Elidir Fawr - GW/NW-005 SOTA (2022)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Saturday 29th January, 2022.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Elidir Fawr, North Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/NW-005 (8+3 points).
Summit Height: 924m elevation, 212m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 53.13065, -4.07643. Maidenhead Grid IO73xd.
Also Activated: GW/NW-004.
Distance: 15.4km travelled with 1323m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T3.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 5hr 10m (incl. operating and other summit(s) on the same hike).
Weather: 5°C, heavy rain showers, gale force winds.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu VX6, Diamond SRH770S.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 4 (2m FM).

Trip Notes

Elidir Fawr, rising to 924 metres in the heart of Snowdonia, forms part of the impressive Glyderau range. This distinctive mountain has a fascinating industrial heritage, overlooking the Dinorwig hydroelectric power station, commonly known as Electric Mountain. This feat of engineering is largely concealed within the mountain itself, using water from Marchlyn Mawr reservoir on Elidir Fawr’s eastern flank to generate electricity during peak demand periods.

Having previously climbed Elidir Fawr in 2020 as part of a longer circuit of the Glyderau range, I wanted to try a more direct approach from the northern side. Our starting point was roadside parking on the eastern edge of Deiniolen village, where the reservoir access road provides handy unofficial free parking for walkers.

The initial section of our route followed the access road eastward, gradually ascending to an altitude of approximately 650 metres. This wide track provided easy walking despite the deteriorating weather conditions, with heavy rain showers beginning to sweep across the mountain.

From the end of the access road, we followed a rocky scree ridge zigzag path that ascends the northern side of the mountain quite steeply, climbing about 200 metres over a horizontal distance of roughly 500 metres. The path was straightforward to follow even though visibility was limited by thick cloud that had descended over the summit.

The top was reached quickly from the end of this steep section, where we joined the main footpath just before arriving at the rocky summit. Finding ourselves in gale force winds, we were thankful for the substantial stone shelter that has been constructed at the summit. This provided welcome respite from the elements while I conducted a brief SOTA activation.

As I was walking with non-amateur-radio friends, I kept my radio operation brief, using just my Yaesu VX6 handheld with the Diamond SRH770S antenna. I managed to make four contacts on 2 metres FM, including a good signal report from Patrick EI8IKB across the Irish Sea.

We then continued along the main path towards the summit of Y Garn (GW/NW-004), another SOTA summit in the Glyderau. For our return journey, we took a slightly different route than my previous visit, crossing Mynydd Perfedd and then Carnedd y Filiast (821m), before descending westward along a good footpath that ultimately reconnected with the reservoir access road.

This 15.4km circuit with 1323 metres of ascent provided an excellent day in the mountains despite the challenging weather. The direct approach to Elidir Fawr from Deiniolen offers a more efficient route to the summit than the southern approaches and combines well with other peaks in the area. I would certainly recommend this route and look forward to repeating it in better weather conditions, when the spectacular views over Snowdonia would make it even more rewarding.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Elidir Fawr on Saturday 29th January, 2022.

Walking Route for Elidir Fawr

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Elidir 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-005 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/NW-005 Elidir Fawr on Saturday 29th January, 2022 (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 Elidir Fawr:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/NW-005 Elidir Fawr.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Elidir Fawr.
• Google Maps Page for Elidir Fawr.
• Wikipedia entry for Elidir Fawr.
• 360° Panorama near summit of GW/NW-005 Elidir Fawr.

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