SOTA outings by KØMOS and contributors

Tag: mountain topping

  • WØC/FR-Ø59 (Little Scraggy Peak) – 2796 M / 9192 FT

    W0C/FR-059 (Little Scraggy Peak) – 2796 M / 9192 FT
    Dec 28, 2013
    by KX0R

    Little Scraggy Peak is located in the Pike National Forest between Buffalo Creek and Deckers.  It’s a fun climb with convenient access and great views.

    Drive west of Denver on Highway 285, and turn south on Highway 126 at Pine Junction.  Drive down through Pine, stay on 126 through Buffalo Creek, and continue south on the good paved road toward Deckers.  About 5 miles south of Buffalo Creek, after a long upgrade, there’s a marked overlook on the east side of the road. Continue southwest about a mile, and find the marked Kelsey Campground entrance on the north side of the road – this is the unofficial trailhead. There’s space for a couple of cars to park next to the gate – otherwise park somewhere off the main highway.

    This area gets some light use from rock climbers and others.  A small trail heads uphill from the campground entrance and leads toward a prominent climbing rock several hundred feet above.  Follow this trail up for a short distance, until the slope increases, and then contour northwest across a sloping meadow; enter the forest where the meadow ends.  To avoid private land, stay well north of the fence and signs visible below.  Enter a shallow gulch and follow it northwest as it leads up a moderate grade. When in the gulch and nearby slopes, avoid turning right and going up too soon, because there are cliffs and large boulders in the area west of the climbing cliffs above the trailhead.  The gulch ends at a saddle at about 8600 feet, east of point 8754. From this saddle climb east up a moderately steep sloping ridge – stay on this ridge and climb gradually up 400 vertical feet to about 9000 feet.  This part of the ascent is a standard off-trail hike directly up a slope, with the usual rocks and fallen trees.  There are bits of game trail as you go up, and the upper part of the ridge is pleasant. There’s no rock climbing or exposure required for this route.

    When you get to the broad ridge-top at about 9000 feet, climb north and find a couple of false summits;  head northwest from these points and continue about 1/4 mile to the actual summit.  This part of the hike is a pleasant walk through open woods with a few fallen trees and rocks – you can see the main summit rocks to the northwest. The top of Little Scraggy Peak is a granite rock formation with some trees and bushes. Climb up the gullies in the rocks on the southeast side – only a few scrambling moves are required.  The actual peak is surprisingly flat.  The views are spectacular in all directions, from Pikes Peak to the south, all the way north to Longs Peak.  Green Mountain looms up to the west, the huge Hayman burn fills the south view, and Devils Head rises in the east.  Long Scraggy Peak and Raleigh Peak stand prominently to the northeast, and Thunder Butte rises in front of Pikes Peak.  On top, Little Scraggy Peak doesn’t seem small at almost 9200 feet; it’s actually higher than Long Scraggy Peak. The view is full of SOTA peaks, and this summit is a great place to survey opportunities for many other climbs!

    The exposed peak is large enough for setting up an activation, if you have a pole. Because there were other visitors on top, I set up in a sunny spot in the rocks a short distance below.  There are useful trees and rocks near the summit, so activating this peak should be no problem, unless the weather is extreme.  I found a perfect dead tree for my 20-foot Black Widow pole, and I tied off the far end of the EFHW to a big rock; then I hooked up the gear and got on the air. This first activation was about as easy as I could ask for on December 28 – it was about 45 F, there was almost no wind, and the sun was warm.  With my ATS-3B at 5W, 33 feet of #24 teflon wire, and my homemade tuner, I logged 36 contacts – including G4OBL – in 35 minutes on 20M CW.

    While Little Scraggy sees few visitors, there were 10 of us up there on Dec 28, 2013. A party of 8 climbed up from a trail to the north, and that longer, mostly off-trail route might be worth considering instead of my shorter, steeper off-trail ascent.  The climb described here is about 1.6 miles each way, 1200 vertical feet, and can be done in just over an hour in good conditions.  There were several inches of snow in the shadowed woods and on parts of the ridge-top when I was there.  Since most of my route was on the sunny south side of the mountain, about half of the ascent was on dry ground. In good weather, this can be a nice SOTA climb for the colder months.

    Little Scraggy is not an ideal site for a VHF/UHF activation.  Because of its remote location west of the Rampart Range among other mountains, VHF and UHF coverage may be limited in several directions; there is a narrow view of the southern Metro area and the Plains.  Sites like Devils Head and Genesee Mountain have much better coverage.  On the other hand, for an HF activation with lightweight equipment, Little Scraggy is great!  The easy access, paved roads, and huge views make up for the off-trail hike.

    George Carey Fuller
    KX0R

    ATTENTION !! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!

  • WØC/FR-Ø92 (Mount Morrison) 2397 M / 7837 FT

    W0C/FR-092
    Mount Morrison 2397 M / 7837 FT
    Nov 10, 2013 by KX0R

    Mount Morrison is a very accessible peak located right above Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, just west of Denver. The trip starts with a drive to Morrison near Red Rocks.

    Drive west from Morrison on Bear Creek Road almost ½ mile. Turn north into Red Rocks Park Entrance 4 – the west entrance. Look for parking about 100 yards up the road on the right. There is no charge for entering the Park or for parking, but parking might fill at the trailhead on busy weekends. The trailhead is obvious on the west side of the road, but there are no signs or facilities. The rough, mostly unimproved South Ridge Trail goes up almost 2000 vertical feet, starting near 5900 ft, to the summit at 7837 ft, in less than 2 miles. The trail is direct and steep – there are no switch-backs. The first half mile is steep, the middle part is easy, and the last half mile is the very steep. There is some Class 3 scrambling for about 200 feet or more on the exposed rocky ridge below the summit. Going down the steep part is worse than going up – it’s better to sit down than to slip and fall.

