SOTA FAIL on Pikes Peak

[@DesN4IN]

Great memory to have with your son! Thanks for taking us along.

[@QRPSchool]

True! It was a bucket-list trip. Riding motorcycles with your son through the canyons and high-desert of New Mexico... Priceless! - Cliff

[@guyonamotorcycle1]

I was up there last summer. Love your sense of humor. It is an amazing place for sure!

[@W7LDT]

Cliff, Really missing your videos. I hope all is well with you. I am planning to activate Pike’s Peak next summer. I will be taking a portable O2 bottle.

[@Roddy1965]

I went to the Hill Climb in 2007. At about 9000-10000 ft it was ok, but at the top (14100ft), I got a headache for a few hours afterwards. I brought my handy from Ontario and made a few local contacts on 2m FM from the mountain.

[@Marmot689]

Hey Cliff, N0SKT here. Pikes Peak is my back yard here in Manitou Springs. I have worked 26 peaks over the years. Next time you come out let me know and I can get you to some nice peaks to work. Erick

[@QRPSchool]

Thank you, Erick. I'm not sure when I'll be out that way again but I definitely want to go back. I'll reach out to you when I get a chance to return. Thanks again. - Cliff

[@68cristian]

Mate I really want to thank you for this vid. I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery, and your gallant attempts at contacts under tough conditions - I reckon you did a marvelous job sending morse in those conditions. It may have been a SOTA fail in terms of activating the peak, but the hobby is about having a go, and you certainly did that ! I also think it is absolutely COOL that you are able to share this with your son - I hope one of my boys will develop an interest in radio also...Im only commencing my SOTA journey here in Australia, and you've been quite inspirational.! great work guys, and Thank you from VK1 land, 73 VK1FCLU

[@QRPSchool]

Thank you for the kind words, Cristian. It was a fantastic, "Bucket-List" trip, that's for sure. I hope to get back there someday and give it another try. Good luck with your SOTA activations. This is such a great hobby! - Cliff

[@gliderrider]

I was in Colorado Springs about the same time but we didn’t make it to Pikes Peak . Just ran out of time. Glad to see someone up there . We got somewhat discouraged when we found they changed how you get up there as of June 15th. We also wanted to ride our electric unicycles up there on the last few miles and down.

[@PeterJavea]

Congratulations guys. I probably couldn't have got out of the car without falling down, let alone set up the station and transmit.... Seeing that cyclist was also amazing. 73

[@VA7BC]

Great ride up that mountain. Wowee! Your son is a careful driver. Enjoyed your video. OWH (Operating while hypoxic) is no easy feat and you did admirably. OWHIL (in lightening) is challenging and crazy! 73

[@QRPSchool]

Yeah... it wasn't until I saw the video footage that Chris shot that I realized the clouds above me were pretty scary-looking! Not the smartest things I've ever done - but I'll never forget the experience. What a great trip! -Cliff

[@SteveParks]

The fam and I were in Colorado Springs about a week ago. Sad we missed each other. We did Field Day from 10k feet at Jefferson, Co. thanks for another great video.

[@QRPSchool]

Hey, Steve! Oh, wow. That would have been cool for you to go up on Pikes Peak with us. How'd you make out on Field Day? Our local group did pretty well. - Cliff

[@SteveParks]

QRP School we had a great field day. ~400 QSOs at 5W. Between 2 people in 24 hours it’s pretty good! Youngest kid even made a 6M contact to Oregon from Colorado. You can see our video on my channel if you get some time.

