Triathlon 2024 is over, running a marathon 2025

2024 was a SOTA year for me. I was very busy with SOTA activities in the Alps trying to reach as many "to-be-deleted" (TBD) summits as possible.  I would even say that I was slightly under pressure to take the last chance and activate as many TBDs as possible. Also, this and other numerous XOTA activations contributed to the achieving the platinum award in the GMA Triathlon. This was the first year I reached the annual Platinum Activator Status. Additionally, I just moved to the MEGA Activator level. It was fun! It was an unique and exciting experience to get there and reach that level, so I'm going to keep going. I wouldn't say it was very difficult, but it required some strategy, dedication and planning. As with any triathlon, there are some disciplines you may enjoy more than others, but you must do them all. Well, sure, I am proud of this achievement 😀💪. Now, I should continue and look forward and set new goals and challenges. So, what's next?

Only six activators reached the platinum status in the GMA Triathlon 2024.  

I was looking for a new challenge for 2025. All SOTA related challenges in the Alps are out of my scope. The glorious SOTA era in SOTA-DL is over, the SOTA-DL association just lost almost half of its references because of P150. Well, I just need to activate a dozen peaks in SOTA-DL to get 300 uniques for my German Alps Challenger Award in Gold. And that's all. It's kind of weird. Almost all XOTA programs try to attract new participants and release as many new references as possible or necessary to keep the program running.  However, SOTA is doing it the other way around, SOTA has basically made no progress for years (apart from the launch of the new associations) and is now even taking a step backwards. It's the same P150 rule with some arbitrary allowance of P100 in some priviledged countries and areas, the same arbitrary and unfair points system and the inconsistency in the association parameters. SOTA points and rankings are meaningless to me, however, it seems that it is still crucial for some competing folks. The SOTA MT simply doesn't care. Me too now. Their rules, their game. So, SOTA is now just for fun for me. Ob Sommer oder Winter, der Berg ruft immer! 

The WWFF just announced the WWFF 2025 Marathon.  Let’s take a look at the rules and review them. 

Awards for Hunters.

• “WWFF Pillar Hunter for working WWFF activators on at least 180 calendar days during the year.”

It looks like I'm still too young for the "WWFF Pillar Hunter Club", whose members are probably pensioners or unemployed OMs without families who can sit in front of the TRX every other day in the middle of the day. I am confused as to where the 180-calendar-days requirement comes from and what the goal is here. For those who will be leading the Top Hunter list, the 180-calendar-days requirement doesn’t play any role, since they will be hunting every day from morning to night and from dusk to down. I don't have this option. And I don't see how this requirement is supposed to encourage new hunters, such as people who work all day like me, families with children, youngsters or newcomers, to take part in the marathon and reach the pillar hunter status. The entry barrier to the "WWFF Pillar Hunter Club" is too high, so like many others I'm not going to join this club. No, no, I'm not sad about it at all, a typical Pillar Hunter is probably a very old man with a lot of free time, I just don’t fit the profile yet 😁. Why not a 44-calendar-days requirement for a basic award then? OK, your rules, your game, I don’t care, I'll just keep hunting occasionally like I always have.

• “For number of WWFF QSOs during the year: 244, 1,044, 2,044, and 3,044.”

Here the same story, I will not have time to chase and accompany the same activator through all the bands in all modes. One QSO is enough to have the park hunted. If I have the chance to work with him twice, I will.

• “For number of DXFF and during the year: 44.“  

Feasible and doable. I'm in. 

• “For number of KFF states/territories + VEFF provinces/territories + VKFF states/territories during the year: 44”.  

Would be difficult from my QTH, but not impossible. I guess it would work fine for POTA rather than for WWFF as there is a lot more going on in POTA across the pond. I 💖 DXing, so let's see how many I can reach! This award is probably intended primarily for hunters in NA.  

Awards for Activators.

• “WWFF Pillar Activator for activating at least one WWFF reference every month.”

This award can easily be achieved by everyone. You just need to activate at least one reference per month. It can be the same park around the corner. Just go there, have fun with your radio, enjoy nature, get some fresh air and collect QSOs. OK, I like it and I’m in 👍👊

• “For number of WWFF QSOs during the year: 244, 1,044, 5,044, and 10,044.”

I’m less interested in the number of QSOs. An award that simply indicates the number of OSOs completed during the year – 244 or 10,044 – does not excite me. I find the Kilo Award (1000 QSOs from one park) more elegant, where you can collect different Kilos from different parks. 

Many parks around the corner were activated several times on 20/40m during the solar minimum. Instead, I want to put more emphasis on high band DXing, reaching as many DXs as possible and giving new ones to DX hunters, especially since the high bands are now in top form. At some point the solar cycle maximum will be over for the next 11 years, and I don't want to miss that. Low bands can wait. High bands also mean far fewer QSOs, but when they are open, very nice DX opportunities. So why not to introduce an award for “the number of DXCC reached during the year: 44 or 88?” Okay, DX will be my own challenge then. DXing is especially fun within POTA as POTA is much more popular around the world. 

Secondly, I want to “GoGreen” as often as possible, at least once a month. It is not the award or the number of QSOs that are important, but above all the outdoor experience and the memory that remains. And an award can be a nice reminder of your outdoor and /P activities. Finally, it’s my run and my fun, isn't it? It’s also about home brewing, trying out new things and optimizing /P-equipment. It is about personal goals and sporting challenges as well as one's own health and inner satisfaction, etc.😀 Ohh, excuse me, I'm getting off topic. Let's move on 😁.

• “For number of confirmed P2P QSOs during the year: 44, 144, and 244.”

I do not actively collect P2P or S2S, but always respond respectfully to any /P callers. With WWFF, the P2P has to be entered manually into the log, which is very annoying. Unfortunatelly, there is no simple cross checking as with POTA.

And what is my final impression? The idea of ​​the marathon is basically good. However, the WWFF seems to make everything overly complicated. Make it simple and people will go for it. The WWFF marathon will certainly provide a boost in activity, but probably among the existing activators and hunters who were already represented in the program and rankings. The "WWFF Hunter Pillar Club" will certainly have many members this year, as radio amateurs in the EU suffer from the problem of aging. The WWFF Pillar Activator Award, which requires one activation per month, can be easily achieved by anyone who is not too lazy 👍. However, I do not see how the actual marathon rules are intended to attract and mobilize new groups of participants. POTA succeeds in doing that. The aim of the marathon is probably to stimulate activity within the WWFF own party 😉, but this is OK. I definitely won't be able to top any marathon rankings because I don't have time for it. However, I will have my fun and my own goals and challenges within the WWFF 2025 Marathon, which provides a solid framework for this.

