DL/AL-086 – Imberger Horn – 1656m

Abstract

July 10th, 2021  12:15 – 12:30 UTC
My first activation of Imberger Horn.

Wx: Sunny, approx. 15°C, few clouds, no winds
Walking time: 3:30h up (including lunch break and various stops), 1:30 down
Ascent/ descent: approx. 900 vertical metres

Rig: MTR 3B @ 2.5W,  1.25 Ah LiPo battery (2S), Palm Pico Paddle (for a change)
Ant: Vertical for 30 metres on a 6 m squid pole with a single radial
Total weight of the technical equipment < 1500 grams

Condx seemed to be average according to the RBN spots.
k = 0, SFI = 74

16 QSOs on 30m CW, 2 x S2S

Highlight:
– A great daytrip with friends

Lowlight:
– none

How to get there?

From Bad Hindelang either by cabin lift or by foot (additional 500 vertical metres).

Imberger Horn seen from Bad Hindelang. The cabin lift ends at about 1300m a.s.l.

Activation report:

I visited my father on Friday for an overnight stay. Then started on Saturday to a „green“ activation from his home using only public transportation. My friends Uli, Onur und his son Aaron came with me. We met in Ulm central station.
The trip by train took fairly long. We started our hike about 1.5h later than if we had taken the car. But what should I say? We love the mountains and want them to stay like this.

View from Imberger Horn to the south. Slightly left of the centre: DL/AL-079 (Rotspitze) and behind (covered in clouds) DL/AL-077 (Großer Daumen). Further right, also covered in clouds, DL/AL-076 (Wengenkopf) and a bit further right DL/AL-081 (Entschenkopf) and -082. (Schnippenkopf) Please click on the image to enlarge.

Despite the fairly late arrival in Hindelang (10:20 local) we didn’t take the cabin lift but walked all the way up. The weather was fine and no storm to be expected. Thus, we set our deadline to 16:30 local, when we wanted to catch the bus back to Sonthofen.
The trail was a steep, unpleasant gravel road with occasional mountain bikers racing down hill. But at least it was leading through the forest most of the time, so it was nice and not too hot…

At about 1300m a.s.l. we had our lunch and Aaron visited the playground close to the upper station of the cabin lift. From there, the trail became more interesting and we climbed the remaining 350 vertical metres to the top.

The trail to the summit leads over the rocks to the right. The easier trail to the left avoids the summit and leads on to „Strausbergsattel“.

The view was spectacular and we spent some time to discuss the surrounding summits. Finally I set up the antenna. The summit offered little space (which I already knew) and was crowded (which I expected). So I descended a couple metres and set up at the slope facing west. Aaron was watching me closely while I explained to him every step of the procedure.

Once the station was ready, Aaron got one of the ear-buds to listen because the MTR-3B doesn’t have a built-in speaker. The „tandem-activation“ was tricky. Every time Aaron moved, he pulled the plug out of my ear. So finally I had to hold it with my left hand while operating with my right hand.

The first station was HB9AGH. Ambrosi must have been waiting on the frequency, because he called me right after my first CQ – way before the spot on SOTAwatch arrived. His signal arrived on ground wave and was weak – as often. But also the next three callers were all quite weak. I started to worry if the antenna was working properly, but then it got better: loud signals and even good reports for me, despite the tiny output power of 2.5 watts. The pile-up was intense but short: 16 stations came into the log in 15 minutes. Then it was time to pack in and carry on.

View to the south-east at Ostrach valley. Hinterstein can be seen in the centre.

Uli and Aaron wanted to take the gondola down, while Onur and I decided to make the descent on foot. Time was short, because we had to reach the bus at 16:30 local. Accordingly, we had to speed up and arrived at the bus station in Hindelang exactly on time for the departure of the bus.
The rest of the way home went without any significant events by train via Ulm to my father’s place, where I walked the last mile on foot.

It was a great day in perfect weather that we will surely remember for a long time. And – we’ll be back in August!

Conclusion

• QSD worse than usual because of the MTR keyer working in iambic-mode B while I’m used to mode A.
• Newly designed vertical for 30 metres worked well, setup could be done quickly.
• Good activity on 30 metres.

QSOs during the activation on DL/AL-086.

 

Again it was lots of fun. Thanks for the QSOs!