SOTA outings by KØMOS and contributors

Tag: Utah

  • W7U/GR-044 (5580) – 1701 m / 5580 ft

    W7U/GR-044
    5580
    1701 m / 5580 ft
    Dec 03, 2015

    By KX0R

    Summit 5580 is an interesting, challenging summit. It’s probably the easiest SOTA “peak” in Arches National Park, north of Moab, Utah.

    • High desert activation
    • Most of the hike is on a marked trail
    • Parts of the route are along the tops of high rock fins
    • Incredible scenery
    • Peak is near the famous Double-O Arch
    • Activation zone is accessible by hiking and easy scrambling
    • Actual summit is a technical climb
    • ~ 5.0 miles round trip
    • ~ 400 vertical feet of gain to the activation zone
    • Hike and activation take about 5 hours
    • SOTA “Classic”!

    I relied on the directions posted by K7ODX on the SOTA summit page, and they’re helpful and accurate. Fortunately I had been out to Double O Arch a couple of times previously, so I was familiar with the interesting hike on the “primitive trail”.

    The route to 5580 begins at the popular Devils Garden Trailhead. The scenic trail is easy for the first mile to Landscape Arch; then the route becomes more challenging, as it climbs up and travels along “fins” of firm red sandstone. Cairns and a few signs mark the way. There’s some exposure to heights, but the danger is minimal if the sandstone is dry.

    If there’s snow or ice on the rocks, leave this trip for another day! I was able to complete the route on Dec 3, 2015, and there was about an inch of snow in the shade; fortunately almost no snow remained on the exposed rock of the trail.

    Just beyond 2 miles from the trailhead, the trail descends along a very long fin and drops around a corner to Double O Arch. This is a good place to take some photos and enjoy the magnificent twin arches.

    It’s possible to climb through the smaller lower arch, but I decided to go around the long way to the north. Follow the marked trail to the Dark Angel for a short distance around the rock fin containing Double O Arch, and then head southeast up an obvious path to the west side of the arch. If the rock’s dry, it’s possible to climb up on the slick-rock and ascend up the draw south of the arch.

    Peak 5580 is at the top of the large fin south of Double O Arch, but the summit isn’t visible from near the arch. W7ODX suggests studying the satellite image of the area near Double O Arch prior to going in there, and he’s right. You can’t activate this summit unless you know where you’re supposed to be! 5580 is not climbable by ordinary people, but it’s practical to reach the Activation Zone. Your goal is to climb up to the sandy high point between the Double O Arch fin and the 5580 fin. If you set up on the top of the sand pile up there, right below the 5580 fin, you’ll be within the Activation Zone. My GPS measurements, when compared to topographic map elevations, confirm that the spots W7ODX and I have used are in the Activation Zone. His coordinates are within GPS accuracy of mine:

    W7ODX:

    N38 47.912’
    W109 37.235’

    KX0R:

    N38 47.907’
    W109 37.232’

    We arrived at these points independently. Although I used W7ODX’s excellent route description, I recorded my waypoint where I set up my gear. I didn’t go to his coordinates with a recorded waypoint on my GPS, etc.

    There’s room to suspend a wire from the operating position, across the open space, to a tree on the other side. Small trees on top of the dune could be used to support a wire, but a pole is better. I used a 20-foot Black Widow pole on top of the dune, and the northeast end of my 52-foot wire was slightly lower. Initially I was pessimistic about the compromised location down between the large sandstone fins. While there are better spots to set up and string an antenna up there, either they’re inaccessible, or they’re likely not within the activation zone.

    My doubts disappeared as soon as I got on the air. There was normal band noise as I tuned up on 40M. I made three contacts on 40M CW immediately, followed by a long run on 20M CW, with 26 contacts and reasonable signal reports. Then I went to 30M CW and made 5 more contacts. There really was very little reduction in performance compared to a summit-top setup. It was a long one-hour session sitting in the deep blue winter shade, late in the afternoon, surrounded by snow, with my CW fingers near freezing! The thermometer read 30F at 2200Z, and I had to use gloves and a cloth around the Palm paddles for most of the activation. Of course it was fun!

    Activating 5580 on a good day should be a spectacular and rewarding experience. The hike is more than scenic – it’s awesome to walk along the tops of the giant Entrada sandstone fins, with incredible views of the red-rock all around, and the snow-covered La Sal Mountains in the east. There are side trips to several large arches, and nothing up there is less than incredible!

    There are a few possible problems with this expedition:

    1. The Devils Garden area is so popular that it can fill up during busy times.
    2. The hike’s dangerous or impossible if the rock’s snowy or icy
    3. Summer conditions during mid-day can be so hot that it’s unpleasant or unsafe – take plenty of water.
    4. If you stay out there too late, it might be difficult to find the way back via the “primitive trail” in the dark.
    5. There’s no VHF/UHF coverage from the activation spot between the fins. Unless you can climb much higher, there are no good options, except for HF.