Then let's run. My personal live score is here:

Short summary for January 2025

My focus in January was mainly on the high bands and DX when operating outdoor POTA/WWFF. The propagation conditions on the high bands were somewhat changeable, but still very good, and I didn't want to miss out on a chance for DX. I got a few nice P2P with NA on 10/15m, the highlight was a P2P QSO with JA on 15 m 👍. The ODX was ZL1. 

DD1LD/P statistics for January 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA.

 DD1LD/P QSOs map in January 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA.

Short summary for February 2025

I spent more time on the classic bands - 20/30/40m because of QRP SOTA and WWFF but still with a focus on DX. The ODX was LW2. The propagation on the high bands was good at the beginning of the month and deteriorated towards the end. 

DD1LD/P statistics for February 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA with QRP and LP.

DD1LD/P QSOs map in February 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA with QRP and LP.

Short summary for March 2025

The CONDX on high bands were weak in March if compared to January and early Febraury. In general, the propagation was very changeable (K=3-4 and SFI=160 in average) on all bands. So, I spent less time on the high bands and more time on the classic bands 20/30/40m. I just worked whatever the band was open. A couple of the WWFF activations were a bit tough. The ODX was CE3 on 10m in CW. 

DD1LD/P statistics for March 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA with QRP and LP.

DD1LD/P QSOs map in March 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA with QRP and LP.

Short summary for April, May and June 2025

Propagation conditions have noticeably deteriorated in April. DX rarely appears in the log, usually on 15m/20m. Due to the weak and changeable conditions, any QRP activation with much deeper QSB became more difficult. May and June are SOTA season for me, so the focus was less on WWFF and more on SOTA. 

DD1LD/P statistics for April 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA with QRP and LP.

DD1LD/P statistics for May 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA with QRP and LP.

The main activity in June was in 9A with 1100 QSOs (see HERE). Mainly EU with some rare DX were in the Log. Hard times for /P activations 😒.   

DD1LD/P statistics for June 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA with QRP and LP.

CU agn es 73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

Project 2024: The Island of Pag is more than IOTA - Summary

May 18th - June 1st, 2024. The island of Pag is a great place to spend your holydays getting to know and try new things. It is the fifth largest island on the Croatian coast with a rich history and cultural heritage. We have really enjoyed everything, and we had a great time. I think two weeks is fine for a stay, but a week longer would have been better in my opinion. The island offers many opportunities for outdoor amateur radio activities and is a lot of fun. You can easily combine your XOTA activities and expeditions with exploring the island by bike, walking and hiking, canoeing, boating and swimming in the sea, sightseeing and spending great time with family and friends.   

Welcome to the island of Pag by a local reception committee. Hello?! QRZ? 😄

Unfortunately, I had to drop some activations due to very weak propagation conditions and radio blackouts, where some activations like WWFF and COTA (requiring 44 and 50 QSOs respectively) would have been a tough job, or even wouldn’t have been successful at all, especially with QRP. Under such conditions an activation in the GMA style (where a minimum of 4 QSOs is required) is a nice opportunity to collect your new XOTA references for the GMA triathlon and boost your score. However, you may not be completely satisfied with such an activation because you will be missing the majority of your known and loyal chasers, and you will not qualify these activations for the WWFF and COTA programs. A SOTA and/or GMA activation requiring only 4 QSOs to quality and get the points was an easy job, although I always tried to get more QSOs. Depending on the actual propagation conditions I had to be very flexible and decide spontaneously whether I wanted to risk an activation or whether I would rather spend time with family and friends. My wrong decision could have resulted in me being on the air for 5 hours just to collect 50 QSOs or less, as it was the case with the activation of 9AFF-0073. It was quite difficult to plan ahead, so when in doubt I decided to stay with family. All in all, I was quite satisfied with my 13 XOTA activations and 400 QRP QSOs made with 4W. Of course, I tried to activate GoGreen as often as possible. Let me start wrapping up with my main interests – SOTA and WWFF.    

SOTA. There are three easy-accessible one-pointers on the island: 9A/PH-052, Sveti Vid; 9A/PH-057, Veli Brig; 9A/PH-060, Panos. I activated them all. For SOTA point collectors, the island of Pag is not the best place, they go elsewhere. I got three uniques credited to my SOTA account, each worth one point. Not much, however, they all offer great views over the island and are worth a visit.  

WWFF. There are five valid WWFF references: 9AFF-0138, Zrce; 9AFF-0073, Kolanjsko blato; 9AFF-0023, Lun; 9AFF-0075, Rezervat Dubrava – Hanzina; 9AFF-0074, Veliko i Malo Blato. I was only able to successfully activate three of them (marked in bold), and by more than 50 QSOs. The activation of 9AFF-0073 was lengthy and tough due to an unexpected radio blackout. I planned a GoGreen activation of 9AFF-0075 a couple of times but ended up missing that activation even though it was relatively close to our QTH because the propagation conditions were very poor over the last days. 

GMA. I added and activated two new references 9A0/PH-001, Velo Tusto Celo and 9A0/PH-002, Vela Glavica. It was probably the first historical GMA activation in 9A ever. Both are striking mountains and worthwhile destinations (see my activation reports in May). The nice thing about the GMA program is that you can choose your favorite mountain on the island, add a new reference to the database yourself and activate it as often as you like. So I did it and chose the places I wanted to visit. The GMA expeditions were a nice addition to my cycling and hiking tours. Nothing more and nothing less. The island's mountains are low and, similar to SOTA, you don't get many points for. It’s about exploring the island and having some fun with your radio! 

COTA. There are two current references: 9A-0184, Ruin Fortica and 9A-0264, Knezev Dvor. There could be more, however, it looks like there is no official WCA/COTA Croatia group taking care about. Since I have become an opportunistic WCA/COTA participant, the very quick activation of Knezev Dvor took place in the GMA style during our visit to the town of Pag. I needed at least one more COTA activation for the GMA Triathlon Award 2024 in Gold and did not want to miss the chance 😉. 

