Sugar Loaf - GW/SW-011 SOTA (2021)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Sunday 19th September, 2021.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Sugar Loaf, South Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/SW-011 (2 points).
Summit Height: 596m elevation, 411m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 51.86271, -3.05787. Maidenhead Grid IO81lu.
Distance: 6.1km travelled with 335m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T1.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 1hr 55m (including operating).
Weather: 15°C, moderate breeze, heavy rain showers.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, MFJ-1714, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 4 (2m FM).

Trip Notes

Sugar Loaf, located near Abergavenny in South Wales, is a distinctive conical peak that forms part of the Black Mountains range. Rising to 596 metres, its name derives from its resemblance to a traditional sugarloaf. The mountain offers sweeping panoramic views across the Brecon Beacons, the Severn Estuary, and into England on clear days. Its relatively gentle slopes and accessibility make it one of the most popular walking destinations in South Wales.

This activation was part of a three-summit day in South Wales, which also included Bryn Arw and Graig Syfyrddin. For this climb of Sugar Loaf, I chose to explore an alternative approach to my previous visit, starting from a small free car park near the hamlet of Fro to the northeast of the mountain.

This northeastern route is approximately 1km longer and involves about 100 metres more ascent than the more popular southern approach, but it offers a quieter hiking experience away from the main tourist path. The car park is small with space for only 7-8 vehicles, but the road access here is easier than navigating the steep, busy and narrow lane to the southern car park.

From the car park, a good quality grassy footpath leads across open access land. The path is easy to follow as it steadily gains height across the moorland, with the distinctive shape of Sugar Loaf clearly visible ahead throughout most of the walk. After about 3km of walking, I reached the summit trig point.

At the summit, I quickly set up my Yaesu FTM100D amateur radio transceiver and MFJ-1714 antenna for a brief activation. Operating on the 2-metre band, I made four contacts with stations in the surrounding area - Frank G3RMD, Simon M0SLD, Gair G1VWC, and Lee MW7EJH. With a total of three summits planned for the day, I kept my SOTA activation short.

For the descent, I retraced my steps back to the car park, enjoying the views across the countryside that the northeastern approach offers. As I was preparing leave, I had a chance encounter with Robert M0RWX, a keen SOTA activator who has achieved the prestigious Mountain Goat award for accumulating over 1000 SOTA activator points.

This straightforward walking route to Sugar Loaf provides an excellent alternative to the busier southern path. The gradual ascent makes it suitable for less experienced hill walkers, while still delivering the rewarding panoramic views that make this mountain so popular.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Sugar Loaf on Sunday 19th September, 2021.

Walking Route for Sugar Loaf

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Sugar Loaf. The GW/SW-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 4 amateur radio contacts operating as MW1HAX/P from GW/SW-011 Sugar Loaf on Sunday 19th September, 2021 (all times shown are UTC):

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 Sugar Loaf:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/SW-011 Sugar Loaf.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Sugar Loaf.
• Google Maps Page for Sugar Loaf.
• Wikipedia entry for Sugar Loaf.
• 360° Panorama near summit of GW/SW-011 Sugar Loaf.

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