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Lisa Veraldi, K0LIV, passed away last Thursday evening. Tuesday was her 68th birthday. I met Lisa the summer of 2020 while training on the incline in Castle Rock. She was wearing a “Marine Mom” t-shirt and we struck up a conversation. Lisa took me on an “interview” hike up Mt Morrison to see if I could keep up with her. I brought my HF rig and activated at the summit sparking Lisa’s interest in Ham radio. I also hoisted her dogs up and down the boulders on the trail which earned me her, and her dogs’, friendship. Over the next year or so, Lisa hiked 40-50 summits with me. She led the way having already summited all of Colorado’s 14ers and over 200 of the 13ers. She logged my QSOs and soon I promoted her to Antenna Specialist, as she took over setting up the antenna while I set up the station. Eventually, she studied and earned her own license. Together we claimed 5 first activations on some tough peaks, like Mount Aetna, California Peak, Cronin, French and Casco. She also led the way on the trifecta of Sherman, Sheridan, and Horseshoe. She was a tough gal! After getting her own license, she continued to activate intending to make Mountain Goat. Many of you hiked with her in the last year or two. She logged 47 activations, and if she had been licensed when she hiked with me, Lisa would’ve been damn close to her Mountain Goat, if not there. A competitive body builder, rock and ice climber, mountain climber and SOTA activator, Lisa was a force of nature! Her daughter Lauren has taken over her facebook page and a tribute and info are there. https://www.facebook.com/share/1AVmmQmtPw/ -- JIm Stinson N0IPA

Yesterday, I decided at the last minute to do a local summit near my house. It was Green Mtn (W0C/FR-107) and only a 6860 ft summit. The weather was very cold with a strong wind. I brought my Bothy bag and spikes -- I thought that should work fine. This is a popular place all year round with hikers, runners and mtn bikers. I thought I would not need snow shoes. However, this mountain received a lot of snow during our past storms here and the trails had a lot of deeper snow drifts. The trail was only packed down a short distance where it was obvious most people bailed and turned around. I soldiered on zigzaging across the trail to both edges to minimize trudging through the deeper snow. The wind was strong with lots of blowing snow. Of course, the misery factor is high now in Colorado mountains ;-). I finally reached the summit and wandered around trying to find the best operating position. I wanted to be sheltered from the wind a bit but this mountain has no trees or big rocks to hide behind. I decided to park myself just 10 ft below the lee side of the summit. I spent probably 25 minutes trying to get my antenna pole anchored and extended -- I came to the conclusion it wasn't to be. I left my pole up about four feet with most of the antenna wire laying directly on the snow. I've done this many times up above 12k feet and it worked well up high. However, I've never had to do that on low summits before -- so I wasn't sure it was going to work well. I definately needed to get into my Bothy bag to have any chance of working lots of stations on CW. Once I was inside with all my gear, I was able to turn on my KX2 to see if it would tune up the compromised antenna. Well, it did -- so far so good. I then started calling CQ and got spoted on the RBN network failry quickly -- another good sign. I started on 20m as I could hear lot's of stations on that band compared to others. Well, I ended up making 35 contacts over the next hour with decent signal reports! Mission accomphished. Then came the time to get out of my Bothy and pack up. That's the hardest part after being warm and out of the wind and blowing snow. The wind had become worse as well as the blowing snow. I quickly threw everything in my pack while chasing a few items that blew away down the slope. Retriving those items cost me some time and also resulted in several inches of snow inside my pack! So, in conclusion, don't be afraid of laying your wire antenna on the ground on our low summits! It works (if you have a tuner)! Of course, having a Bothy bag also saves the day...... 73, Brad WA6MM

Kudos to Tara Dower for setting an extraordinary record as the fastest person ever to complete the Appalachian Trail! The 31-year-old from Virginia conquered the 2,168-mile (3,489 km) rugged backcountry trail in an astounding 40 days, 18 hours, and 5 minutes—far quicker than the typical 5 to 7 months it takes a traditional thru-hiker. To achieve this remarkable feat, Dower averaged 54 miles per day, navigating the often steep and rocky terrain with a total elevation gain of 465,000 feet across fourteen states. Her day began at 3:30 am and stretched for roughly 17 hours, punctuated by quick meals and brief “dirt naps” lasting 90 seconds each. Dower used her run to raise funds for Girls on the Run, sharing her hope that her achievement will inspire girls and women. “I want more women to get out there,” she expressed. “It’s not about beating men, it’s about tapping into our true potential. If you beat the men, that's just a bonus.” Upon completing her journey on a Saturday night, she fell to her knees in awe and placed her hands on the bronze plaque that reads, "A footpath for those who seek fellowship with the wilderness."

