Summer is here and the snow will be gone up high, and we can again do alpine activations. Following up on the idea of Rachel-K7NIT for a way to enjoy SOTA as a group – we will activate around Mount Hood and then meet up afterwards for an 'eyeball' QSO. (Read about the April Portland S2S Party here: www.pnwsota.org/content/portland-urban-s2s-party-after-action-report.)
So, we've scheduled the Mount Hood S2S Party for Saturday, 23 August at 2000 UTC (that's 1pm local). For this event we'll try to get Activators on many SOTA peaks around Mount Hood and work each other for both activation and S2S points on two meter FM. Afterwards, we'll retire to Mount Hood Brewing Company (87304 East Government Camp Loop, Government Camp 97028) to meet in person, recuperate, and share SOTA stories.
To 'claim' your summit, post an alert for our QRV time of 2000 UTC (on 23/08/2014) and a frequency of 146.55-fm with a comment "Mount Hood S2S Party" on www.SOTAWatch.org.
Here's a list of eleven close-by summits you might consider (there could be others):
W7O/CN-036 - Zigzag Mountain (longer hike)
W7O/CN-033 - Devils Peak (9 miles on a very rough road, shorter hike)
W7O/CN-082 - Chasers Rock (very short hike - perhaps with Devils Peak)
W7O/CN-032 - Tom Dick Harry Mtn (longer hike)
W7O/CN-028 - Barlow Ridge (longer hike)
W7O/CN-059 - Clear Lake Butte (road walk)
W7O/CN-024 - Frog Lake Buttes (practically a drive-up w/ a 4WD)
W7O/CN-090 - 4620 (near drive-up)
W7O/CN-086 - 4925 (1 mile on PCT plus ~1 mile cross country)
W7O/CN-078 - 6001 (short hike w/ a good 4WD - otherwise long)
W7O/CN-008 - Lookout Mountain (short hike)
(BTW, this is not a safe time to climb Mount Hood due to rockfall hazards)
See www.pnwsota.org/ for more information and links to Activation Trip Reports for many of these summits. Feel free to double up - in fact, if we get participation from many we'd encourage it.
If you are intending to operate HF from those summits please coordinate those operations with our 2000 UTC S2S QRV time - probably beforehand. You’ll need to plan carefully for summits with longer drives or hikes to be QRV on time and to meet us all later on in Government Camp.
There are certainly other peaks that could be included in this S2S event - however we think you might be late to meet up at the pub if you activated them! Please activate even if you are not able to make it to the pub afterwards.
Hope to see you on the air and at the pub on 23 August!
Etienne-K7ATN
Mount Hood S2S Party - 23 August
