For the third year in a row, the norwegian SOTA association organized a weekend-meeting from the 22th to 24th of August in Fagernes for all SOTA-enthusiasts and those interested. Last year’s meeting took place in Vågåmo, and two members of our Club checked it out back then. But with the participation of LB5DH, LB9JJ, LB0CJ, LB3BK and LB3KK this year, the group had more than doubled! And the weekend sounded very promising: lots of SOTA-summits in the area around Fagernes and en route.
After sketching up a rough plan on what summits we want to scale, we packed our things and embarked on a journey from Trondheim to Fagernes on Friday. Some of us also packed their VHF radios, which made the communication with the other SOTA participants way easier.
It would take us approximatelly 6 hours to drive by car. Since we did not want to sit around that whole time, we made plans to stop at Bitihorn (LA/OL-273) in the area around Jotunheimen and activate the top. This summit turned out to be the highest and most challenging to climb during our trip, but we all managed with ease, and even got our first QSO’s with LA9DSA on 2m on the way!
After a short lunchbreak on the top, we set up our 20 m vertical and got around to calling CQ. It was a bit difficult to secure the mast, and it fell over once or twice, but we nevertheless managed to rake up enough contacts for activation! By the time we finished, it was getting windy and cold, and we still had to travel a bit longer. So we didn’t waste too much time in taking down our setup, and started our hike down the mountain to where our car was parked.
Luckily, we were almost at the finish line for the day. All that was left to do was to get some groceries, drive up to LB9JJ’s cozy cabin not too far away, and to settle there for the weekend. We felt right at home!
The next day was going to be a bit busier. Our first major event of the day was the meetup with the other 11 SOTA people on top of Ålfjellen (LA/OL-289). When we arrived, most Hams had already erected a small antenna park and were hanging out in the warm sun. It was a great experience to meet and talk to operators with all different kinds of backgrounds, newcomers and veterans alike.
But this was not just a casual hangout, of course there was a clear task at hand. Ålfjellen was waiting to be activated by each one of us, and because this was a special occasion, we operated under the unique group-callsign LA1SOTA instead of our own. It didn’t take long to reach the required four contacts and even beyond. Maybe it was the rarity of this callsign that lured in many chasers. LB0CJ even logged a contact on 20m with an operator from New Zealand!
But we also had made further plans for the day. Our next stop would be Rennefjellet (LA/OL-288). We thought this could be a quick activation, since it was possible to park the car at a nearby road. But we were wrong for two reasons.
1: reaching the top, we realised that THIS was not Rennefjellet, but the other hill in the distance that was 5 meters higher.
2: the hillside was covered with berry bushes and we were in a snacky mood.
But when we got to the top, the activation itself went smoothly. Because most other operators had left Ålfjellet for new summits just like we did, we could call them up on our VHF radios and secure enough QSO’s. This meant that all of us activated the hill using only the 2m band, and that every single fetched QSO was a Summit-to-Summit contact, which is pretty cool.
We went back through wet marshland and reached the car, where we decided for a change of plans. There was going to be a social dinner together later in the evening and we were running short on time, so instead of doing one more SOTA trip, we opted for a first-time POTA activation that was lying on the way. The park in question was the Raunberget Nature Reserve (NO-3091).
Last stop for the day was the Scandic Hotel Valdres, where all operators would meet up again for a well-deserved dinner. The food was delicious, and us being the youngest at the table made for a lot of inspiring conversations. Safe to say, we had no trouble falling asleep after such a long day.
But before heading back to Trondheim on Sunday, we hiked up Skarvemellen (LA/OL-318) as we wanted to activate one last summit. This mountain definitely had the prettiest view and was a perfect conclusion to our weekend adventure. Coincidentally, our SOTA-friend LB8VA scaled Rundemellen at the same time right across the valley. Maybe he saw us waving from the top while talking to us over radio.
All in all, the SOTA-Gathering was considered a pretty huge success. Thanks for the fun trip, LB0CJ, LB3KK, LB5DH, LB9JJ and LB3BK!
Det var veldig hyggelig å treffe dere på samlingen! Håper dere blir med neste år også!
Sporty gjeng. 73s de LA5GX
It was great meeting you all, and I did indeed spot you on Skarvemellen from Rundemellen. We could have had a qso by semafore perhaps 🙂
73
LB8VA – Ivar