IOTA & WLOTA. It’s a sweet combo. Each QSO out of a total of 400 made on the island counts not only for IOTA, EU-170, but also for WLOTA, LH-1796. Because WLOTA rule 2.1.1 states: “It is not necessary to be near the lighthouse but only in the same island as the lighthouse.” Well, whether this rule makes sense or not would be another debate. The demand for IOTA and WLOTA seemed to be rather low, especially compared to WWFF.

ARLHS. There are two references on the island - CRO-055, Zigljen and CRO-092, Mandre. I have never participated in ARLHS activities before. It's not my thing at all, but I activated them both. What? 😱 Yes, and do you want to know why? My youngest is fascinated by lighthouses and my oldest by FT-8 😂. Just simple like that plus poor propagation. The activations were short and purely technical in nature in the GMA style, as required for the GMA triathlon. Nothing more and nothing less. The criteria for selecting references in the ARLHS and WLOTA programs are not clear to me, there are many more interesting and attractive lighthouses on the island. And I have no idea how much demand there is for lighthouse references.

POTA. POTA is not there yet because there is no interest and no demand yet. But honestly, I am a very opportunistic POTA participant who is watching the future development of the program. And POTA is not eligible for GMA (yet?). 

BOTA. Although the island is one of those with the longest coastline and there are many beautiful hidden beaches, I had and have no interest. I only care whether it's about Beers On The Air 🍺😉😄.

My two favorite award programs – SOTA and WWFF – are the most popular outdoor amateur radio programs in 9A. The number of SOTA references is limited to three according to the summit definition per P150, whereas GMA is offering more options for mountain amateur radio enthusiasts. WWFF is a lot of fun, the local and international community is much bigger than in SOTA and GMA combined. And maybe there will be some new WWFF references on the island in the future.

National 9A SOTA and WWFF awards are a nice bonus and a good way to remember all the activities. Tnx to the 9A SOTA and 9AFF clubs and enthusiasts!

GoGreen XOTA. The island of Pag is a perfect place for cyclists and hikers of all ages and skill levels and therefore for GoGreen activities. This is where GoGreen XOTA is fun, especially when the propagation conditions are right, since every QSO counts. Each time you activate GoGreen your GoGreen points will be multiplied by at least a factor of three due to the EU-170 and LH-1796 cross references. 

You should try GoGreen by bike when you visit this island! It's really fun! 

Click on the logo to read more about GoGreen XOTA.

My personal highlights 👍 were: 

• GoGreen expeditions to 9A/PH-060, Panos and 9A0/PH-002, Vela Glavica. I was rewarded with great views, lonely moon-like landscapes and solitude. It is probably the most beautiful corner on the island.
• GoGreen activation of 9A0/PH-001, Velo Tusto Celo. I will always remember a mini pile-up at sunset close to the Pag Triangle, where in Croatia you can, with a bit of luck, observe UFOs 🌌😉.  I wasn't so lucky to encounter UFOs or aliens, but, given the weak propagation, I was lucky enough to enjoy each of the 70 QRP QSOs in CW in absolute solitude just before dinner.
• Exploring wonderful and weird moon-like landscapes, and discovering nice hidden beaches.
• Enjoying the food & wine and having a great time with family and friends!

And lowlights 👎 were:

• Radio blackouts and poor propagation conditions under which QRP is no longer fun.  A small team from the Croatian 9AFF club organized a WWFF expedition to the island of Pag from May 11th to 15th, just a few days before our arrival. The team had to contend with severe blackouts in radio waves propagation, and for this reason, some activations were cancelled and postponed. Their brief report is available HERE on the 9AFF site.   
• Missed [GoGreen] activations of 9AFF-0075, Rezervat Dubrava – Hanzina and 9AFF-0074, Veliko i Malo Blato. For me it would have been two new ones. 9AFF-0075 in particular would have been a nice GoGreen ride along the coast.
• There are a few more interesting and potential GMA spots that I wanted to go to but gave up due to lack of time.
• Long travel times and stress, road constructions and traffic jams, road and tunnel tolls 😠. 

I finally earned the GMA Triathlon Award in Gold in May 2024 👍💪

Do you want to try it too ? 😉🍀

All in all, a great time for the whole family and lots of fun with the outdoor radio! It never gets boring there, on the island of Pag! 

Tnx all es 73, 44, 11, 77 de Dzianis, DD1LD

X-8: 9A0/PH-002, Vela Glavica

 Dienstag, 28.05.2024

Gestern legte ein leichter geomagnetischer Storm (mit K=4-5) die Bänder still. Ich entschied mich für den Strand mit Familie und Freunden, und es war eine goldrichtige Entscheidung 👍. 

Während meiner Aktivierung von Panos, 9A/PH-060 vorige Woche gefiel mir die Umgebung um Metajna so sehr, dass ich die Gegend etwas weiter östlicher von Panos erkunden wollte. Ob ich meine Wanderung durch die Mondlandschaft auf dem Life on Mars Trail mit einer GMA-Aktivierung kombinieren könnte? Ich schaute mir die topographische Karte von der Gegend genauer an, und legte eine neue GMA-Referenz - 9A0/PH-002, Vela Glavica, 117m an. Die Prominenz/Schartenhöhe von Vela Glavica dürfte um 100m sein, die Luftlinie zum Panos ist über 2km. Es passte mir. 

Es war eine einsame und wunderschöne Wandertour. Die Bilder unten sagen mehr als Tausend Worte. 

Auf dem Weg zu 9A0/PH-002, Vela Glavica (im Hintergrund links). 

In der Mitte Paška Vrata / Pager Tor.

Die Aussicht von 9A0/PH-002, Vela Glavica. Sveti Vid, 9A/PH-052 im Hintergrund. 

Die Aussicht von 9A0/PH-002, Vela Glavica. Panos, 9A/PH-060 und Teplice (keine Referenz) im Hintergrund. 

Die Ausbreitungsbedingungen auf 40m waren dürftig mit viel QSB. Das 30m Band war komplett zu, das 20m Band war just OK. Das Funken war ein mühsames Unterfangen 😞. Mit viel Zeitaufwand kratze ich 30 QSOs zusammen, mit 50/50 auf 40m und 20m und verabschiedete mich mit QRT und einer gelungenen GMA-Aktivierung. 

