Andrew and Mandy had said they were going to climb Strydomsberg the hard way – a three day round trip hiking and sleeping over at Eel cave. Day one would be hiking to the cave, day two would be the summit and descent and then out again on the third day. It is 15Km across Groendaal to get to Eel cave. Just saying.
A summit-To-Summit (S2S) is a special QSO made between people on different SOTA peaks. A bit like an activation and a chase all in one. I had agreed that, even though I’d get no more activator points, I’d climb the Slipper and make a S2S chance to coincide with their planned summit on Sunday 1 May, 2016. That is just how I am – don’t judge!
Well the bad weather warning came loud and clear. Thinking Andrew and Mandy were smart, I naturally assumed they would be at home. Well they were not put off by the threat of bad weather. I suppose they decided to go whatever the weather, whether it rained or not!
Sunday 1 May was a beautiful day and the XYL and I went out for a walk. Suddenly a surprise call from Andrew to say “So, how are you doing? We about an hour from the summit.” slapped me in the face! It dawned on me that these two had gone hiking. I was about an hour away from home (by foot) and then 45 minutes by car to the Slipper and then a climb. An hour was going to need some planning and a lot of luck.
First call was for a lift home. One call to Rachael (Graydon’s girlfriend) and we were soon on the way home. I rush into the shack, grabbed my bag (almost completely ready to go – I just had to add the battery which had been on charge.) **Shameless HAMNET punt here!!!
And so with the time marching on, I mounted my trusty steed (the only 4×4 Mazda Etude ever built) and set a course for Ladies Slipper. I decided to try from the back as I thought I could get up the tar access road easier.
It was now almost an hour since Andrew’s call and I needed to rush. The weather was not wonderful and they were not known for camping on the top of summits!
I connected the radio up to the battery and the antenna and with the radio in the backpack and me waving my “ZS2U-2m” antenna (another shameless plug) I started to jog up the road. The road is definitely the easier way up. My bag has two compartments, so battery in one (wires held on with duct-tape) and the radio in the other compartment, mike in a side pocket for easy access.
On the way up I kept calling but was getting the feeling I had missed them. I had a good chat to both Al – ZS2U and to Ted – ZS2TED – between gasping for air that is!
I reached the summit and climbed to the trig beacon where I set-up as a SOTA station in the traditional ZS2FUN way – antenna strapped to the trig beacon. I called ZS2G a few more times, but without success. Ted suggested I call Mandy as perhaps Andrew was now deaf! A few calls to ZS2AV disappeared into the ether and I decided to take a few pics and then head on down, sorry I had missed them.
Well step away from the radio at your peril Higgs! “ZS2DH this is ZS2AV, are you there Dave?” crackled the radio (as if in some Hardy Boys novel). Well Of course I was!
Mandy often makes me smile, but today her comment made me laugh! “Well I am buggered. Oh, am I allowed to say that on air?”. Andrew also reported being buggered, so I guess you can say it on air!
By now the S2S was in the bag and my job was almost over – I just needed to get two more contacts for Andrew and Mandy (I did not need to activate but they did). I called on the local repeater and lined up Al and Ted who had been waiting in the wings. Tada – job done.
To say the way down was easier than the way up would seem like an understatement, but not only was it easier, there was no pressure for time and my mood was high with another 3 S2S points under my belt.
Thank you Andrew and Mandy for having the guts to go in the bad weather! Oh, yes, and for not dying on the mountain!
See the wind farm in the distance?
The long and winding road…
