This was the second of two activations on the same day. Details of the earlier summit, Moel Famau, can be found in a separate report.
After having some early lunch in the car, I started walking up Foel Fenlli at about 11:40 am. Thankfully, this summit is quieter than Moel Famau. It also has some interesting history, being an ancient Hill Fort. The ramparts that formed part of the fort, can still be seen today, and make for a useful wind break if needed.
The path is way marked, but the actual path could be missed in places, if not using any navigation aids. The path is steep in places, but the ascent to summit only takes around 30 minutes.
Looking back down to the carpark, Moel Famau in the distance
The conditions on the summit were more favourable than the earlier summit. The wind had dropped and the temperature was now milder. These favourable conditions meant that I could setup my station on the summit cairn.
After getting a spot out, I soon had four contacts on 2m FM before the callers dried up. After then switching to 2m SSB, I was pleasantly surprised to actually have a mini pileup. I managed another nine contacts on 2m SSB. So far this year, with the SOTA challenge, 2m SSB is proving to be a very useful mode for activating.
Activation log
Happy with two activations completed, I packed away, and made my way back to the car.
The interactive map below shows a track of the route taken. You can zoom in or out to change the scale. The map can also be shown in full screen. The GPX track can also be downloaded using the link below the map.
This report is for the first of two SOTA summits activated on the same day. The first summit, Moel Famau, is the subject of this report. The second summit, Foel Fenlli, will be detailed in a separate report. Both of these walks were out and back, from the same carpark. The carpark is located at the top of Bwlch Pen Barras, at SJ 16148 60577. There are actually two carparks, separated by the road, and so there is ample parking. The charge for parking all day is ÂŁ6.
Looking across to the larger carpark across the road
It was just after 9am, when I started walking up the well worn path to the summit of Moel Famau. The path is straightforward, with a couple of steeper sections closer to the summit. I did notice a defibrillator, at the top of the first steeper section. A testament to how many people visit this summit. After about 45 minutes I had reached the summit, I took a few moments to take in the views. Its not hard to see why this summit is so popular, with the amazing views.
The summit was unusually quiet, and so I pondered the idea of operating from the Jubilee Tower. After climbing to the top of the tower, I was surprised to see that nobody was up there. So I setup my station, using my rucksack as a support for the carbon 6 pole.
After spotting myself, I soon had nine, 2m FM contacts in the log. I also managed a summit to summit, with John, GW4TQE, on Mynd-y-Briw, GW/NW-060. With all of the callers on 2m FM worked, I changed mode to SSB. I then then worked five more stations on that mode. Although, there were some duplicate contacts on SSB, the contacts still count towards this years SOTA, 2m SSB challenge.
Activation log for the summit.
After finishing up, I packed away, and then headed back down to the car. I had some lunch in the car before starting out again, this time to activate Foel Fenlli.
The interactive map below shows a track of the route taken. You can zoom in or out to change the scale. The map can also be shown in full screen. The GPX track can also be downloaded using the link below the map.
This was actually my second attempt at Moel y Gamelin this week. I had started the walk at lunchtime the day before. As I started waking that day, there was more snow on the ground than I had been expecting. I actually couldnât make out the path very well. It was also cold with driving rain. The final straw was the impending cloud that I was about to walk into, ensuring zero visibility if Ihad carried on. I do SOTA for enjoyment, and realised that I wasnât go to enjoy this walk. And so the decision was made, and I turned around and went home. Although, to be fair, I may have made a different decision if home wasnât just 15 minutes away.
Back at home, I was feeling a little frustrated with the weather. I studied the mountain weather app, looking for my next window of opportunity. It looked like there was a short spell of reasonable weather the next morning. And so a plan was hatched for attempt number two.
The parking spot opposite the now closed Ponderosa cafe
Just before 9 am the following day, I was walking up the path again. This time the weather was much better, most of the snow had now melted. The pictures above and below, show the difference a day makes. The carpark, pictured above, was still covered in snow the day before. Below, the pictures taken a day apart show the difference in weather.
Attempt 1 on SundayAttempt 2 on Monday
In good weather, the walk up Moel y Gamelin is straight forward, with a well defined path to the summit. Well actually there are two summits encountered on this walk. The first summit reached in Moel y Faen, unfortunately not a SOTA summit. From here you drop down slightly before starting up the final ascent to Moel y Gamelin. I soon discovered on the final ascent, that the path was filled with snow drift, and so progress was slow on this section. After an hour of walking, I finally arrived on the summit of Moel y Gamelin.
After taking in the views as usual, I setup my station on the leeward side of the summit mound. Today I was operating 2m FM, and 2m SSB. I was using my IC705, with a flowerpot antenna, mounted on a carbon 6 pole. I started on 2m SSB, after self spotting, and calling for a few minutes, I didn’t get any takers. So I switched to 2m FM and managed to log six contacts. I then switched back to 2m SSB, and managed five more contacts on that mode. After working a GM6LJE, I heard a very faint station. I turned on my preamp, and quickly realised it was Don, GW0PLP. Unfortunately, I was only 22 with him and we couldn’t quite complete the contact. Activation summary, eleven QSO’s in the log, six, 2m FM, and five, 2m SSB.
Activation log
Once packed away, I stood on the summit drinking my coffee. I could see some ominous looking cloud, heading towards me from over the Berwyn range. That was my cue to head down. I had been lucky with the weather, although, I did get a few drops of rain, that lasted for less than a minute. Back at the carpark, it was now busy, particularly with dog walkers. I couldnât help think, itâs such a shame the Ponderosa is now closed. Hopefully someone will buy itâs soon.
The interactive map below shows a track of the route taken. You can zoom in or out to change the scale. The map can also be shown in full screen. The GPX track can also be downloaded using the link below the map.
For Summits On The Air (SOTA), you can only get the activation points for a summit once a year. For me, this means progressively travelling further away from home throughout the year, to reach summits that I havenât activated in that year. So the New Year brings a welcome reset, where and I can start the year activating my local summits again. I am lucky to have two local SOTA summits, Moel y Gamelin and Cyrn y Brain. The car park, opposite the Ponderosa cafe (now closed), where the walk to each summit starts, is just a 15 minute drive from home. Its no surprise that my first activation for 2026, was going to be one of these two summits
Looking South East towards the Horseshoe Pass, while ascending Cyrn y Brain
I left home at around 10 am, most of the snow from the previous weekend had now melted. The weather, as I drove through Llangollen was fair. However, as I was driving up the Horseshoe Pass, the green fields soon turned to white snow, and it became a very different snow scene. A stark reminder, of how different the weather on hills, can be very different to the valleys below. I had alerted to activate Moel y Gamelin, my favourite local summit. But as I got out of the car, the bitterly cold wind hit me. Knowing that there would be limited shelter from the wind, on Moely y Gamelin, I made the decision to change the summit for this activation to Cyrn y Brain.
The start of the track upto the summit. The transmitter is in the distance
I started walking at about 10:20 am up the snow covered path. At first the snow wasnât a problem, but as I started up the steeper incline, traction became more challenging. I stopped to put my micro spikes on and that did improve the going. As I reached the higher part of the track, the drifts were deep in places and progress slowed again.
The snow depth on the last steep section to the summit
After an hour of slow going, I finally reached the cold and windy summit. I quickly deployed my DD Tarps magic carpet, on the floor of the stone shelter, and started to set up my station.
For this activation, I was operating only on 2m FM, and 2m SSB. I setup the flowerpot antenna, on my carbon 6 pole, and started with 2m FM. First in the log, before I could even get a spot out, was Dave, G6AEK. This was then followed by a 220km contact, with GM6LJE in Scotland. I soon had the required 4 contacts in the log, before callers dried up. I changed mode to SSB, and was about to put a spot out. Suddenly I had that sinking feeling, as I realised that my first spot was on the wrong mode and frequency. The PoLo logging app, very nicely spots you on your current logging mode and frequency. However, for some reason, I had forgotten to change the frequency from my previous activation. I corrected the frequency, and then sent a new spot. I then continued to work 2m FM, incase I had missed someone. Luckily, I managed to get John, G0MHF in the log, he had been trying to chase me on my erroneously spotted frequency. With FM definitely finished this time, I again changed mode to 2m SSB. I was working vertical polarisation with the flowerpot antenna. With another spot out, first in the log for SSB, was John, G0MHF, followed by several more SSB contacts. Interestingly, I tried working 2m SSB using a horizontal polarisation, and the only contact I had was again John, G0MHF. This did give us both an opportunity, to experiment with horizontal versus vertical polarisation, for 2m SSB.
To summarise the activation, I had five, 2m FM contacts, Five, 2m SSB contacts, although, as you can see from the log below, there were some repeat contacts. This is because of the SOTA challenge for 2026. Contacts made on 2m SSB, attract challenge points, for both activator and chaser.
Activation log
After the final QSO with John, I was beginning to really feel the cold. I made one last CQ call, and then went QRT. I quickly packed my packed away my gear, and made a hasty descent back to the car.
The interactive map below shows a track of the route taken. You can zoom in or out to change the scale. The map can also be shown in full screen. The GPX track can also be downloaded using the link below the map.
