SOTA Activation: Monument Peak, Alpine County / El Dorado County, California - August 16, 2016

On a family vacation to the Lake Tahoe Basin in Nevada and California, I was fortunate enough to Activate 4 peaks in 3 days.  This is a description of the Monument Peak Activation.  Monument Peak is a 10,067 foot / 3,068 meter high, 8 Point SOTA Summit, which is the apex of Heavenly Ski Resort.  It has been activated in winter, via ski lifts and skis, and in summer via trails.  This was my second time ascending the peak, the first being in 2009, well before I got into SOTA." src="file:///C:/Users/Mark/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif">

Arriving at our lodging at The Ridge Resort, Nevada, at 7,600 feet elevation the evening before, we were still acclimating to the altitude.  Therefore we decided to take the Heavenly Ski Resort Gondola from Stateline, California, on Lake Tahoe, to 9,200 feet and then the Tamarack Express Chair to 9,700 feet.  This only left a short 1 mile hike, with about 350 feet elevation gain to the summit.  See: http://www.skiheavenly.com/~/media/heavenly/images/trail%20map%20images/2016/hvy_trailmap_2016.ashx

and see: http://www.skiheavenly.com/info/epic-discovery.aspx#/ScenicGondolaRide .  We also wanted to scout out the area for a return Ski Activation in the winter season, and this was a great, albeit an expensive way to do so.

We got an early start to beat the summer crowds.  We first took a short detour, in order to explore the South summit of Monument, less than a ½ mile away from the main summit.  This small sub-summit formation is 10,040 feet in elevation, and at the apex of the Sky Express Chair.  Again, we wanted to become familiar with the area for a winter ski Activation.  In quick order we traversed over to the main summit formation, and set up on a sandy platform just below the summit rock pile.  I set up for HF using my Inverted V linked dipole for 20M & 40M.  I also had a 2M FM radio with a Diamond RH-205 5/8 telescoping HT antenna, which has worked very well for me. 

In a little over an hour of leisurely operating, with breaks to enjoy the astounding views of the Lake Tahoe Basin on one side and the Carson Valley on the other side, I made 15 contacts.  I made 7X 2M FM contacts, 7X 40M SSB contacts and 1X 20M SSB contact.  We also had a chance to scope out our next few Activation objectives in the coming days from a distance.

Soon it was time to head back down to the main Tamarack Lodge at Heavenly Valley, 9,100 feet.  This huge complex is a major summer tourist attraction, having zip lines, mountain roller coaster, ropes courses and of course eating.  The area was mobbed with tourists enjoying the fine summer weather, activities and view.  After lunch, it was time to take the gondola back down to Stateline, and finish up.  This method of accessing an Activation, reminded us of similar experiences in Switzerland and elsewhere in central Europe.  Ski lifts, gondolas and cog railways make accessing some high mountains much easier than accessing an 8 or 10 point SOTA summit in Western USA.

Stations I worked are listed below.  As allways, Thank You to each and every one of my SOTA contacts!

Date:16/Aug/2016 Summit:W6/NS-061 (Monument Peak) Call Used:K7MAS Points: 8 Bonus: 0 

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