    The South Ridge trail is the only one that is “approved” and OK to hike. Hiking on closed trails is strongly discouraged. Mount Morrison has had a hard life during the past hundred years or so. Currently the peak is a major transmitter site for the Denver Metro Area – there are a couple of large towers about 150-200 yards north of the actual (south) summit. Concrete pads, tower anchors, and assorted junk remain from radio facilities that previously existed on the south summit. An old steam boiler lies rusting near the top – was it used for power for a radio transmitter long ago? On the northwest side of the mountain there’s a jeep road, but this is not open to the public for driving up to the summit.

    Just north of the summit a power pole stands, with the high voltage disconnected from a transformer. The high voltage line appears to be live, radiating line noise, because I had about 5-10 db of AC RF noise on 20M. I heard almost no noise on 40M. The big surprise was that there was no RFI from the nearby transmitters! Those antennas look really serious, and the site nearby is posted with warnings for RF exposure limits.

    I set up my rig about 50 feet west of the south summit, about 15 feet below the summit rock, with a wire stretched from my pole southwest down the hill. There are few useful trees on the summit. A SOTA location up there is a compromise between the power pole, the transmitters, visitors, wind, abundant cactus, and the limited flat ground. The front (east side) of the mountain is very steep. Needless to say, this is probably an awesome VHF/UHF site, unless the RFI level creates intermod or overload problems.

    In spite of the AC line noise on 20M, I had a nice CW activation with 34 contacts on 20M and 7 on 40M. The view was spectacular, and it was exciting to be so high above Denver in the late afternoon.

    The trip down is steep, relatively fast, and OK – if you have good knees.

    Until I did this hike, I didn’t understand why Mount Morrison wasn’t previously activated, given its proximity to Denver and public access. There are a couple of fourteeners that are easier to climb than Mount Morrison!  It certainly requires a lot of work for one SOTA point; there are peaks in other states where a similar climb might be worth 8 or 10 points.

    This is actually a very rewarding SOTA adventure, if you’re in good condition and don’t carry a pack full of heavy gear.

    George Carey Fuller
    KX0R


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    ATTENTION !! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!

  • WØC/FR-145 (McGregor Mountain) 3190 M / 10,486 FT

    W0C/FR-145
    McGregor Mountain 3190M / 10,486 FT
    Sep 01, 2013

    by KX0R

    McGregor Mountain is a seldom-climbed prominent granite dome located in Rocky Mountain National Park, close to Estes Park.  At 10486 feet it towers over 2000 feet above its immediate surroundings, but it’s dwarfed by major peaks several miles away.  Activating this peak requires considerable effort with some risks no matter how you do it.  There are no trails up or near McGregor.  Activating this giant dome provides an exciting challenge – it’s a SOTA classic!

    My ascent up McGregor was full of surprises.  The original plan was to ascend the major gulch west of McGregor – the gulch route looks reasonable on the topo map.  I parked just west of RMNP Fall River Entrance Station.  There is a service road up the gulch, but it’s closed to the public.  I skirted above and to the west, and I was able to drop into the gulch and go a short distance upstream, but I found the route blocked by huge boulders and thickets.  I headed NW up a tributary gulch, up steep slopes covered with fallen trees, loose rocks, thickets, and thorny bushes.  It was so bad I almost quit and went down; but I gradually gained altitude, and above 9000 feet the route became more reasonable.  I found a game trail and headed NW up to a forested bench at about 9400 feet.  The problem was that I had gone NW, away from McGregor, so I had to head northeast and then east toward the mountain.

    The route over the forested bench was tedious but much better than the steep slopes down in the gulch.  The whole place is covered with thousands of fallen pine trees, most with snagly limbs, so traveling requires picking over and around hundreds of trees. Closer to McGregor there are several forested, rocky ridges to negotiate, but there were no major problems getting over or around these obstacles.  The last of these ridges is at about 9800 feet, and from there I descended northeast and then ascended up to the saddle below the west slope of McGregor.  There is a faint trail near the saddle – it looks like it comes up from Black Canyon Creek 600 vertical feet and 1/2 mile to the north.

    I climbed McGregor via the west ridge.  There is no trail, and the route gradually gets steeper and more challenging as you climb higher.  There are fallen trees, big rocks, and steep slopes, but most of the route is solid.  There is a section of rocks requiring a bit of class 3 climbing, but on the descent I found that most the problems can be avoided by staying a slightly south on the ridge; the route is not technical.  Toward the summit the route becomes really fun, as you pass through an amazing area filled with huge ancient twisted trees and granite formations.  The top of the mountain is large and impressive – the awesome view looks half a mile down into the valleys to the south and east.  To the northwest the high MummyRange summits tower at 13,500 feet, about 6 miles away.  All of Lumpy Ridge and the Needles are close below and to the east.

    There are plenty of good spots for activating McGregor near the summit.  There are good antenna trees, so it’s not necessary to take a pole up there.  Various rocky knobs are available for shelter, and if the weather’s OK, it’s a great place to relax and get on the air.