    If you plan to activate 5580, arrange your trip to avoid these problems. You’ll be rewarded by an exciting, fun hike through incredible rock formations. The SOTA activation will be a nice rest-stop in a unique destination. Except for cold fingers during my activation, my trip on December 3 was wonderful!

    5580 is a SOTA Classic!

    • Fun, spectacular hike
    • Incredible scenery
    • Challenging three-dimensional route
    • Numerous famous arches nearby
    • Low-noise HF site
    • Unique location in world-class National Park

    If you have time, consider continuing out along the marked trail to the Dark Angel. This well-named spire is visible for miles, and it’s larger than you think!

    73

    George
    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!

  • W7/SU-xxx (La Sal Mountains)- Utah

    It was a great trip to the La Sal Mountain Range it Utah. Mike/KØYO and I activated four out of the six SOTA peaks. Here a teaser video… full trip report will follow.

    httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlmn-0oBoVc

    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!

  • La Sal Mountains: Part 2 – W7U/SU-004 (Manns Pk.) & W7U/SU-005 (Mt. Tomasaki)

    The first part of our planned activations was targeted at the northern cluster of La Sal Mountain Range. Three possible SOTA summits were in reach:

    View from base-camp
    View from base-camp

    Mike is not what you call an ‘early bird‘ when it comes to crawling out of a sleeping bag. We compromised on a 6AM wake-up call to get a chance to activate all three summits. After a quick breakfast and a final equipment check we were on our way from our camp at the base of Mt. Tomasaki up to Burros Pass.

     

     

    Trailhead: 8552 ft/ 2565 m
    Summits:   Manns – 12272 ft / 3741 m     Mt. Tomasaki – 12239 ft / 3730 m
    Elev. gain: 2853 ft / 870 m
    Roundtrip: 5.0 mi / 8.0 km

    Compare this summit with my other activated summits

    How to get there:
    Check out Part-1 of the story.

    Red Tape:
    The La Sals are withing the Manti La Sal National Forest and thus all their rules apply. It is a remote area and for the most part without cell-phone coverage . VHF/UHF repeaters are also scarce and they can only be reached from very high elevations. If you are  traveling off season it’s a lonely place and help in case of an emergency is not available. I was driving a Subaru OUTBACK and had no major issues but I was lucky that the creek we had to cross was quite low. However, for the Subi it was borderline. The ‘roads’ after Geyser Pass are indeed rough for this kind of a  car and some help from a second person to navigate critical sections would come in handy. I also recommend taking a chain-saw to avoid being trapped by falling trees – and there are tons of them, sometimes barely enough road to scrape through. Make sure to carry a map with all the NFS roads. Roadsigns are scarce and typically used for target practice or used as floss/toothpicks by Porcupines making them unreadable. Keep that in mind when you travel.

    The Ascent:

    Manns/Tomasaki - Elevation Profile
    Manns/Tomasaki – Elevation Profile

    We decided to ascent Manns Peak first which is located between Mt. Tomasaki and Mt. Wass. The idea was to get a good look at the route to Mt. Wass and Mt Tomasaki to determine whether snow is still an issue and activate accordingly.
    From our base-camp we traveled north and then slightly NW up the gulch towards Burros Pass. After reaching the pass, the trail forks towards the NE and the other continues back down on the other side.

    The view from Burros Pass towards our base-camp
    The view from Burros Pass towards our base-camp
    Cast Iron 'something'
    Cast Iron ‘something‘

    We followed the NE trail and along the east side of Manns Pk. Retrospectively I would choose a more northern route to gain more elevation and then follow the ridge all the way to the top. On the positive side, we discovered several interesting remnants from mining activities along this route. Since Mike used to be a Mining Engineer in his former life, he was a fountain of useful information related to geology and mining operation.

     

    Mike reached the Talus
    Mike reached the Talus

    The La Sal Mountains are famous for Talus or Scree. So far we hiked on solid ground but that was about to change…  the final approach to Manns Pk. gave me an idea what to expect for the next couple of days. Mike called it: ‘Potato chips on ball-bearings’. They indeed look like giant potato chips, they behave as if they were lying on top of ball-bearings and they sound as if they are hollow. Needless to say that hiking on this stuff can be difficult at times. You will see what I am talking about on some of the pictures and videos clips. Nevertheless we made it to the top without any troubles.

    The Summit:
    The summit is basically a huge pile of loose rocks (Talus) with a wind shelter built from rocks at the top. Plenty of room to setup antennas. The views are spectacular and very unique. The La Sals are a relatively small Mountain Range towering high over the Colorado Plateau and therefore offering (almost) unobstructed views to the horizon in every direction. Despite a forest fire to the East, the air was clear and crisp with blue skies and pleasant temperatures. From up here we could actually see the only repeater in the area (Bald Mesa/146.76- tone: 88.5 Hz), operated by Royce/K7QEQ in Moab.