Mein Operating Spot auf von 9A0/PH-002, Vela Glavica. 

Es wurde allmählich heiß in der Mittagssonne. Ich stieg runter zum Strand namens Slana und genoss zuerst mal eine Runde Schwimmen im kühlen Wasser. Es tat mir gut bei der Hitze. Am Strand befindet sich ein imposanter 100m langer Klettersteig, der entlang einer Felswand nur 1-2 Meter über dem Meer verläuft. Ich hatte keine Kletterausrüstung mit dabei, konnte aber den Klettersteig nicht auslassen. Es ging auch ohne 😉.  Nach einer kurzen Verschnaufpause ging's dann zügig zurück nach Zubovići . 

  Insgesamt 18 GoGreen Kilometer. Visoka Strana und Panos, 9A/PH-060 im Hintergrund.   

77 de Dzianis, 9A/DD1LD

X-3: 9A0/PH-001, Velo Tusto Čelo

Mittwoch, 22.05.2024

Ich hatte einen Platten. Zwei kleine Löcher.  Ein kleiner harter Dorn bohrte sich durch den dicken Reifen in den Schlauch und blieb im Reifen feststecken. Wahrscheinlich von der letzten 9AFF-Aktivierung in Zrće.  Ich musste meine morgendliche SOTA-Tour verschieben, und mich mit allen erdenklichen Reparaturen und Familienaufgaben beschäftigen. 

Am Abend blieb genug Zeit für eine kurze Aktivierung. Ich entschied mich, die allererste GMA-Aktivierung in 9A zu wagen. Ob es gut gehen würde? 

Die Wahl für die Erstaktivierung fiel auf einen Berg namens Velo Tusto Čelo, 190m.  Der Berg erfüllte meine eigenen Kriterien für die Aufnahme in die GMA-Referenzliste. Es ist ein markanter Erhebungspunkt mit einer Schartenhöhe von ca. 100m und einer Dominanz (zu 9A/PH-060) von 8km. In der Nähe befindet sich eine Sehenswürdigkeit Pag Triangle, die jedes Jahr die Scharren an Touristen mystisch anzieht. So verpasste ich dem Berg mit ruhigen Gewissen eine Referenznummer 9A0/PH-001. 

Eine Art Mondlandschaft.

Es gibt einen markierten Pfad zum Pag Triangle, von dort ist es nur ein kurzer Sprung zum markanten Gipfel. Ich genoss die schöne Aussicht, Einsamkeit und Ruhe, warme Sonnenstrahlen, frische Luft und das Funken. In knapp über anderthalb Stunden loggte ich 69 QSOs auf 20/30/40m. Ja, es lief hervorragend, es machte Spaß, ich war sehr zufrieden!  Das Highlight war ein Anruf von HZ1 auf 20m in CW. Ein kleines Pile-Up auf 30m machte Laune. Viele bekannte Rufzeichen und XOTA-Jäger füllten das Logbuch.    

Funkbetrieb von 9A0/PH-001, V. Tusto Čelo.

Ein Stück Geschichte wurde heute geschrieben. Heute fand die erste GMA-Aktivierung in 9A DXCC statt. Der erste Stein wurde gelegt, die Insel hat einige imposante Berge, die keine SOTA Referenz aufweisen jedoch im Rahmen des GMA-Programms aktiviert werden können.  

14 GoGreen Kilometer und viel Natur hautnah. 

Tnx es 77 de Dzianis, 9A/DD1LD

Starting GoGreen Season 2024

The weather on Sunday, March 3rd, 2024 was just beautiful and invited outdoor activities. I spontaneously decided to cycle to my favorite hill Stürzerberg, DA/AV-199, which is now in POTA DE-0570. I spent about two hours in the warm spring sunshine and collected 90 QSOs and GoGreen points. It was late afternoon (~4 p.m. local time) and a little too late for the high bands. Thus, the focus was on 30 and 40m. 

DA20XOTA on air. Operating spot. Just before QRT.

So, all with 5W QRP and 20/30/40 EFHW:

• 20m: 12x CW
• 30m: 50x CW
• 40m:  21x CW + 7x SSB
• 21 countries worked
  

Wow, that was fun! I didn't expect such a good turnout for GMA/POTA 👍. I should have come a little earlier for high bands and stayed a little longer on 40m 😉. The SSB portion could be better, but there was a lot of QRM and splatter.  The nice thing about the GMA program is that you can activate the same local mountain every day and get the credit for it. Next time I would try a run on 10m for sure.  

Big tnx to all chasers es 73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

GoGreen SOTA - Crossing the Benediktenwand

September the 2nd and 3rd, 2023. GoGreen SOTA - Crossing the Benediktenwand in two days.

I've always wanted to do this tour, crossing the Benediktenwand from Lenggries to Kochel. The opportunity didn't come until the beginning of September with the nice weather. I wasn't sure whether I should run a mountain marathon and activate all five SOTA mountains in one day, or whether I should turn it into a pleasure tour. Since it was supposed to be a GoGreen activity, I was slowly leaning towards a longer tour, where I would have enough time for radio. The plan would be to achieve at least 50 QSOs which are equivalent to one GoGreen Clover from each summit. If you are not familiar with GoGreen XOTA, please take a look HERE. And I had another goal in mind, I wanted to locate the ibex population around the Benediktenwand in order to admire these rare, majestic wild animals in person. So, as a precaution, I packed a few things for bivouac and set off on the tour early the next day.

The one and a half long drive to Lenggries was pretty boring. It was a Saturday and the train to Lenggries was full. I was happy to get a seat. It was a 2km walk from the train station to the Brauneckbahn. From there to the first summit, Latschenkopf, 1711m, DL/BE-013 it was an easy 5km long jump. At 9:45 a.m. I reached the first SOTA summit. I made myself comfortable a little away from the summit cross, where 10 other mountaineers were milling about, and curiously went into the air. Would I scrape together the 50 QSOs? Yes, it worked UFB, I made 53 QSO (with 4x s2s) in CW in an hour of operation time. A few visitors watched me over my shoulder as I operated in Morse. It was fun! 