    There are certainly other routes up McGregor.  Trip reports online suggest going up the southeast side of the mountain, but any southern approach requires over 2000 vertical feet of steep bushwhacking and climbing.  There may be routes up the SE side from Black Canyon Creek, but you’re on your own.  In mid-September of 2013 torrential rains caused flooding throughout the area, and there’s an enormous mudslide path down a gulch on the SE side of McGregor.  To climb McGregor’s SE ridge, a possible approach is from Black Canyon Creek.  Since there’s no legal parking at MacGregor Ranch, hikers must park far to the east, at the GemLake – Lumpy Ridge trailhead. 

    I don’t recommend my gulch-and-bench route described above for activating McGregor.  While it’s only a few miles, parts of it are very steep and/or covered with numerous fallen trees.  The return trip requires precise navigation (GPS) in order to descend without peril into the gulch.  Instead, I suggest:

    1. Park at the Lumpy Ridge/Gem Lake TH north of Devils Gulch Road 43
    2. Hike through MacGregor Ranch and past the Lumpy Ridge climbing formations north of the trail
    3. Follow Black Canyon Creek Trail all the way up to 9100 feet and the junction with the Cow Creek Trail
    4. Head west 2/3 mile through Black Canyon, down and then up to about 9040 feet, where the trail approaches the Creek
    5. Cross Black Canyon Creek
    6. Head south up the moderate forested valley, over 600 vertical feet to the saddle west of McGregor at about 9650 feet
    7. Ascend the west ridge of MacGregor as in my description above

    This is probably the safest and least stressful route up McGregor, even though it’s long.  There should be no problems navigating, as long as you carry a topo map and compass – you don’t need GPS.  Be sure you return down McGregor’s west ridge the same way you came up – an incorrect descent on McGregor might be somewhere between miserable and tragic.   If you take a pump filter, there’s usually good water in Black Canyon.  The hike through MacGregor Ranch and below Lumpy Ridge is spectacular, and you can see McGregor looming ahead all the way.  Start early.   

    This mountain is nothing to mess with in bad weather – in particular, the lichens on the steep rocks get slick when they’re wet.  If there’s ice or snow on the steep slopes, climbing may be too risky.  Save this summit for a good day – McGregor is a classic!   

    George Carey Fuller

    KX0R

    ATTENTION !! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!

  • WØC/SR-Ø51 (Dakota Hill) – 3325 M / 10,929 FT

    Sep 19, 2013
    by KX0R

    Dakota Hill is a good SOTA peak, but it’s not in the Dakotas; and at 10,929 feet, 3325M, it’s not really a hill. Activating this peak requires a little map-reading, some interesting driving, and a short hike.

    Drive to Black Hawk, head north on Highway 119 about 2-1/2 miles, and turn left on Apex Valley Road, Co Rd 4-S. Google maps show this route clearly. Follow Apex Valley Road several miles, and continue past the left turn for Elk Park Road – Mammoth Gulch Road. The road gradually gets rougher here, and you may wonder if you’re on the right track. Go north uphill on Co Rd 4-S, then up around a switch back – the road gets steep, and parts of it have been eroded by recent heavy rains. If you have an ordinary car, you should park before the road gets too rough. I was able to drive my old VW bug up to an old mine, where there are a couple of buildings. Parking is not prohibited – park well off the road. Above the mine the road is very rough, but if you have a 4WD vehicle you can drive a bit higher. From the mine you can hike directly up the slope 700 vertical feet to the summit. You also can hike or drive up the road, and then climb the NW ridge up to the summit. Either way this is a short SOTA hike.

    There is a fenced microwave facility and towers on top of the mountain. The area is not posted, but obviously you should avoid the facility.

    The Dakota Hill summit is wide and almost flat, so you can easily set up and operate several hundred feet east of the microwave site, while staying well within 75 vertical feet of the summit. The eastern part of the peak is a pleasant, sheltered forest. You are unlikely to see anyone up there. It’s easy to set up and activate. I experienced no interference from the microwave facility.

    There is another 4WD route up the eastern side of Dakota Hill – I have no information about access via that route. The western access via Apex Valley Road seems like the best way up.

    George Carey Fuller
    KX0R

    ATTENTION !! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!

  • WØC/FR-152 (The Needles) – 3063 m / 10068 ft

    W0C/FR-152 The Needles 3063 M /10068 FT

    Oct 25, 2013 by KX0R

    The Needles are the highest points along Lumpy Ridge, an elongated mass of granite summits and cliffs located north of Estes Park, next to the McGregor Ranch. It takes considerable effort to activate the Needles, but it’s a rewarding expedition.

    The most practical route up to the Needles starts at the Gem Lake Trailhead, located northeast of McGregor Ranch. Drive into Estes Park on route 34 or 36, follow the bypass (34) west past the Stanley Hotel on the hill, and turn right, north, on the Devils Gulch Road (43). Go north about 2/3 mile, pass the left turn to McGregor Ranch (where parking is no longer allowed), and drive northeast for about ½ mile on Road 43. Turn left on Lumpy Ridge Road and go north a short distance uphill to the marked Gem Lake Trailhead.