[@F8FCA]

wow interresting to see how it's possible . In this summit but there ´s anyone . Unfortunaly too low propagation I Think . sometimes with an indoor antenna in an apartment we have beautiful surprises just as much to hope . thank's for video Who make me thinking about that . 73

[@MichaelLloyd]

Great video Cliff. I've been wondering what a SOTA activation sounded like (might be a future video there). I used to live north of Denver and I've ridden motorcycles in the Rockies quite few years. It's a wonderful place to ride. We spent a good but of time in Rocky Mountain National Park but never made it to Pikes Peak. The altitude problems that you were experiencing are normal. Some people react more severely and it can be life threatening. 73 NE5U Mike

[@Hogdriver88]

You need some supplemental O2! Great video. Good thing you weren't on 2 wheels. I've hiked Sandia Peak and could feel it at 10,000+ feet. I've also ridden the Bear Tooth Highway on the bike, with those same deadly drop offs - scary but fun. But the motorcycle did all the work so no real ill effects at that 10,000' elevation. You guys get an A++ for effort - thanks for sharing. 73 Gregg KE2SX

[@QRPSchool]

Thanks, Gregg. It was a fantastic trip! We rode our motorcycles in the area around Santa Fe for a couple of days before we went to Pikes Peak. That was phenomenal. - Cliff

[@robertjohnson2586]

Great adventure! Looked like fun, I hate heights lol.

[@BretAllenStudios]

Don't feel bad. Pikes has it's own weather for sure and lightning is a big risk on the summit. I've climbed Pikes peak in July and got caught in a blizzard that shut down the road. Rescued 2 hikers with no gear that got caught up in the storm, lost on the face. They bought our lunch at the top haha.

[@QRPSchool]

Wow, Bret! Congrats on being fit enough to hike up to the peak! The day that Chris and I were there, some hikers made it to the top wearing only shorts and t-shirts. That was just so dumb of them! It was 50 degrees for the high that day on the mountain. (85 degrees at the base) Throw in some rain and you've got a bad situation on your hands.

[@DougPaulsonDoist]

Fascinating and Fun, as ever, Cliff. I have enough to trouble with CW at sea level. Even one contact above the clouds is enviable... 73

[@QRPSchool]

Doug Paulson Thanks, Doug! - Cliff

[@TI3ATSCR]

Great adventure.. today I was working ISS SSTV mode.. Ham Radio is great !!! best 73 from TI3ATS

[@QRPSchool]

It is a wonderful hobby, for sure! - Cliff

[@bradenglettkd8zm69]

Cliff, thanks for putting this up even though you didn't consider it to be successful. I can see that SOTA involves a lot of heights, something I'm not fond of! :)

[@rds801]

That was an official activation. Only takes 1 contact to activate the summit. 4 contacts to collect the points. 73 Roland K7FOP

[@KevinderKinderen]

I'm late to the game, just finding your videos. It is hard to call any day outside with the radio a fail. I've spent enough days struggling through to make a single contact or less and walked away happier than I arrived. My opinion - it's only a failure if you set the wrong goals or, maybe, equipment failure, which is what I thought this was going to be about.

[@k2cjbradio]

Never a fail! You still got out!

[@QRPSchool]

Good point! - Cliff

[@TXLorenzo]

There was a reason Nikolai Tesla moved there for research, it has the most lightning in the country! Having lived there for a while, Pike's Peak makes it's own weather, best go early in the morning rather than afternoon. BTW, plan to only visit 14k ft for just a short time, no oxygen!

[@aw7425]

Sorry we missed you. Let us know next time you guys come out. 73 w1nga Colorado

[@leandroguerra4158]

Cliff great adventure. What model is this beautiful watch?

[@QRPSchool]

The watch is a Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Smartwatch. I've got several "nice" watches but they are mostly collecting dust, now. The S3 Frontier has so many great features and there are a million watch faces on the market for it. I got it at Costco for about $240, I think. For an Android guy, it's great! - Cliff

[@1fanger]

I wonder, is that track temporary, of do they run a cog rail service to the summit like on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire? Be interesting to see if they`d allow a Special Event on such a rail system.

[@QRPSchool]

They do have a rail service. It was shut down that day. My understanding is that it takes 20 to 30 minutes for the ride up and that you have about 30 minutes at the top before you have to ride back down on the same train. - Cliff

[@gsansoucie]

Thanks, same question here. N1XF (somewhat near Mt Washington).

[@wj2l]

what abt ben franklins experience did you not understand?