    Mt. Mellenthin, Mt. Peale and Mt. Tukuhnikivatz as seen from Mr. Manns
    Mt. Mellenthin, Mt. Peale, Mt. Tukuhnikivatz as seen from Manns Peak

    Our priority was to set-up for 2m first to keep our “appointment” with Bob/KIØG who climbed another SOTA summit, WØC/SJ-Ø15 (Crags Crest) in nearby Colorado. Our Google Earth plots (see below) were in favor of a S2S contact on 2m. LOS looked good and a distance of 80 mi (~130 km) should not be a problem with 5W and a tape-measure YAGI.

    Elevation Profile between Manns Pk. and Crag Crest
    Elevation Profile between Manns Pk. (left)  and Crag Crest (right)
    Mike/KØYO using a tape-measure YAGI on 2m.
    Mike/KØYO using a tape-measure YAGI on 2m.

    After fiddling for a while with the HT  to punch in the right frequency, Mike raised KIØG quickly  on 146.520. The first contact and successful first activation of both summits, a nice start of our trip. During Mike’s and Bob’s QSO, I set-up the Buddipole for 20 m, eager to make some more contacts and move-on to the next summit – you never know how the weather develops in the mountains.

     

    Here some more pictures from the summit:

    Mike/KØYO doing some Voodoo to the FT-817
    Mike/KØYO doing some Voodoo to the FT-817
    Matt/KØMOS operating on 20m
    Matt/KØMOS operating on 20m

    After a total of 13 QSO we started to pack-up the gear and evaluate our options.  In order to get to Mt. Waas we would have to follow the ridge-line, bagging several unnamed summits including Pilot Mountain (which is not a SOTA summit). With the help of binoculars we were able to determine a rather big snow cornice still hanging in the saddle just before the steep ascent to Mt. Waas. Not a big surprise since it is only May and snow can hamper your activities in the La Sals even in August.  Mike was firmly against making an attempt under these circumstances and I had no good arguments to go forward with this summit – after all that is the advantage of having a hiking buddy who is familiar with the area and conditions.

    APRS coverage
    APRS coverage

    We turned in the opposite direction instead where Mount Tomasaki was waiting for us. Tomasaki is only about 1.5 mi (~2.5 km) SE of our current position and the cross over is straight forward and no snow was hampering our efforts. Only the Talus…. and I think I used a few swear words on our way up to the summit. Luckily we were high enough to have APRS coverage between the two summits in case chasers were watching our progress.

    Mt. Tomasaki from the saddle
    Mt. Tomasaki from the saddle
    KØMOS on the ascent
    KØMOS on the ascent

    The summit of Mount Tomasaki is very similar to Manns Pk. The shelter was little smaller, the wind had picked-up a bit but the views were also stunning. We followed the same procedure, Mike tried to get contacts on 2m with the Yagi and I prepared the Buddipole in the mean time.

    Why are these radios so darn small?
    Why are these radios so darn small?

    The Descent:
    We tried to keep the descent as short as possible and turned SW as soon as we reached the saddle. This led us into steep and treacherous territory and we had to scout our options carefully. We finally reached the trail just a few hundred yards above our camp.
    Plenty of time to charge our batteries with the solar panels, cooking and sharing stories and making plans for the upcoming day. The cold wind after sunset finally drove us into the sleeping bags – as far as I am concerned, it was a great day even-though we missed one of the summits.

    Bascamp
    Bascamp

    Some video impressions:
    httpvh://youtu.be/r-JkcnNGlT4

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

    Wondering how our trip progressed? Click the FOLLOW button at the bottom right corner of this page to sign-up.

    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!

  • La Sal Mountains: Part 1

    La Sal Mountain Range as seen from Arches N.P.

    I have always been fond of the La Sal Mountain range. They provided a nice backdrop to many of my photos taken on visits to the Moab and Lake Powell area. It never occurred to me to climb them though… until I ‘met’ Mike/KØYO.

    Mike commented on my trip report to Mount Werner, an area that he is very familiar with. We started to exchange e-mails about SOTA and summits in Utah where he now lives, and soon started to make plans for activating some of the summits in the La Sal Range for the upcoming season.

    La Sals as seen from Delicate Arch

    The La Sals can carry snow until August which can make an ascent of the rather steep slopes hard if not impossible. Luckily for us, it had been a very dry winter in Utah and most of the snow was already gone. With the weather forecast in our favor, we set a date and within 5 days I was on my ~550 mi (ca. 900 km) journey to Utah.