    From the popular trailhead, start up the trail, and be careful to choose the route northwest to the Black Canyon Trail and McGregor Ranch – don’t go north up toward Gem Lake. The hike traverses the wide valley of McGregor Ranch and passes several climbing areas along the cliffs of Lumpy Ridge. After a couple of miles you’ll see the Needles high above. Below the Needles the route crosses an impressive mudslide path created during the September 2013 floods; this slide gushed down from near the Needles all the way to the valley floor. After the mudslide, the trail gains altitude steadily for about a mile, until it reaches a junction with the Cow Creek Trail. Turn right, go about 100 yards east to an obvious saddle, have some water, and head southeast up the northwest ridge of the Needles. Climb steadily up through the trees along the ridge until it gets craggy; then head slightly north of the ridge and continue climbing, while heading toward the summits. If you try to follow the ridge all the way it’s too craggy. Avoid the obvious NW summit – it’s a false summit. Stay on the left side of the ridge going up, north of the first summit, until you see the middle summit. The third summit, The Needle, may not be visible until you pass the middle summit. As before, stay left – north – of the middle summit until you come to the higher Needle right behind it.

    If you have time, climb the middle summit – it’s a fun scramble up from the west end of its summit rock.

    The third (actual) summit requires a bit of class 3 scrambling, and the peak is a very airy point. It feels as high as it appears from below! The views are spectacular in all directions. Estes Park and Lumpy Ridge lie below, prominent McGregor Mountain is close by, and Ypsilon and Fairchild are just a few miles away. This hike would be much more popular if there were a trail up to the Needles.

    Please note that the final half mile of this climb is not recommended unless you have experience with off-trail hiking and navigation. From the developed trail at the saddle, there is no reliable path, and visibility is limited. The route gets progressively rougher, and there are many large rocks and fallen trees to climb over toward the top. When I climbed the Needles, there were a couple of inches of snow in the woods, and care was required to negotiate the slippery slope northeast of the ridge.

    The dramatic summit area near the Needles can be very pleasant; I found a nice sunny spot with protection from wind right below the summit rock; this was a better place for my activation than the exposed summit. There are several small trees and useful rocks, and propagation is excellent in most directions.

    Except for the off-trail part of this expedition, this is a scenic low-altitude Rocky Mountain National Park hike, with grand views and a variety of terrain. The total distance is about 10 miles, with a vertical gain of about 2500 feet. Trail use is light to moderate. This climb is not recommended unless weather and other conditions are right. On the right day, the Needle is a classic SOTA peak, offering a rich experience for the operator who enjoys activating high, isolated places.

    A few pictures:

    George Carey Fuller
    KX0R

    ATTENTION !! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!

  • WØC/SR-Ø53 (Fairburn Mountain) – 3161 M/ 10390 FT

    Sep 02, 2013 by KX0R

    Fairburn Mountain is a convenient and pleasant SOTA peak with great access. The trailhead and parking are at Cold Springs Campground, about 1000 feet southwest of where Golden Gate Canyon Road 46 intersects Highway 119, near the major hilltop at about 9350 feet on 119. Park in the free lot just to the right of the forest road – do not enter the campground.

    There is no developed trail up Fairburn, but there’s a path with some cairns most of the way up the south ridge. The ascent from the parking lot to the SE summit is 1000 vertical feet in about 1 mile – it’s a pleasant hike up through aspens and evergreens. Unfortunately the SE summit at 10,360 feet is a false summit. The actual SOTA peak at 10390 feet, 3161M, is almost ½ mile to the northwest along the forested ridge. Fortunately there’s little loss of altitude between the summits, but you have to pick your way through some fallen trees, rocks, and other minor obstacles – there is no real trail. Few people visit the real summit. There are numerous places to set up and operate within 75 vertical feet of the top, and good trees for antenna supports are available.

    This summit offers the possibility of camping for an overnight outing, and winter access seems likely as well.

    It might be possible to access this peak from the Missouri Gulch Road Co Rd 51-S to the west, via the NW ridge of Fairburn, with less ascent and a shorter hike; but I have no information on whether that route is practical.

    Fairburn Mountain provides a good SOTA outing with a moderate amount of effort required. Its proximity to the Denver-Boulder area should make it more popular for SOTA activations.

    Fairburn View to James Peak and Continental Divide
    Fairburn View to James Peak and Continental Divide
    Fairburn Southeast Summit Area
    Fairburn Southeast Summit Area

    ATTENTION !! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!

  • WØC/SP-Ø82 (Black Mountain) – 3272 m / 10756 ft

    Black Mountain is a very prominent summit located adjacent to Staunton State Park, several miles west of Connifer, CO. Because of its proximity to the Denver metro area, it could become more popular as a SOTA site. This mountain presents significant physical and navigational challenges; the ascent is about 5 miles and 2500 vertical feet from the parking lot; and more than half of that climb is up through rocky, heavily forested slopes with limited visibility. You’ll be lucky if you see the top part of the mountain before you’re on top. Your success depends on your physical conditioning and how well you’ve studied the topo map before you try the climb.

    As far as I know, there are no trails up the peak; nevertheless, a few people occasionally get up there. On the SW summit at point 10756, marked with an X on the USGS 7-1/2 minute quad, there’s a summit register consisting of a jar with a small notebook inside, and some people have signed their names! A cairn marks the top of the highest rock.