Operating from the Latschenkopf, 1711m, DL/BE-013.

The second peak, Achselköpfe, 1710m, DL/BE-015 was only 1.5km away. It is a small, narrow, and lonely peak, to which a barely visible path leads. It is very rare for a tourist to get lost here. At 12:30 I had my L-antenna up. Here I enjoyed the peace, the all-round view and the radio. I logged 54 QSOs including 9x s2s and 5x SSB in five quarters of an hour. It was fun!

Operating from the Achselköpfe, 1710m, DL/BE-015.

The third summit, Benediktenwand, 1800m, DL/BE-016 was in sight, it was only 1.5km from here. When I arrived at the summit, I took a long break to satisfy my hunger and wait for the many noisy tourists to leave the summit. I logged the first QSO at 4:40 p.m. Well, it was quite late to expect many SOTA chasers. The propagation conditions were also not particularly favorable either. It was quite though. I only logged 16 CW QSOs in half an hour!? It was enough for a valid SOTA activation, but it didn't satisfy me. I grabbed the microphone, called CQ, searched for and collected all the /P stations participating in the SSB Field Day. Once again I called CQ SOTA, then again I worked in the SSB Field Day and distributed valuable points to the /P stations. It was a tedious task scrubbing all the QSOs in SSB! I scraped together 57 QSOs (~50/50 in CW/SSB) in 2.5 hours and called it a day. The main LiPo battery was going to die, only 2.5W came out of the FT-817. It was just no fun anymore!

Operating from the Benediktenwand, 1800m, DL/BE-016.

The sun set mercilessly. It was late and I was tired. The Tutzinger hut was full. For safety reasons, I decided to spend the night in the refuge. My slight hope of having the whole shelter to myself died when I arrived at the refuge. A couple with a dog has already settled down next to my sleeping mat. They were typical Instagram/YouTube bloggers who were just keen to record the sunset and sunrise with all kinds of cameras in order to get more and more Likes on social media. Hikes for Likes 👍? No, thanks! 👎 How about enjoying the sunset in peace, savoring this peace and letting your thoughts roam freely? Nothing like that. The woman babbled loudly and incessantly… Nevertheless, the sunset was stunningly beautiful!

The sunset on the Benediktenwand was stunningly beautiful!

The night in the shelter was restless. The bloggers woke me up several times. Loud and disrespectful! It was still dusk when I slipped out of my sleeping bag and went outside to watch the sunrise. Breathing in the fresh mountain air at sunrise is a unique feeling that will stay in your memory forever!

The view from and sunrise on the Benediktenwand was fantastic!

Pure adventure. Overnight stay in the refuge close to the Benediktenwand. 

I only had three liters of water for two days, just enough. 

It was time to leave and head to the fourth summit, Glasswand, 1496m, DL/BE-017. On the way down to the Glaswandscharte I suddenly saw them - the ibexes. Two bucks were observed grazing for quite a long time and even walked along for a while until they finally disappeared into the thick mountain pines. What a blessing to see these majestic wild animals in the wild and get so close to them! A little further down I met an older ibex who was watching me curiously from a rock wall. We looked at each other respectfully, greeted each other briefly in silence, and each of us went our own way, he going up and I going further down. It was a unique experience!

Mountain Goat DD1LD meets two real mountain ibexes. 

From the col to the Glaswand, 1496m, DL/BE-017 I traveled with light luggage. Around 9 a.m. I reached the small summit cross. It is a beautiful and lonely mountain that, according to the summit book, is very rarely visited. You find peace there. I made 31 CW QSOs in 45 minutes. To get the remaining 19 QSOs I would have needed at least half an hour more. I left it be and walked quickly and smoothly back to the col (to the Glaswandscharte). 

Operating from the Glaswand, 1496m, DL/BE-017.

From the Glaswandscharte to the fifth mountain Rabenkopf, 1555m, DL/BE-018 it was 5km through the Staffelalm, which is managed during the grazing season and is located on the south side of the Rabenkopf. The tiny top of the Rabenkopf was fully packed at lunchtime. I found a suitable spot on the steep northwest slope under the summit cross and went into the air at a quarter to one. In just over an hour 37 QSOs were logged including 4x s2s. The final SSB run on 20m got me 11 QSOs in 5 minutes, and then nothing else came in. I had neither the desire nor the time for search & pounce with QRP in the SSB Field Day. Actually I could, but the small backup battery was pretty dead. It was time to go home. I packed everything up while chatting with some interested parties about SOTA.

Operating from the Rabenkopf, 1555m, DL/BE-018.

It was a 10km long and quite boring walk to the train station in Kochel am See. It took me over 3 hours to get home from the train station by alternative transport... The only downer 👎.

It was a wonderful and unforgettable GoGreen ridge crossing. I activated five SOTA mountains (two ones were Uniques for me), collected 30 SOTA points, 234 GoGreen QSOs/Points, three GoGreen Clovers and made 184 GoGreen kilometers. And I was very lucky to be able to observe the ibexes up close. My long-awaited wish had come true!

Mni tnx es 73, 77 de Dzianis, DD1LD

Recharge Day in Mangfall Alps, SOTA DL/MF-061 and MF-062

April 27th, 2021.

It was a long, relaxed and gorgeous SOTA tour in the Mangfall Mountains together with Andy, DL2DVE, which will be remembered for a long time.  Spontaneously the day before we decided to activate the two summits MF-061 and MF-062 on this sunny but cool day.  One of these beautiful mountains (or even both) will sooner or later fall victim to P150. So we wanted to take the chance to put our names on the "Activator Roll of Honour" 😀 for both summits before that happens.

We started from the Tunnelberg (Sudelfeldstraße) at around 7:00 UTC and arrived at the Riesenkopf, DL/MF-061, 1337m via the long nice north trail at 9:30 UTC. There were a few walkers up there. While Andy was enjoying himself with the public work to educate all the curious folks about SOTA and ham radio, I quickly installed my station on the edge and got on the air.

View of the Wendelstein, DL/MF-079 from my operating spot on the Riesenkopf, DL/MF-061. 

