SOTA - Black Mountain - GW/SW-041

Black Mountain - 703m, 6 points
Association: Wales Region: South Wales
Latitude: 52 0 30 N, Longitude: 3 5 12 W
Grid Reference: SO 255350, QTH Locator: IO82KA

Just as I was about to leave the parking spot on the Gospel Pass, a car pulled up and parked beside me. A stranger alighted and immediately walked towards me.
"I hope you're going to stick to CW today" he said!
It was an unexpected encounter with Allan, GW4VPX, who was also going to activate Black Mountain!

Allan, GW4VPX, takes a selfie!

After a quick chat I set off for the summit  as I was on a tight schedule for the day.
I quickly set up after a pleasant walk in the fresh conditions. It didn't take long to set up on the Welsh side of the border. Operating form the English side only adds to confusion for the chasers!

Set up in Cymru

The Shack

 I was through working 20 metres when allan and his XYL, Val, arrived at the activation point. After a few more words and another photoshoot, Allan went off to find a suitable place to set up his shack.

Working 20 metres.

I carried on working on 40 metres followed by 30 metres for a respectable 40 QSOs in 40 minutes operating (including chat time!). 

A welcome S2S with came my way from DL8DXL/p on DM/SX-058.

Log

Before packing up, I walked over to see how Allan was getting on. He was well into the swing of things and just finishing off a stint on 60 metres before QSYing to 40m. He was, like me, sheltered behind his little tarp.

Allan and Val

After another quick chat, it was time for me to bid farewell and pack up and move towards my next summit of the day. 

Two SOTA stations!

Summary

Log2Map

A lovely activation and a pleasure to meet Allan and Val. Check out Allan's Blog  for a wealth of SOTA information.