    Here’s what you need to know to get up there. To get to Staunton State Park, drive 6 miles SW of Conifer on Route 285 and turn right at Shaffers Crossing – a sign to the Park marks the exit. Drive 1-1/2 miles north and enter the Park. Show your pass or buy a day pass for $7. You’ll get you money’s worth. Be sure to get a visitor map showing the trails and topography. Park at the upper group picnic area if possible – otherwise park in the main lot. There are several possible routes up to the top – I chose to climb via the major ridge SW of the peak. Find the Staunton Ranch (SR) trail at the parking lot and follow it north and then northwest, for about 3 miles, enjoying the fine Western scenery, until you come to the intersection with the Border Line (BL) trail. This spot is in a large clearing, with thick forest and higher terrain just to the north. Don’t follow the BL trail, or the nearby Marmot Passage (MP) trails. Look north to the forest, spot the USFS boundary markers and signs, and head directly north into the woods. Although off-trail hiking is not allowed in the State Park, it’s a very short distance from the SR and BL trails to the federal land, where hiking off-trail is OK. The map in the Park brochure shows this boundary clearly. To be perfectly legal, proceed a short distance NW up the Bugling Elk (BE) trail, cross into the USFS land, and then head NE up into the woods. Once on federal land, proceed north uphill into the obvious gulch leading up to the saddle just east of point 9715. There is a good game trail about 50 to 100 feet east of the creek gully – the route to the saddle is easier if you find this game trail. It looks like there are plenty of deer and elk up there. From the saddle turn right, hike NE up the ridge, and reach another saddle at 9800 feet. I found bear poop there. Pick a route NE and climb up a steeper section to about 10200 feet, and then hike more gently toward the next saddle near 10400. Stay left (west) of cliffs located to the east. As you approach the saddle at 10400, stay about 50 to 100 yards west of the actual saddle and climb up the SW slopes of Black Mountain. Stay left, north of talus and cliffs south of the summit. Although there is no trail, you can find a natural steep route all the way up, through a mix of boulders, trees, logs, and pine needles. You want to end up just south of summit 10756. The actual summit is marked by a cairn on top of some large boulders. Most of the top of Black Mountain is a long, rocky, heavily forested ridge curving around north and then east. If you climb the east side of the mountain, you’ll have to traverse this entire ridge to get to the actual summit near the SW end. There is a nice little flat clearing, with convenient tall trees and rocks, about 50 to 100 feet north of the summit rocks. The view is limited but stunning. This is a great place to do SOTA – you don’t need a pole if you have a way to get a rope up in a tree. I put up a 66-foot inverted L at 25 feet with no problem. It would be possible to erect a 40 meter dipole up there. This looks like a good VHF/UHF site, with excellent coverage of local mountains, and fair coverage of the eastern plains. I suggest you descend the same way you came up. A GPS device makes it easy to backtrack. The key point is to avoid going down the south side of Black Mountain, which is mostly steep slopes and cliffs. If you find another good route up, please write it up and post it here.

    Please don’t try this climb unless you have a topo map, good map-and-compass skills, and plenty of off-trail hiking experience; a GPS device may save you time by preventing mistakes, provided you know what you’re doing without it. This trip is best done in spring or fall, and in good weather. Take plenty of water, start early, and allow enough time. Tell someone where you’re going. Please read and respect Park rules, and remember that the hours are 8 AM to 8PM.

    Some pictures (click on the picture for a larger version):

    George Carey Fuller
    KX0R

    ATTENTION !! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!

  • A rare SOTA gem

    I just wrapped up a trip in Europe and I could not resist to activate a few summits while I had the chance. Staying in Austria (OE), I was able to activate two nearby and new (for me) associations (HBØ and HB). I also took the opportunity to make a second attempt on HBØ/LI-ØØ4 – Augstenberg. This summit eluded me last year due to extreme winds in excess of 100 km/h (60 mph). We had to turn around shortly before reaching the summit. This time the WX forecast looked more promising.

    As usual, Herbert/OE9HRV organized the activations when I visit his neck of the woods. Arno/OE9AMJ and Ramon/OE9CSH joined the activation and what these guys had in store for me was quite a trip. Weather and time permitting they were planning to continue on a loop with the possibility to activate three more summits for a total of four. The best part…   HBØ/LI-ØØ2 or Naafkopf was one of them. This unique SOTA summit is a rare gem. The border of three countries, Lichtenstein (HBØ), Switzerland (HB) and Austria (OE) meet exactly at the summit and it is therefore worth 30 SOTA points in total. I am not aware of any other SOTA summit which has a similar setting.

    Panorama from the summit station
    Panorama from the summit station

    The complete trip could potentially rake in a total of 58 points on a ~20 km (12.5 mi) loop with 1700+ m (~5600 ft) elevation gain including two new associations for my log. Needless to say that I was motivated :)

    This trip report is focused on the Naafkopf only.

    The route we took in red
    The route we took in red
     Trailhead:  5243 ft / 1598 m
 Summit:     7740 ft / 2359 m (Augstenberg)  
             8432 ft / 2570 m (Naafkopf) 
             6860 ft / 2091 m (Nospitz)
 Elev. gain: 4832 ft / 1473 m (exludes gondola - hiking only)
 Roundtrip:  10.2 mi / 16.4 km(exludes gondola - hiking only)


    Compare this summit with my other activated summits

    How to get there:

    OE9HRV & OE9AMJ
    OE9HRV & OE9AMJ

    We headed south from OE towards the Principality of Liechtenstein (or Liechtenstein for short.) Liechtenstein is a rather small independent country near the Lake of Constance and shares the border with Switzerland and Austria. With an area of just over 160 square kilometers (62 sq mi), it has a population of ~35’000 and a total of eleven SOTA summits – all of them already activated. We started our hike in Malbun, the only ski resort in Lichtenstein.

    Parking/Trailhead

    Larger Map

    Red Tape:
    Nothing comes to mind.