    The mountain range contains of two clusters of peaks and rises high over the surrounding Colorado Plateau. It has several major peaks and six of them are currently SOTA peaks:

    During the preparation we debated for a while where to set-up our base-camp to make the activations as efficient as possible. We went back and forth but finally settled on the Geyser Pass area because both clusters can be easily reached by foot from the pass. Since Mike was leaving earlier than me… that’s where we planned on meeting.

    Along the Colorado River – Scenic Byway to Moab

    I left my QTH early in the morning on May 29th , hoping to arrive around 5PM at our base-camp. Traffic was light on I25 as well as I70 and I made good time with just one pit stop to re-fuel the car and to get some caffeine in my system. I took the scenic byway to Moab along the Colorado river. Route 128 has always been a favorite of mine. From Moab it is another hour to get to Geyser Pass, mostly over dirt-roads. I was pleasantly surprised about the good condition of the dirt road in the Manti La Sal National Forest. Besides all the fallen trees along and over the road, my old Subaru Outback had no issues until Geyser Pass… then the ‘road’ condition changed and I was moving at a snails pace to navigate  the holes and uneven track towards the base-camp.  I received a phone call from Mike just a few hundred yards before reaching the pass. He was investigating possible routes to Mt. Mellenthin when he picked-up a cell signal. He gave me the crucial details on where to find his camp. Perfect timing – just 15 minutes later I discovered his truck in the trees, just

    La Sals – I found Mike’s camp

    below Mount Tomasaki. The final approach was tough for the old Outback but with spinning wheels I (barely) made it up the steep, dusty and bumpy ‘road’ to the camp.

    La Sal Mountain Range: SOTA summits (click picture to enlarge)
    La Sal Mountain Range: SOTA summits (click picture to enlarge)

    Mike was still out exploring and since I had been sitting in the car for almost nine hours, I needed some exercise. I took my HT and hiked up towards Burros Pass to explore the ascent to Mount Manns and Mount Tomasaki. I continued uphills, making good progress towards Mt. Manns when Mike called me on 146.52 – he was back at the camp. I turned around and 45 minutes later, we finally met in person.

    After dinner we discussed out plans for the coming day and turned to the sleeping bags early…

    Video Impressions:
    If you have not yet seen the trailer… here it is:

    httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlmn-0oBoVc

    or move on to Part 2 of the trip. 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!

  • Activation Alert: KØYO and KØMOS activating the La Sal Mountain Range (May 30-June2nd)

    Overview:

    La Sal Mtn. Range – Photo by Michael Grindstaff (Moab/Utah)

    The La Sal Mountain Range is located in eastern Utah, not far from the town of Moab and close to Colorado. Some of the significant Peaks are :

    La Sal Mountain Range: SOTA summits (click picture to enlarge)

    Mike/KØYO and Matt/KØMOS will spend a couple of days to explore this unique environment. Obviously we will try to activate as many SOTA peaks as possible :)

    Date/Time/Routes:
    We do not have a fixed schedule and we will adapt to the situation and environment. Snow, wind and thunderstorms will dictate the schedule and routes. Our first activation will be on May 30th and the last probably on June 2nd. Starting from our base-camp, we will attempt to summit Manns Peak first, followed by Mount Waas and/or Mount Tomasaki. Mike and I might be on different summits at the same time but always be in contact via HT. If we cannot activate all of these summits on day 1, we will activate the remaining summits on day 2 before moving to the southern part of the range where we will focus on Mount Mellenthin, Mount Tukuhnikivatz (looking forward hearing that name in CW) and Mount Peale.

    We are planning to be on the first summit in the morning (~15:00 UTC). Conditions permitting we will try to activate multiple summits each day.

    Alerts/Spots:
    The ALERTS I will post on SOTAwatch are just reminders so you guys don’t forget about us. Date/Time/Summits may change on any day. Make sure to get the correct SOTA reference when you talk to us – and please SPOT us when you find us. If we have coverage, we might try to self spot via SMS and/or update our status incl. frequencies via APRS (Beacon Status Text), assuming I press all the right buttons. You can check via: http://aprs.fi/info/a/K0MOS-7

    Band/Mode/Equipment:
    KØYO:  Dipole and YAESU FT-817

    2m:   FM / SSB / CW
    17m: SSB / CW
    20m:SSB / CW

    KØMOS: Buddipole Versatee and Yaesu FT-817 / Tapemeasure 3-el. YAGI for 2m

    2m:   FM  – 146.5200
    20m: SSB – 14.3425 alternate frequ. 14.2850 +/- QRM

    You can also catch us late afternoon and evenings at our base-camp if it is sunny enough for our solar-panels to re-charge the batteries. Looking forward to the trip and hoping for many contacts. Keep your antennas pointed towards Utah.

    73, Mike & Matt

    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!