Big Hill SOTA activation 2023-02-12

Big Hill SOTA activation 2023-02-12
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A quick and easy activation of the Big Hill aka W6/NS-290 in the Eldorado National forest.

Nice forest and lake vistas with a simple access. Not that far from the world famous Rubicon Trail, Jeep Rubicon is named after.

Getting here

The summit is here.

Just drive down hwy 50, turn to the Ice House Road here and then turn left to the Big Hill Lookout Road here.

The road is plowed in winter all the way up to the lookout. While I would definitely recommend a 4wd vehicle for any trip in winter Sierras I was really surprised how well the road is maintained.

Road state in winter

Road state in winter

Big Hill aka W6/NS-290 SOTA activation

There is a heliport and a fire lookout on the summit. There is even a publicly accessible restroom! No wonder this summit was activated over 120 times already - the antenna farm allows you to get online and self spot. Lots of folks with radios pass by via hwy 50 between the Lake Tahoe and Sacramento areas meaning VHF activation should be a breather. Decent elevation and prominence make it a great HF activation spot as well. The easiest 6 points I ever got. No regrets though - the views are lovely and I had a chance to touch the snow.

Fire lookout and antenna farm

Fire lookout and antenna farm

Heliport plaque

Heliport plaque

North-Eastern panorama, Lake Tahoe is right behind this range

North-Eastern panorama, Lake Tahoe is right behind this range

Stations worked from Big Hill

Many thanks to all the chasers, glad to hear a lot of you folks again! Nice propagation, heard Lee K2LT all the way from New York state!

Time UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid
21:10 KD7DTS 449 559 14.061 CW s2s W6/CT-098
21:18 W4RA 559 559 14.061 CW EM92
21:20 N1CLC 559 559 14.061 CW DM12
21:22 WW7D 599 589 14.061 CW CN87
21:24 WB6POT 599 599 14.061 CW CM99
21:26 WB8BHN 559 489 14.061 CW EN52
21:28 N7CNH 599 579 14.061 CW CN84
21:30 K6HPX 559 559 14.061 CW DM42
21:32 WB5BKL 339 559 14.061 CW EM00
21:32 NT6E 599 559 14.061 CW DM03
21:34 W4ZXT 449 559 14.061 CW EM77
21:36 K7WT 449 439 14.061 CW DM25
21:38 K2LT 449 559 14.061 CW FN24
21:40 NU7A 449 559 14.061 CW CN97
21:42 KN6DMO 559 599 14.061 CW DM04

This is all for now, K0SSK out, 73.