[@QRPSchool]

Your point is well-taken! :-) -Cliff

[@wj2l]

@@QRPSchool Appriciate your kind reply too. Keep up the good qrp wrk.

[@reidlanham2011]

Great video!

[@reesej22]

Don’t fill bad! I got chased by a Texas long horn the first time I tried a SOTA activation. Only made one contact that day:-)

[@QRPSchool]

Wow! That must have been pretty scary! Congrats on making it back home in one piece. -Cliff

[@ksb2112]

At least the longhorn didn't make a contact. ;-)

[@rockysrider5352]

why didnt you ride your bikes up there..... its an awesome ride I live in Colorado Springs and make that ride several times a year.... with My Wife on the back

[@QRPSchool]

Brad, I was too scared to do that ride on my motorcycle. Now, the next day we rode into the Rockies in similar conditions (12,000 ft. with no guardrails) so I wouldn't be as afraid to do Pike's Peak on my motorcycle in the future. That said, the day we drove up PP, the traffic was congested in a few places and my son and I felt sorry for some of the people stuck in that traffic on motorcycles. What an awesome area to live. I envy you! -Cliff

[@KMondy]

I would call that a successful activation given lack of oxygen. I was there June of 2018 with the family. I miss the cog train and hated the drive up there. I only brought my ft2dr and one contact.

[@QRPSchool]

Well, I was hoping for more contacts but it wasn't meant to be. But, it was an unforgettable experience during a "bucket list" trip for me and my son. I hope to get another shot at it someday. "I missed the cog train and hated the drive up there". I'm with you, brother. More than a little scary in places. Those guys that race up the hill every year are nuts!!! :-)

[@KMondy]

@@QRPSchool it'll be nice to see your qso from there if you get another chance. Don't know what would help at high altitude other than an oxygen supply. 73.

[@theexperimentalcqdx4208]

I think most packed away because of the WX in other parts of the country, Nice video anyway

[@michaeloffutt2569]

Hi Cliff (N4CCB) This is Mike Offutt (AB6EW)! That's is a SOTA Activation in my Book, don't worry about it being a failure! The more important thing is quality time with your son and family! Question for you Cliff, what type of Antenna Mast that day are you using? Did you have any guy wiring to support the mast from the winds? How have the HF Band Condition doing lately? I am thinking of getting involved with HF QRP, but really hesitant because of the Current Solar Sunspot Cycle?! Would you still recommend on getting into HF QRP in spite of the Downward Sun Spot Cycle? 73's De Mike (AB6EW) ...

[@QRPSchool]

Hey, Mike. The antenna mast used in the video is a compact, fiberglass travel mast that I purchased from PackTenna. It collapses down to 26 inches, which means it can fit in a suitcase. I used a SOTABEAMS linked dipole antenna with it and that antenna includes string at the end of each side and a third string that together, can be used to guy the antenna. I had the mast wedged between some rocks on Pike's Peak. The strings were tied to rocks to help keep the antenna steady. Band conditions are just "okay". During contests, when there should naturally be a lot of activity on the bands, it is there. I think a lot of people assume the bands are dead and aren't calling CQ but they're still good enough. I would not lay out because of the solar cycle. Our time on this earth isn't guaranteed so it's a good idea to jump in and see what you can accomplish. I promise you that you'll make some good contacts, regardless of the sub-optimal sun spots right now. So, yes, I recommend that you jump in with both feet ASAP! - Cliff

[@bartmiller1585]

You finally looked! Ok thanks.

[@terryroper2591]

Drink water and more water, getting dried out is part of altitude sickness. Almost everyone gets some altitude sickness sometime. Thanks for the video. Kd0mnt

[@gsansoucie]

Not lifting the back of the KX2 didn’t help your audio either, that speaker was pointing right into the rock. I do understand the altitude issues though. I remember arriving at Lowry AFB coming out of Basic training in the mid 80’s and running a mile then dropping on day one and that was about 1/2 or a 1/3 of the altitude.