    The Ascent:

    Elevation Profile
    Elevation Profile
    That is where we are going
    That is where we are going

    From Malbun we took the gondola from 5274 ft (1608 m) to the Sareiserjoch at 6526 ft (1990 m).  At the top we were greeted by an Alphorn player – a nice touch to start our day – and we could hear her tunes for quite a while across the valley. The first ~2.5 mi (4 km) follows a trail to the Chalbergrad and continues along a very pronounced ridge towards our first summit. Great views in both directions of the ridge. The last 0.4 mile (0.6 km) before HBØ/LI-ØØ4 – Augstenberg, are kind of steep. The summit is a rocky outcropping on a rather large, sloped and green summit. The obligatory cross at the summit served as a backdrop for our first SOTA summit photo of the day.

    Naafkopf -7
    OE9CSH, OE9AMJ, KØMOS, OE9HRV (l to r)

    On the summit we setup two stations, a CW station for Arno/OE9AMJ and an SSB station for the rest of us. No problem to activate a summit on 40m in Europe :)

    Within 40 minutes we all had our contacts logged and were on our way to the grand prize of the day. Reluctantly we decided to skip Gorfion (OE/VB-241) to allow plenty of operation time on the Naafkopf. In retrospect a wise decision, considering that we reached the car just as the sun went down.

    Haeding towards Pfälzerhütte
    Haeding towards Pfälzerhütte

    From the summit of Augstenberg (2359 m/7740 ft) we had to descend to the saddle, where the Pfälzerhütte is located at 2108 m/6916ft. A great location for having a beer, assuming you have the time… we decided to continue on to the next summit – a 462 m/1516 ft ascent over 1.8 km/1.1 mi. There is still a well defined trail up the steep slope and only one ‘critical’ spot we had to navigate. Some lingering snow from last weeks nasty weather in combination with the steep terrain slowed us down just a bit about halfway up to the summit. After that it was smooth sailing.

    The Summit:

    Setup on the summit:
    Setup on the summit:

    We reached the small summit around 14:00 local time under blue skies and with very comfortable temperatures. An artificial wall built from rocks, ~40 cm/16 in. in height, is dividing the summit along the border lines and building the base for the dominating summit cross. To make it really easy for us, each section of the wall was clearly marked with the name of the country so we would always know where we are :)

    We followed the same procedure as before; Arno setting up a CW station with his FT-817 and an Alex loop, and Hebert setting up the KX-3 with a 20m J-Pole for the SSB crowd. I got the honor to go first and I chose to start on the Swiss (HB) side of the summit – hoping to activate my 10th SOTA association.

    Arno/OE9AMJ on the summit
    Arno/OE9AMJ on the summit

    We took turns on the radio.  Every 15-20 minutes we announced an operator change so we all had the chance to activate every section (association) of the summit. But announcing a summit change after the first hour stirred up some confusion in the chaser community. Changing the operator and the summit within 30 sec. on the same frequency is not very common. A short explanation of the situation kept everybody’s log in sync.

    Taking turns on the summit worked out great, giving me enough time to talk and share stories with other SOTA operators and to take plenty of pictures and video footage of a perfect day.

    The view towards the east with Arno's Alex loop
    The view towards the east with Arno’s Alex loop

    We saved the best for last. With just 11 SOTA summits, Lichtenstein (HBØ) is a rare opportunity for chasers. We changed our antenna for the 15m band, hoping to get across the Atlantic and catch some stations in the US. The plan worked, NA1RL/Richard in Connecticut copied my signal  and so did K2JB/Jimmy and AE4FZ/Chuck both in NC. The highlight for me however was the contact with YC5YZ on Sumatra Island – my first contact with Indonesia :)

    Following my motto ‘always stop when things are at the top‘ I announced another operator change and handed over the mic to Ramon.

    Ramon/OE9CSH on 20m
    Ramon/OE9CSH on 20m

    The Descent:

    Alpine ibex
    Alpine ibex

    We almost had to detach Herbert from the radio by force… as longs as he has some space left in his logbook, he will not quit. But there was another summit beckoning  from the distance. It was already late in the afternoon and a cool breeze forced us to put on another layer for the descent. Arno led the way down.  A herd of Alpine ibex retreated from us and gave us little chance for a decent photo. At the Pfälzerhütte we turned west towards Alp Gritsch. Arno could not believe that we passed up the chance to have a beer, but chose to press on to activate another summit. Luckily he is a great guy and readily admitted that the chance to activate another HBØ summit does not come along everyday for me. I guess I owe him a beer.

    Tälihöhi with Nospitz in the distance
    Tälihöhi with Nospitz in the distance

    We passed by the Alp towards Tälihöhi, the last ridge we had to get over before heading down to Malbun. The Nospitz can be easily reached by a short ascent from the Tälihöhi. From this ridge it was another 45-50 minutes back to town and to the car. We all started to feel some wear and tear in our bones and joints and reached the car just when the sun went down – perfect timing.

     

    Needless to say that it was an incredible day. The weather cooperated, amazing views, a great hike, special camaraderie and overall perfectly organized by Herbert – a trip I will always remember.

    Here some additional pictures:

    Some video impressions:
    httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA8NaYhz1fQ

    If you would like to leave questions or comments, please do so through Youtube.

     

     

    ATTENTION !! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!