The trip up Sniktau on Sunday was exactly as I expected. Cold and windy! There was almost no snow on the ridgeline all the way from the parking area at Loveland Pass to the summit. We didn't have to use spikes or snowshoes. I am sure that this ridge is bare most of the time due to the wind, but we sure could use more snow... Once at the top, I set up for 2m activation using my TIDRadio TD-H3 with a telescoping antenna. I called CQ a few times on 146.58, and I got two contacts: N1SMB on Keystone, and Bob K0NR from Trout Creek Pass. Then I went to 52 and got a few more, including N0DET on his way to Mt. Pence. I brought my KX2 with me, but it was so cold and the wind was howling, so we decided to call it after I got four contacts. Just as I was about to wrap up, Ray KD8EQA came through from Castle Rock with a fifth contact. We decided to head back down and get a beer. I couldn't describe it as "fun", but It was a great experience to be up there. I'm happy I did it. Now that I've activated once a month the whole year, I have to figure out a new goal for next year! Torreys Peak from the Summit of Sniktau Me, Nick KC3DNF and Sarah at the top, post activation. Eisenhower Tunnel and Loveland From the top. Lots of dirt along the ridge. 73, Terry WB0RBA

Check out the current solar report! 73, Brad WA6MM

Maybe this explains the poor HF condx yesterday morning as we were getting on the air around 1600 for the W0C Campout/SOTA palooza: As it seems to be with these events, if you are willing to wait it out a bit, things often improve. I didn't have a stellar log on Tremont Mtn in the morning (~1600z), but a few hours later on Dakota Hill things were crankin'! Thanks again to James and xyl Jamie for hosting the evening get-together at their campsite, and the SOTA activators who participated - it was great to see you all in person! I know there were others who just couldn't make it - we missed you all - but hope to see you all next year. The wx was great, and the evening was warm and clear - we could hardly have asked for a better day! 73, Dave, N0DET

