Collecting SOTA Winter Bonus in Chiemgau Alps

Plagued by the longing for the Alps and the mountain idyll, I wanted to use some of the remaining vacation days for outdoor amateur radio activities in the local Alps. I was lucky enough to have two days of good weather to collect the winter bonus during SOTA activities. Winter always comes a little earlier in the Chiemgau Alps than in the rest of the foothills, and there were enough small, cozy mountains that I haven't activated yet.  I associate the Chiemgau Alps with leisurely, relaxed and relatively easy mountain tours where you can take your time for. And I needed some time to sort my thoughts out.

2021-03-30. Großstaffen, 1283m, DL/CG-027. 

I started from the Adersberg to train my legs a little and to do as much altitude as possible, and followed the mountain forest adventure trail (Bergwalderlebnisweg Staffen).  After an unspectacular difference in altitude of 700 meters, I reached the mountain top with a small summit cross around noon. As always, I logged into the summit book, briefly enjoyed the beautiful view of the Chiemsee, set up the station in peace and quiet, and threw a cozy CQ SOTA on the air. 

View of the Chiemsee on the way to Großstaffen, DL/CG-027.

The short half hour activity resulted in 28 QSOs on 20/30/40m with 2 summit-to-summit QSOs and 7 SOTA points. The highlight was a QSO with TA2. Usually there aren't that many chasers at this time, around 1 PM local time. I still had an hour for lunch. I found a sunny spot on the southern slope and made myself a delicious soup with noodles and beef sausage. I tell you, nowhere does the food taste as good as in the mountains! 

 Enjoying a great view, hearty food, sunny weather and fresh air.

2021-03-31. Zinnkopf, 1227m, DL/CG-065 and Zeller Berg, 1065m, DL/CG-106.

Since I was busy doing other things in the morning, I had to go on this tour quite late. I parked in Ruhpolding in Speck and targeted the Zinnkopf, DL/CG-065 first. It was an easy hike with some large and deep snow fields at the top. Arrived at 1 PM, I made myself comfortable on a wooden bench for half an hour activation, which brought me 30 QSOs with 4 summit-to-summit QSOs and 7 SOTA points. 

My operating spot on the Zinnkopf, DL/CG-065, 1227m. Chiemsee in the background. 

After a quick lunch I continued my expedition to the Zeller Berg, DL/CG-106. This small summit offers a wonderful view of Ruhpolding. Neither time nor operating point were optimal, but I easily managed to collect 24 QSOs including 2 QSOs from summit to summit within 40 minutes of operating time. 

My operating spot on the Zeller Berg, DL/CG-106, 1065m. Ruhpolding view.

The activation earned me 5 SOTA points. The most beautiful part of the hike was the ridge walk from the south summit to the north summit.  Both have small summit crosses with summit books that I have routinely logged into. 

Short Summary. 

Two beautiful half days in the Chiemgau mountains led to 3 unique QRP activations through 82 CW QSOs and 10 (summit points) + 9 (winter bonus points) = 19 alpine SOTA points. SOTA activations went as usual. The propagation was OK but not enough for DX. Very few hikers were on the way. The weather was great for two days.  

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD