A straightforward activation in the cloud, worth 4 SOTA points
In June 2026 I found myself in Aviemore again while my wife was on a course. Plenty of opportunities to climb some new SOTA summits, and revisit some previously activated ones.
While England, Wales and continental Europe were sweltering in a record-breaking heatwave the heat had not reached the Highlands and in fact it was pretty dreary for this activation.
I parked just off the A'anside Road, taking a bridge across the river where there was plenty of parking space next to a Glenlivet notice board. I walked up the stony driveway and through a farm yard where a public path was signposted.
This proceeded as a rough track for about half of the way, and then became a much less distinct route through boggy peaty moorland which was hard to follow at times.
The visibility deteriorated as I climbed and by the time I reached the top I was in the cloud, with a mixture of drizzle, hail and gusty winds to contend with while I set up my sotapole.
Propagation was reasonable and I managed 7 SSB QSOs on 40m, 6 SSB on 15m and then just 1 on 20m. The forthcoming weekend was the GW SOTA event so I was glad to get 2 S2S QSOs with activators in Wales warming up for the weekend.
Cold and wet I packed up, drying my Sotapole as much as I could and headed back to the car.
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