Arenig Fawr - GW/NW-011 SOTA (2021)
Summits on the Air Activation Report
Activation Date: Saturday 31st July, 2021.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Arenig Fawr, North Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/NW-011 (8 points).
Summit Height: 854m elevation, 479m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 52.91712, -3.74594. Maidenhead Grid IO82dw.
Also Activated: GW/NW-018.
Distance: 16.5km travelled with 850m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T2.(?)
Elapsed Time: 5hr 20m (incl. operating and other summit(s) on the same hike).
Weather: 12°C, 19 mph SW wind, 95% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, MFJ-1714, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 16 (2m FM).
Trip Notes
Arenig Fawr is a prominent mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales, standing at 854 metres. It offers panoramic views of the surrounding peaks and lakes, including Llyn Celyn and Llyn Arenig Fawr at its base. The summit features a memorial to an American bomber crew who crashed there during World War II. Its rugged slopes and relative isolation make it a quieter but rewarding climb for hill walkers seeking to escape the more crowded peaks of Snowdonia.
This July activation was a slightly longer version of my circuit of Arenig Fawr and Moel Llyfnant from the previous year. For this route, I followed the path around the eastern side of Llyn Arenig Fawr, passing by a small bothy hut near the lake shore. I specifically wanted to try ascending from this side as the route I took in 2020 was very boggy - the approach path to the northwest of the mountain had been essentially a river in places, with exceptionally wet ground around the slopes even in summer.
After passing the bothy, the path becomes faint but remains relatively easy to follow. The eastern approach proved to be much drier and more pleasant underfoot, although it added about 2km to the overall distance compared to my previous route. As I gained altitude, the terrain became progressively rockier, but never presented any significant difficulties. The weather during this hike was damp with a cold wind and occasional light rain, with low cloud obscuring many of the views.
At the summit, which features both the war memorial and a trig point, I was able to take shelter in a small stone structure. I set up my Yaesu FTM100D with the MFJ-1714 antenna and made 16 contacts on the 2-metre band. These included two satisfying summit-to-summit contacts - one with Dan MW7DTE/P on Y Garn (GW/NW-004) and another with Gerald MW0WML/P on Ysgyryd Fawr (GW/SW-016).
After completing the SOTA activation, I continued along the same route as my previous year’s hike, traversing over to Moel Llyfnant (GW/NW-018), another six-point SOTA summit to the southwest. From there, I completed the circular route back to the road where I had parked.
This area offers several excellent hill walking options away from the busier parts of Snowdonia National Park. Arenig Fawr particularly doesn’t disappoint with its quiet, rugged character and far-reaching views on clearer days. When paired with Moel Llyfnant, it makes for a very rewarding day in the hills, with a total of 14 SOTA points available for activators.
Photos
Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Arenig Fawr on Saturday 31st July, 2021.
Walking Route for Arenig Fawr
The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Arenig Fawr. Note that this summit was activated as part of a multi-summit hike and the map below shows the full route taken on the day. The GW/NW-011 summit area is marked on the map with a blue pin icon.
You can download the route shown above as a GPX file suitable for use with most GPS devices. This file is provided for information only, to support your own walk planning and research (it may contain navigation errors, detours and/or safety hazards). The route downloads provided here are governed by the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Station Log
I logged the following 16 amateur radio contacts operating as MW1HAX/P from GW/NW-011 Arenig Fawr on Saturday 31st July, 2021 (all times shown are UTC):
| Time | Callsign | Band | Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:16 | MW7DTE/P | 2m | FM | Dan, 5/9, S2S GW/NW-004 |
| 10:19 | GW0JAI | 2m | FM | Glyn, 5/5 |
| 10:20 | 2W0BML | 2m | FM | Ben, 5/9 |
| 10:20 | MW0IDX | 2m | FM | Roger, 5/9 |
| 10:20 | GW4ZPL | 2m | FM | John, 5/9 |
| 10:21 | GW4XXF | 2m | FM | Bruce, 5/9 |
| 10:22 | MW7GWR | 2m | FM | Dave, 5/9 |
| 10:22 | G1ACD | 2m | FM | Peter, 5/9 |
| 10:23 | GW4VPX | 2m | FM | Allan, 5/9 |
| 10:24 | MW0UTT | 2m | FM | Colin, 5/9 |
| 10:26 | MW0WML/P | 2m | FM | Gerald, 5/7, S2S GW/SW-016 |
| 10:30 | G0UXC | 2m | FM | Peter, 5/9 |
| 10:31 | MW0SZR | 2m | FM | Adi, 5/5 |
| 10:32 | 2E0AGB | 2m | FM | Alan, 5/9 |
| 10:35 | G4ZRP | 2m | FM | Brian, 5/1 |
| 10:35 | MW0AEV | 2m | FM | Llew, 5/9 |
In the notes field I will usually log the other operator’s name and the signal report they provided. In accordance with the Summits on the Air rules, I do not make a log entry where a complete exchange of callsigns and signal reports was unsuccessful.
Additional Information
The following resources may be helpful to walkers, mountaineers and SOTA activators interested in Arenig Fawr:
- Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/NW-011 Arenig Fawr.
- Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Arenig Fawr.
- Google Maps Page for Arenig Fawr.
- Wikipedia entry for Arenig Fawr.
- 360° Panorama near summit of GW/NW-011 Arenig Fawr.
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