I quickly scoured 30m and 40m bands and was on 20m when Andy finally started tuning his TRX on 20m. Well, I had to move (that was the deal with Andy) and decided to explore the 17m band, where I even succeeded to gather 4 QSOs. As soon as Andy changed to 30m I had one last run on 20m and QRTed with 40 QSOs in my log. The propagation was OK, the 40m band was weak. I stowed my station in the backpack, signed into the summit book, and rushed to Andy, who was still working through the last chasers on the opposite side of the mountain. We both got over 60 CW QSOs on 40/30/20/17m in 40 minutes of operating time.  Not bad at all!

View to the north from the Riesenkopf, DL/MF-061 through Andy's multiband GPA.

Walkers slowly flooded the summit, it was right time to leave this one and approach the next one, Rehleitenkopf, DL/MF-062, 1338m through the Riesenkopfalm (1176m). When we reached the summit an hour later, the question arose whether we should have lunch or go on the air first. We opted for the second option. We started CQing around 12:15 UTC and a short CW party started over. The propagation conditions worsened compared to noon. So there was no DX. After 40 minutes of operation we starved to death and took a long lunch break.  I only had 27 QSOs on my log 😐 when I chose to QRT .  

My operating spot on the Rehleitenkopf, DL/MF-062 on this hazy late afternoon. 
A mandatory entry in the summit book was also a must.  

We prepared our meal quickly but with love, made ourselves comfortable on the sunny mountain top and enjoyed the delicious food, fresh-smelling coffee and the great view... And we were alone on the summit the whole time!  ✌ The summit was ours! After lunch, as a tribute to the SOTA community 😀, Andy had one final run on 40m to collect the last of the chasers. Altogether we logged around 55 QSOs in CW on 40/30/20/17m from DL/MF-062. 

Enjoy, relax and recharge...  

Finally, we packed up and descended to the parking spot at the Tunnelberg, past the Hirschnagel and Riesenkopf. We arrived at the parking lot at 16:00(+) UTC, completely mentally relaxed and deeply satisfied with the tour. We finished this SOTA expedition with a solid number of QSOs in CW, two unique activated summits, 8 SOTA activator points and a little over 1000 altitude meters for each of us. What a recharge day and a gorgeous tour!  

Mni tnx all chasers fer QSO! 73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/P

GoGreen (Re)Activation of DLFF-0706

The original plan was to activate something new and unique far from home. And the plan had to be changed the day before. Therefore, a long story short, the best choice under new circumstances was to reactivate the DLFF-0706 and GMA DA/AV-384.

I operated from the same spot as last year.  This time I threw the EFHW antenna over a tree branch instead of using a rod. It gave me a few feet more height compared to. I made myself comfortable in front of a great view of Lake Egglburg and looked forward to a nice pile-up.  My QRP signal went on the air on 20m at ~ 9:30 UTC.

GoGreen reactivation of DLFF-0706 and DA/AV-384.

I tell you it was a tough job! Bad propagation conditions in combination with deep QSB led to a QSO number just over 100 within 2 hours of the actual operating time.  The 20m band was fairy open, I got NA, Asian Russia and a nice run series to Scandinavia and Spain in the log. And that was it!  Running 30m was a tedious undertaking.  The 40m band was probably in its worst shape I can remember?!  So the job was to scrub all sorts of QSOs. The running rate was low and I had enough time to empty my coffee thermos between CQ calls. I was happy to have passed the 100 QSO mark to claim this QSO collecting action as a paramount GoGreen activation requiring a minimum of 100 QSOs. I succeeded, but I wasn't that happy 😬.  Well, a lot of new hunters / callsigns that I haven't worked yet from this nature reserve were a good accomplishment on 20m. 

My operating spot in front of a great view of Lake Egglburg.

(Un)fortunately I was expected somewhere else and had to QRT and leave at 12:30 PM UTC. The bike ride through the Ebersberg forest was awesome as always! In the late afternoon I enjoyed some other more joyful and relaxing outdoor activities 😈. There were many WWFF and COTA activations on this sunny Sunday.  I was wondering how they were doing?! Let's see their feedback... 

Short summary and statistics for DD1LD/P:

• Date: April 25th, 2021
• Equipment: QRP (5W) + EFHW
• Operating time: ~2 hours
• Participation time: ~3 hours
• QSOs: 104 in total with 20m – 51%, 30m – 19%, 40m – 30%
• DXCC worked: 29 
• Top countries worked: UR, OH and SP 
• Continents worked: 3
• DX: KD1, RA0
• GMA reference: DA/AV-384, Kirchberg
• GMA activator points: 5
• WWFF reference: DLFF-0706, Vogelfreistätte Egglburger See.
• WWFF-valid QSOs: 102 (w/o dupes)
• Unique callsigns: 90
• WWFF activator points: 2
• GoGreen: yes, paramount activation
• Cycled distance: ~40 km

Mni tnx all chasers and activators fer QSO!

73, 77 de Dzianis, DD1LD/P 

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

Our Summer Holidays 2020 in Bavaria

How it all started.

The summer holidays came along with perplexity.  The original plan was to repeat our 2018 camping tour to Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. It was great fun and I hope at some point I will have a little more time to summarize this great tour on my blog.

The critical COVID-19 situation, the changing weather and the endless traffic jams at the national borders ultimatealy demotivated us for this long tour with two small children this year. Where should we go?

Let’s stay and camp home, I suggested. Bavaria is a beautiful state with many exciting places and beautiful nature. We have large lakes, wild rivers, fairytale forests, rolling hills, and high alpine mountains and lakes as clear as sparkling crystals. Everybody agreed. 😃

We spent the first part of our camping holidays in the Isarhorn nature camping park which is located on the Isar river at the foot of the Karwendel mountain range and 3 km from Mittenwald. Due to heavy rain showers and scattered thunderstorms we had to interrupt our camping trip and return home for a few nights. Then we spent the second part of our camping holidays in the Fall village close to the Sylvenstein lake in Karwendel.  Of course, some amateur radio activities took place whenever possible.

Wednesday, August 19th, 2020. SOTA Activation.

Operating spot on the Gerstenrieder Kopf, DL/MF-103.

After rainy, cold days the weather finally got better. Kirian and I activated the Gerstenrieder Kopf (Hochalm), 1421m, DL/MF-103 with 25 QSOs in CW in 30 minutes of operating time. It was a nice workout for Kirian with an altitude of ~500 meters and a total distance of ~10 km.  It’s a very beautiful and adventurous trail through the forest. Our boy made it easy but got quite tired when we got back to the car.