  • WØC/PR-Ø21 (Mt. Parnassus) & WØC/FR-ØØ6 (Bard Peak)

    W0C/PR-021 (Mt. Parnassus) 4129 M / 13574 ft
    W0C/FR-006 (Bard Peak) 4150 M / 13641 ft
    August 21, 2013

    by KØMOS

    Mount Parnassus (no, not the famous Mountain from the Greek mythology) and Bard Peak are two summits in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. They are just along I-70, shortly before entering the Eisenhower tunnel (coming from the east). I have driven by these unspectacular mountains numerous times without even noticing them. They are rather easy to access via Herman Lake TH which is right at the exit 218 of I-70. Looking at the SOTA map for WØC, I decided to pay them a visit.

    Mt. Parnassus as seen from the TH (almost)
    Mt. Parnassus as seen from the TH (almost)

     

     Trailhead:  10313 ft / 2526 m
 Summit:     13574 ft / 4137 m (Parnassus) 
             13641 ft / 4150 m (Bard Peak)
 Elev. gain: 4574 ft  / 1394 m
 Roundtrip:  9.0  mi  / 14.5 km


    Compare this summit with my other activated summits

    How to get there:

    From Denver, take I-70 West and take exit 218. If you go through the Eisenhower tunnel, you went too far. Take a right at the end of the ramp and drive back, parallel to I-70, for 0.15 mi (0.25 km). Information kiosk and outhouse are right there.

    Parking/Trailhead

    View Larger Map

    Red Tape:
    Both summits are part of Arapaho National Forest and their rules and regulations apply.

    The Ascent:

    The elevation profile
    The elevation profile
    Trail splits after 300 yds
    Trail splits after 300 yds

    The first part of the trip follows the Watrous Trail. From the info kiosk I headed out east. After a few hundred yards the trail splits… I continued east on the trail through dead and downed trees and lots of noise coming from the highway :(

    When I tried to take a few snapshots with my trusted Canon G9 I only got a ‘Lens error, restart camera’ error message combined with an ear piercing whining noise in return.  A couple of restarts gave me the same result – the lens was stuck in the open position – therefore all photos were made with my video cam. My excuse for the ‘great’ quality of all the pictures. What I did not know at this point, more camera problems were to come.

    Down and dead trees
    Down and dead trees

    After about a mile into the hike the trail starts to head towards the north, along what I can only assume is Watrous Creek. Even though the creek was still carrying water, the noise coming from I-70 was still prominent. Eventually the forest/dead-tree environment makes room for alpine tundra with quite nice scenery and views of Woods Mtn. and Mt. Parnassus. The trail follows along the west side of the creek and disappears soon after it crosses over to the other side towards the saddle between Woods Mtn. and Mt. Parnassus.

    View of Mt. Sniktau
    View of Mt. Sniktau

    From here it is a straight shot to the saddle after passing through a few remaining trees. Conveniently, somebody erected a stone cairn near the top of the saddle. You can barely see it from here but aiming for the cairn brings you into perfect position for the last 3/4 miles or so up a rocky/grassy slope to the top of Mt. Parnassus. The views are rather nice, nearby Mt. Sniktau (WØC/PR-Ø31) clearly visible with Quandary Peak (WØC/PR-Ø14) in the background under mostly blue skies with only a few white clouds.

    The Summit:

    The rather steep west slope flattens towards the summit. The stone shelter can be reached without any obstacles. The large summit could host quite a few activators with their gear and antennas without getting too crowded. The views are stunning in all directions. Lot’s of high altitude SOTA peaks are in  clear view.
    Just after I finished shooting a 360 degree video, the battery of my remaining camera quit on me. Now I was sitting at 13574 ft / 4137 m with beautiful weather and a second summit to activate, and no camera – very disappointing.

    Mt. Evans, Mt. Bierstadt with the saw-tooth route as seen from the summit
    Mt. Evans and Mt. Bierstadt with the saw-tooth route in the distance

    With hardly any wind and with very comfortable temperatures I started to setup my antenna and gear. I logged my first QSO at 16:00 UTC, exactly as planned. I handed out the wrong SOTA reference number at first. Realizing that something was fishy, I asked Glenn/N4MJ to verify it for me. I only logged four QSO’s in 25 minutes. Since I had still a lot of ground to cover and because there were no more takers, I started to pack-up and move towards Bard Mountain.

    Bard Peak as seen from Mt. Parnassus
    Bard Peak as seen from Mt. Parnassus

     

    Mt. Parnassus to Bard Pk.:
    The decent from Parnassus down to the saddle is similar to the west flank, a steep grassy slope with some rocks. Larger outcroppings can be circumnavigated without any problems . From the bottom of the saddle it is another ~600 ft (183 m) of elevation gain to the summit. I started to feel my knees and other body parts but having another 10 pointer so close by released some new energy.

    It took me more than an hour to get to the top, slightly longer than planed. Setting up my shack went without hick-up under still amazing weather conditions. Logged 12 QSQ’s  in 15 minutes on 20m SSB. Looked like all the chasers were finally awake ;)

    After a few more but unanswered CQ’s I started my long hike back to the car.

    The Descent:
    Nothing noteworthy on the descent… took the same route via Parnassus. It felt like it took forever going down to the saddle and up again before heading down to the saddle of Parnassus and Woods Mountain. I  reached the car, conked out after 9 miles and 4574 ft ASL (14.5 km / 1394 m). A snack and fresh water supply in the car gave me back the necessary energy for the drive home.

    73, Matt/KØMOS

    Feel free to leave comments and/or questions below.

    ATTENTION !! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!