Hi All In June, a message was posted about a proposed 2024 W0C SOTA Campout. It’s been a while since there has been an update, so I figured I’d take a quick moment to offer some ideas and request additional feedback. I apologize for the length of this message but I wanted to make sure I covered the key discussion points. A few months ago, a few of us got together to toss around some ideas. Ultimately, we landed on some suggested changes to what was initially proposed. We discussed that it would likely be best to keep the CO 14er Event and the W0C SOTA Campout as separate and distinct events, as opposed to combining them, which was the idea that was initially floated. We noted how this would likely offer the following benefits: · We’d have two (2) separate activation-focused W0C SOTA Association events for the year. More is better. · We knew that a number of folks like to operate remote peaks during the 14er event and didn’t want to interfere with existing plans. · By not combining the two events it maintains the tradition of the CO 14er Event and doesn’t muddy the waters in terms of planning, etc. · The suggested 2024 W0C SOTA Campout weekend we are proposing is September 13th-15th. This provides a great fall event for our CO Mountains and it would coincide with the ARRL September VHF Contest (Sept. 14-16), affording activators the opportunity to participate in the VHF contest from a summit while simultaneously participating in Campout /activation activities. Again, we are offering the suggested weekend for the Campout as September 13th-15th, 2024. We also discussed locations that would be beneficial for the vast majority of the W0C Association members. Discussions centered on the proximity to SOTA summits, convenience, and the likelihood of participation based on location. We felt that if a location was too remote, it might possibly deter some from attending. Thus, we noted that the Golden Gate Canyon State Park is a solid candidate. It’s just to the West of the Denver Metropolitan area while being somewhat equidistant from those living in large communities to the North and South of Denver. https://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/GoldenGateCanyon There are a few options for accommodations at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. There are two areas that offer individual campsites at the park, namely “Reverand’s Ridge” and “Aspen Meadows.” There’s also a group site (Rifleman Phillips Group Campground) that offers yet another option. Reverand’s Ridge has both electric hookups for those with RV’s, trailers etc. in addition to a number of tent sites and cabins for rent. There’s also showers and flush toilets here. Aspen Meadows is more “austere” in that it’s simply tent sites and vault toilets. The Rifleman Phillips group site has vault toilets and tent sites only but can accommodate up to 75 people and 15 cars. Essentially, for any of the above, there’s obviously camping fees. The sites and associated fees can be viewed at the below link. https://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/GoldenGateCanyon/Pages/Camping.aspx If people are interested in doing the Group Campground, there is going to be the need to book and pay for the group site in advance. Thus, folks that are interested will have to pay a designated person in advance so that the site can be booked. Or, the individual that books the site can be later reimbursed. This can be coordinated at another time, but it’s something to note. If folks are interested in doing either Reverand’s Ridge or Aspen Meadows, then it will be incumbent upon everyone to book their sites as soon as the opportunity (booking window) opens. Sites can be booked no more than 6 months in advance. Thus, the booking window for September 13th and 14th will open up on March 13th and 14th. More details on this can be provided later. Again, we just wanted to give everyone a heads up. This method is how other Associations have been successfully operating their annual Campouts (W1, W4, and W7O, etc.) FYI, this is a VERY popular time to camp in CO, so sites will go quickly if people aren’t willing to book immediately when the window opens. Also, Golden Gate Canyon State Park is not the only option. There are others. But if people prefer to go elsewhere, please offer suggestions so the planning can begin! In terms of the planned Campout Activities, this is up for discussion. However, in general, for those interested, there will be two days of activating summits (14th and 15th) and two nights of gatherings around designated sites (13th and 14th). For those that want to hang out at the campground and chase the activators (or not chase), that’s also an option. TBD! If people want to camp yet another evening after getting down from the summit (15th), that’s also an option. I’m sure some would be interested in that. What are we requesting? 1) Do you like the proposed dates? 2) Is Golden Gate Canyon an acceptable location? If not, please offer alternatives. 3) Do you prefer the individual camp site option(s) or the Group site? 4) MOST IMPORTANTLY, Are you interested in attending in general? There wasn’t a ton of responses to the proposal back in June, but I know that was more than a year in advance. However, those of us that have been discussing this idea would truly appreciate responses noting whether or not they’d be willing to attend. Ultimately, if there’s not much interest, there’s no need to continue to market the idea and fill up everyone’s email inbox. If it’s a small number of folks, we can just plan things on the side privately. Not a worry at all. However, this is a great opportunity to get folks together and could be a great event to continue annually. I’m positive I forgot to discuss a few topics, but the post was already long enough. Everything else can get ironed out, but we wanted to put something out sooner rather than later and get the ball rolling. Thanks in advance!

I've done many first activations in Colorado when I started SOTA nine years ago. Many have not had repeats for some reason. Perhaps it's because I don't publish detailed info on the routes I took. But that's starting to change slowly. My good friend Dennis (WA2USA) and I did Sheep Mtn (W0C/SP-041) at the end of last month. He became the second activator to do that peak -- and he's from Indiana! In fact, he's been among the top second, third or forth activators on several of our peaks. For those with capable offroad vehicals, the easiest way to summit is from Browns Pass on the south side of the mountain. You park at the start of the Sheep Mountain trailhead which takes you to the final section of the ridgeline to Sheep Mtn. The trail at that point takes you down to the Horseshoe Campground thousands of feet below. You can start this climb at the Horseshoe campground but it's a much longer hike with much more vertical feet from there. Late breaking news: Jim (N0IPA) did the third activation of Sheep Mtn shortly after we did it. I now have a SOTA complete -- thanks Jim! There are a lot of quality peaks out there to activate....go get 'um! 73, Brad WA6MM