The SOTA activation was business as usual. Not many chasers around 10:00 UTC. Nice view from the top. Some curious walkers and cows around. An easy and relaxed tour.

Thursday, August 20th, 2020. Arrival at the Isarhorn Nature Camping Park.

Arrival at the Isarhorn Nature Camping Park at 11:00 UTC. Building everything up. Walking around. Chatting with other campers. Jumping into the cold river. Enjoying the outdoors. Relaxing in the sun. Beer & Grill in the evening with Andy, DL2DVE and his family.

Actually, I don't really like campsites, I love wild camping, but this one is really nice and not that crowded. Thumbs up! 👍

Yesterday Andy, DL2DVE activated the W. Karwendelspitze, DL/KW-008 in 2m FM, while Kirian and I activated the Gerstenrieder head DL/MF-103 in CW. So today was a relaxing day for us.

Friday, August 21th, 2020. GoGreen SOTA and WWFF Activation.

It was a hard GoGreen activation of the Arnspitze, 2196m, DL/WS-036 in the Arnspitze nature reserve, DLFF-0760 on a very hot day. The bike ride from the campsite to the parking lot Ried took about 30 minutes, the hike to the Arnspitze from the parking lot took about 2 hours. The valley wind in the morning was unusually warm, which indicated a hot day.

I arrived at the top of the Arnspitze at 8:00 UTC. The view from the top was fantastic! I was alone for a (short) while.  What will my next route be here? I guess I know but 😶

 View from the Arnspitze towards the top of Germany, Zugspitze, DL/WS-001 (right upper corner).

The sun above my head blazed mercilessly down with all the intensity of a burning glass. After 110 QSOs in 1.5 hours of uptime and roasting in the blazing sun, I decided to QRT.  The propagation conditions were fair to good.

My operating spot on the Arnspitze, DL/WS-036 in DLFF-0760.

Although I initially toyed with the idea of activating one or the other SOTA reference that day, I said goodbye to this thought. It got too hot for me, the rather high temperature did not provide sufficient cooling for the body, and I ran out of drinking water.  I could have activated the Riedboden nature reserve DLFF-0761 on the way back, but wanted to spend as much time as possible with the family in the afternoon.

The first thing I did when I got back to the campsite was jump into the cold river. The outside temperature was close to 33°C, any kind of cooling was welcome. We spent the rest of the day relaxed at the campsite.

Short summary and statistics for DD1LD/P:

• Date: August 21th, 2020
• Equipment: high alpine QRP (5W)
• Operating time: ~ 1 and 1/2 hours
• QSOs: 110 in total, 20m – 22 QSOs, 30m – 31 QSOs, 40m – 57 QSOs
• DXCC worked: 24 
• Top countries worked: DL (27x), ON (11x), I (10x)
• Continents worked: 1
• DX: EA, SV
  

• SOTA summits: 1x unique
• SOTA reference: DL/WS-036, Arnspitze, 2196m.
• SOTA-valid QSOs: 110
• SOTA activator points: 8
• GMA activator points: 21
• S2S: 1 
  

• WWFF areas: 1x unique and NEW
• WWFF reference: DLFF-0760, Arnspitze
• WWFF-valid QSOs: 110 (w/o dupes)
• Unique callsigns: 104
• WWFF activator points: 2
• P2P: 3 
  

• Altitude difference made: > 1300m 
• Cycled distance: 20 km
• Walked distance: ~8 km
• GoGreen: yes
• GPS-track record: available on request 

Saturday, August 22nd, 2020. Quick WWFF Activation.

The Riedboden nature reserve DLFF-0761 was only 10 km away by bike. Yesterday I cycled there, the cycle path leads through a very beautiful landscape along the Isar river. Just sit on the gravel and listen to the rush of the water - a little break on the banks of the Isar is worthwhile in any aspect! However, today I decided against GoGreen in favor of family activities, but also partly because of the bad weather forecast.

Breakfast, packing, checking out in the morning. We all (Andy, DL2DVE, me and our families) arrived at the Riedboden at 10:30 UTC. I found a nice operating spot right on the Isar river and set up my tiny QRP station right on the gravel bank within 5 minutes. I was just hoping to get at least 50 QSOs before the rain shower.

Quick activation of DLFF-0761 at the Isar river. Cloudy sky with dark clouds before the thunderstorm.

I logged 60 QSOs in CW on 40m in 40 minutes of operating time, just before the first raindrops fell. What a nice short pile-up!  As soon as we left the Mittenwald municipality it rained heavily and the temperature dropped from 25 °C to 15 °C. It was absolutely the right decision to leave the campsite today and spend the next few days at home! The next three days were rainy, cold and gray…

Short summary and statistics for DD1LD/P:

• Date: August 22th, 2020
• Equipment: high alpine QRP (5W)
• Operating time: ~ 40 minutes
• QSOs: 60 in CW on 40m, 1 on 2m FM.
• DXCC worked: 17 
• Top countries worked: DL (22x)
• Continents worked: EU 
  

• WWFF areas: 1x unique and NEW
• WWFF reference: DLFF-0761, Riedboden
• WWFF-valid QSOs: 61 (w/o dupes)
• Unique callsigns: 61
• WWFF activator points: 1
• P2P: 0
• GoGreen: no

 

Tuesday, August 25th, 2020. Arrival at the Sylvenstein Lake.

It was a lazy day. Sort of wild camping. Building everything up. Swimming. SUP riding. Cooking. Relaxing. I rode the SUP from the Faller-Klamm-Brücke to the east to the Walchen river, it was about 10 km there and back.  What a gorgeous tour! 

 Our camping setup for three nights at the Fall village.

The Sylvenstein lake. The Lerchkogel, DL/KW-037 in the background (in the middle).

Wednesday, August 26th, 2020. GoGreen SOTA and WWFF Activation.

It was a lonely bike & hike GoGreen tour to the Lerchkogel, DL/KW-037, 1688m in the Karwendel nature park DLFF-073.  The Lerchkogel is technically easy to hike but requires a long distance to be covered. I cycled directly to the Lerchkogel-Hochleger, ~1550m, and then hiked the remaining height difference of 150m. 