  • Colorado 14er Event: WØC/PR-Ø2Ø and WØC/FR-ØØ3

    I had been planning all along to participate in the CO-14er Event this year. This event is  organized by Bob/KØNR, for Portable Mountaintop Operation on the 54 official 14er summits (Summits higher than 4267m) in Colorado.  It was however uncertain until late Friday whether I would actually be able to do so. Since it is mainly a VHF/UHF event, I home-brewed a lightweight 4-element Yagi-Uda for 2m – you can read more about it in a separate blog entry.

    I selected Mount Evans as a target since it is ‘only’ a 2.5h drive from my home QTH and it has several other SOTA peaks nearby… a good chance to bag more than one summit.

    The Plan:
    I planned an early morning (8:30 MST) SOTA activation of nearby  Gray Wolf Mtn. (4138 m/13602 ft),  hoping to be on the air by 11:00 MST on Mt Evans (4339 M / 14264 ft) via Mt. Spalding (13842 ft / 4219 m). A total of 5 miles (8 km) and 3100 ft (945 m) ASL.

    Evans - Route
    The route I took

    I drove up to Summit Lake in the Mt. Evans Wilderness to start my hike. I left my car at 6:30 MST under blue skies but with a fierce and chilly wind. Wool hat and gloves felt nice.

    Summit Lake Area
    Summit Lake Area
    Bighorns at the lake
    Bighorns at the lake

    There were only a few cars at the parking lot and a small herd of Bighorns observed my last preparations. I set my HT to 146.52 and 147.42 (Co-14er event primary frequency) hoping to catch any early  14er activators on my hike up. I moved quickly to warm up and passed only one group of hikers in front of me. The initial steep ascent towards Mt. Spalding had the desired effect and I could remove one layer of clothing under heavy breathing. I talked to two stations near Denver on 146.52 who were already aware of the event going on before I moved on.

    Elevation Profile
    Elevation Profile

    I joined another hiker from Boulder who was also heading towards Gray Wolf Mountain. We continued our hike through the ‘wetlands‘ between Spalding and Gray Wolf. It’s a delicate endeavor to cross the fragile alpine tundra under any circumstances but with the wet area in front of us we had to pick our route carefully to keep our feet dry and our impact to a minimum. The remaining route is pretty straight forward, a steep and rocky final ascent and and we reached the summit at 8:30 MST as planned.

    My shack on Gray Wolf - Mt. Spalding / Mt. Evans and Mt. Bierstadt in the background
    My shack on Gray Wolf – Mt. Spalding (center) / Mt. Evans (left) and Mt. Bierstadt (right) in the background

    Just as I was setting up my HF antenna I heard W1DMH/Doug (a SOTA Mountain goat) calling CQ on 2m from Mt. Bierstadt – just ~2.5 miles S of me. My first S2S contact in the log :)

    Thanks to decent propagation conditions, 20m contacts were easy to make and my log filled-up fast. I was just done with packing up my gear to continue towards Mt. Spalding, when I heard NM5S/Alan and WSØTA/Fred on 2m. These accomplished SOTA Mountain goats are normally not heard on voice frequencies – two more S2S contacts in the log and my first on the air contacts with Alan and Fred.

    Mt Evans as seen from Mt. Spalding
    Mt Evans as seen from Mt. Spalding

    I was now 30 minutes behind my schedule and started to head down the mountain towards the ‘wet lands‘ again. For quite a while now, I had been hearing a dog barking towards the east of me. That’s well off the beaten path of Mt. Evans and I was wondering what was going on. The continuous barking was frantic at times so I finally decided to investigate and check what was going on… perhaps a runaway dog ? Hiker with dog in distress? It turned out to be nothing like that at all, just some morons climbers who decided to tie their dogs to a rock and go rock-climbing – it was not appreciated by the dogs at all.
    Now I was really behind schedule and I rushed up Mt. Spalding, hoping to make good on some of the lost time. From Mt. Spalding I talked to KCØRPS on Quandray Peak and WE7C on Mt. Bierstadt. Coming up to the ridge-line to Mt. Evans, I could copy NØBCB/Bryan on Castle Peak (another 14er). Since I wanted a S2S contact I pressed on to the summit, not realizing that Bryan was already in process of packing up for the day.

    I reached the summit of Mt. Evans at 11:35 MST and had my first contact at 11:37 MST with KDØWBB/Scott, a young ham in Loveland on 2m, using my new homebrew Yagi-Uda antenna.

    On Mount Evans 4339 m/14264 ft - WØC/FR-ØØ3
    On Mount Evans 4339 m/14264 ft – WØC/FR-ØØ3

    My log from Mt. Evans:
    [table id=2 /]

    At this time, most of the other 14er activators had already left the summit or they were packing up their gear. It was now past noon and rain clouds were moving in. With the strong monsoon season this year we are currently blessed with daily rain showers and thunderstorms (at least in northern Colorado).

    I was in a comfortable position… with a road going all the way to the summit I was planning to hitch a ride back to Summit Lake where my car was parked in case of rain/thunderstorm. A friendly couple from Cincinnati gave me a ride. Shortly after reaching the car… the rain started :)

    My final word:
    Mt. Evans is very crowded thanks to the road going all the way to the top. Barking dogs, crying babies and screaming people (out of excitement) made it sometimes hard to copy the signals. Even though I was sitting at the very edge of the summit, I constantly had to be careful not to poke somebody in the eye with my antenna. Putting down the Yagi is also a bad idea… it might get crushed. That’s why I opted not to setup my HF antenna. If you decide to activate Mt. Evans, go early in the morning and if you are lucky, you might have the summit all to your self.

    Feel free to leave questions and/or comments below.

    73, Matt/KØMOS

    ATTENTION !! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!