[@lmaoroflcopter]

14,000ft+ blimey! When i've done that altitude (trekking Mt Kenya) we were on diamox above 12k. Damn that hypoxia was real!

[@QRPSchool]

True! I didn't realize in advance that it would affect me to that degree. It was surprising. Congrats on your Mt Kenya trek! That must have been amazing! - Cliff

[@ksb2112]

Fun video! But think about this. You were making some goofy mistakes due to hypoxia whiie operating a radio. Just think about operating a vehicle while hypoxic. It's probably good you didn't get to drive to the top. I was once at the top of Mt. Shasta and my buddy was running around, grinning and telling me he couldn't find his backpack. He was wearing it.

[@cliffbatson]

Ha! That's funny. Trailering our motorcycles to Santa Fe was about a 20-hour drive... so about 40 hours of driving from/to home during a 1 week vacation. And it was worth every minute of driving to be able to ride our motorcycles in New Mexico and Colorado! We both feel that if we had to do it over again, we'd probably fly out there and rent motorcycles. But, what a great adventure we had! I would love to get another shot at Pike's Peak someday for SOTA. I don't know but I think I could do better next time, now that I know what to expect. - Cliff

[@WKMG365]

Cool video! My morse is bad enough at 600ft ASL :) - at 14,000 ft I think yours is fine. GL 73 Mat - K4OCY - TN

[@martinmilner2019]

Totally enjoyed the video. Thanks for posting. 73 VA7MIL

[@W7LDT]

You were definitely oxygen deprived. If I try it, I’m bringing portable o2. Thanks for activating it anyway.

[@Bob814u]

Actually it is very educational. I remember watching pilots trying to do simple tasks while deprived of enough oxygen. Very similar. One pilot kept trying to put the square peg in the round hole and not understanding why it wouldn't go. I am not trying to be disrespectful at all. If it were an emergency and you were trying to get an emergency message out OR trying to receive an emergency message this is a consideration.

[@QRPSchool]

It was a very odd experience. I'd love to have another shot at it but I live in/near Nashville, TN. Maybe someday... - Cliff

[@ojjenkins7110]

Thanks, my favorite spot on Earth. KØOJ

[@decoeric]

I was so bummed I never heard you. I saw your spot and had everything pointed at you and never heard a thing. Hopefully another time, would love to get you in my log. de K0EAP

[@QRPSchool]

I had high hopes that day, Eric. I've only done one other activation and it was a blast. I think I could have made 3 contacts that day if I'd been wearing earbuds. Maybe if I'd switched bands to 30m, I could have had better luck. I don't know. I hope to get back out there again someday. It was an amazing trip. Riding our motorcycles together (Father/Son) through New Mexico was epic! - Cliff

[@glennblanchard8805]

ALWAYS take oxygen with you to altitude.

[@TheArtofEngineering]

Above 10K ceiling....you shud be on O2 ....A bit hypoxic.

[@recumbentogiro26]

You didn't fail. You just had to overcome environmental conditions. You did fine.

[@roneymonte]

Propagation is not helping (for us all) ... But that's a very nice summit! 73 de PY1ZB

[@chrisyln1]

should have headphones

[@QRPSchool]

True.

[@madcarew.3256]

take some O2 nxt time! 73

[@wadepatton2433]

So do what the pro cyclists do when they cannot live at altitude for training (or do extended mtn top training) -get a hyperbaric chamber to sleep in. It's the "natural way" to build up the ability of your blood to collect oxygen from an low-oxygen environment-such as elevation. Or carry an oxygen bottle...(an amplifier for you brain waves). Good on you for trying. Glad you didn't torque an ankle or something.

[@wadepatton2433]

Also, not a literal hyperbaric chamber-but a sleeping tent with controlled (reduced) oxygen, is what I was referring to. They are much more affordable than actual hyperbaric chambers. As much as hams spend on gear--why not train for SOTA o2 deprivation?

[@вечная_мерзлота]

wuss... if you didn't run and got zapped you'd get so much views you could be flying here on private heli. 😄

[@QRPSchool]

A very good point! 🙂