Although the propagation conditions were poor and I had to deal with weak signal reports on all bands, I managed to log 69 QSOs on 20/30/40m in ~1 hour.  

My operating spot at the Lerchkogel, DL/KW-037.

I spent about 1.5 hours in absolute solitude on the mountain top. Just me and the mountains around, just the way I like it. The view was particularly beautiful because of the clear air. 

View from the Lerchkogel, DL/KW-037 in the morning.

The ascent took two hours and the descent only 40 minutes. The bike ride was fun, especially downhill biking was the adrenaline rush on two wheels! In a curve it almost knocked me over! Huhhh!

Short stop to enjoy the gorgeous view and to cool down the brake discs.

 

Afternoon Kirian and I rode the SUP from the Faller-Klamm bridge south to the mouth of the Dürrach river. The water level was pretty low, so we had to leave our SUP on the muddy bank and walk to the gravel bank. For Kirian it was a journey of discovery.

In the late evening (at 18:00 UTC) I was briefly at the lake again and had a short run to collect some late chasers. I could have saved myself this action because the yield was quite low, only 9 unique QSQs in 20 minutes of operating time. Well, neither the operation spot nor the time were optimal.
 

Short summary and statistics for DD1LD/P:

• Date: August 26th, 2020
• Equipment: high alpine QRP (5W)
• Operating time: ~ 1 hour
• QSOs: 69 in total, 20m – 12 QSOs, 30m – 19 QSOs, 40m – 47 QSOs
• DXCC worked: 24 
• Top countries worked: DL (10x)
• Continents worked: 2
• DX: NA
  

• SOTA summits: 1x unique
• SOTA reference: DL/KW-037, Lerchkogel, 1688m.
• SOTA-valid QSOs: 69
• SOTA activator points: 6
• GMA activator points: 16
• S2S: 2 
  

• WWFF areas: 1x non-unique (activated by myself before)
• WWFF reference: DLFF-0173, Karwendel
• WWFF-valid QSOs: 78 (w/o dupes)
• Unique callsigns: 72
• WWFF activator points: 1
• P2P: 3 
  

• Altitude difference made: > 900m 
• Walked & Cycled distance: 26 km
• GoGreen: yes
• GPS-track record: available on request

Thursday, August 27th, 2020. GoGreen SOTA and WWFF Activation.

Initially I wanted to activate the eight pointer Schafreiter, DL/KW-035, 2101m from the Fall village.  However, the much lower one pointer Jägerbergl, DL/KW-046, 988m seemed to be a better choice for today’s GoGreen activities, since the height of the mountain doesn't matter for GoGreen awards and the Jägerbergl was less than 30 minutes away by bike. I just found that the GoGreen rewards program can make activating low mountains even more attractive compared to high mountains because the hiking effort is easily manageable, and you are more into radio than mountain climbing. I'm not sure if I would have even considered activating the one pointer Jägerbergl if it hadn't been GoGreen XOTA activation, where the number of QSOs mainly plays a role. By the way, that’s probably why the Jägerbergl was only activated twice compared to the Schafreiter with 13 activations. The GoGreen XOTA creates a different perspective for SOTA activations. So, the Jägerbergl became for GoGreen XOTA more attractive than for SOTA.

Anyway, I've decided to keep activating the Schafreiter DL/KW-035 for the next time as this would have taken a long time. I also wanted to spend the afternoon at the lake with my family and our friends who wanted to join us. After a rich breakfast together, I cycled to the Jägerbergl. I only stopped at a very nice waterfall to enjoy the great view for a while. 

A waterfall with pools on the way to the Jägerbergl.

The flat mountain top is quite densely forested. Today’s plan was to collect at least 100 GoGreen QSOs. I set up my portable station and went on the air at 8:30 UTC. The propagation conditions were fair. I had some troubles with my tiny TRX again, especially on 40m (!?). However, I managed to gather 101 QSOs or GoGreen points in an hour and a half of operation, but I have to overhaul my TRX on arrival at home, I thought. BTW, the TRX is now dead.😭

My operating spot at the Jägerbergl, DL/KW-046.

We spent the rest of the day on the beach and ended the day with a long and late dinner with our friends.

Short summary and statistics for DD1LD/P:

• Date: August 27th, 2020
• Equipment: high alpine QRP (5W)
• Operating time: ~ 1 and 1/2 hours
• QSOs: 101 in total, 20m – 35 QSOs, 30m – 24 QSOs, 40m – 42 QSOs
• DXCC worked: 21 
• Top countries worked: DL (20x), I (13x), ON (11x)
• Continents worked: 2
• DX: NA
  

• SOTA summits: 1x unique
• SOTA reference: DL/KW-046, Jägerbergl, 988m.
• SOTA-valid QSOs: 101
• SOTA activator points: 1
• GMA activator points: 9
• S2S: 2 
  

• WWFF areas: 1x non-unique (activated by myself before)
• WWFF reference: DLFF-0173, Karwendel
• WWFF-valid QSOs: 101 (w/o dupes)
• Unique callsigns: 90
• WWFF activator points: 2
• P2P: 3
• Altitude difference made: < 200m 
• Walked &amp; Cycled distance: 12 km
• GoGreen: yes
• GPS-track record: available on request

Friday, August 28th, 2020. Relax and pack.

On the agenda were breakfast, swimming, SUP riding, packing, driving home. I rode the SUP from the Faller-Klamm bridge to the mouth of the Isar river to explore opportunities for bushcrafting on an island. It was a beautiful morning with clear sky, bright sun and weak fresh wind accompanying me. It was a lot of fun to maneuver between small islands with the SUP.  I discovered a couple of interesting places for bushcrafting next time. The SUP ride was ~7 km.

We left the Fall village in the late afternoon when the first raindrops fell from the gray sky and arrived home in the early evening in a heavy rain shower and a temperature around 15°C. Almost perfect timing!

According to the weather forecast for the next few days, rain and cold were announced… Autumn is knocking on the door. 

Short Summary.

Although we would have wished for fewer rainy days, we all had a great time! My amateur radio activities resulted in 375 QRP QSOs in CW, four activated SOTA and three activated WWFF references.

Mni tnx all chasers and activators fer QSO!
73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/P