs and 7 DXCC this time around.. I packed up in the blizzard and no sooner had I done so than the clouds parted, the sun came out and everything looked calm and peaceful again! I was tempted to set up again and give the chasers their points, but with a long hike back, the day drawing on and an hour and a half drive home I just put on my back pack and started the descent.  So that's the winter bonus period over, we'll be back on these 2 pointers next season!

Sugar Loaf in the distance.

Sunshine over Abergavenny.

Antenna up and the snow arriving

Ready to go

The snow arrives.