Punta Berritta - IS0/IS-303 SOTA (2024)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Monday 6th May, 2024.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Punta Berritta, Sardinia, Italy.
Summit ID: SOTA reference IS0/IS-303 (10 points).
Summit Height: 1362m elevation, 1273m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 40.84950, 9.17540. Maidenhead Grid JN40ou.
Distance: 1.0km travelled with 36m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T2.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 1h (including operating).
Weather: 25°C, clear, 24 kph E wind, 48% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Elecraft KX2, EFHW.
Callsign Used: IS0/M1HAX/P.
Contacts: 4 (20m SSB, 17m SSB).

Trip Notes

Punta Berritta stands at 1,362 metres as the highest peak in the Monte Limbara massif, the dominant mountain range in northeastern Sardinia’s Gallura region. The name derives from the Latin Limes Balares, meaning “Boundary of the Balares”, as the Romans used this range to mark the frontier with territory held by a late Nuragic tribe. The peak itself was reportedly named after a 17th-century fugitive from Tempio Pausania who took refuge here and was never found. With 1,273 metres of prominence, this is a significant mountain by any standard and carries the maximum 10 SOTA points.

This summit is almost a drive-on activation, with a tarmac road winding some 700 metres up from Cascata Pisciata to near the top. Operating under CEPT agreement guidelines with the callsign IS0/M1HAX/P, I made my way up the quiet but not empty road, passing several other tourists enjoying this scenic mountain drive.

There was plenty of safe parking at the road’s end near Punta Balistreri by the Madonna della Neve chapel. From here, I walked approximately 500 metres towards the true summit, picking an easy route over some rocky terrain populated by granite boulders shaped by millennia of wind and water erosion.

Previously the site of a NATO US Air Force communications relay station and Carabinieri barracks, the summit area now hosts telecommunications infrastructure for the Italian Air Force and TV relay stations. I wedged my antenna mast pole between some boulders and began operating my Elecraft KX2. Radio performance was disappointing with only four contacts made on 20 and 17 metres. The numerous antenna masts at the summit may have been degrading my equipment’s performance.

The highlight was a summit-to-summit contact with Leszek 4X/SQ9MDN/P operating from 4X/NI-015 in Israel, demonstrating the remarkable reach of amateur radio even with QRP power.

There were spectacular views across northern Sardinia with glimpses of Corsica in the distance, and I spotted several Bedriaga’s Rock Lizards among the granite formations. For those seeking a relatively quick and accessible 10-point summit on Sardinia, this is an excellent choice.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Punta Berritta on Monday 6th May, 2024.

Walking Route for Punta Berritta

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Punta Berritta. The IS0/IS-303 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 IS0/M1HAX/P from IS0/IS-303 Punta Berritta on Monday 6th May, 2024 (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 Punta Berritta:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for IS0/IS-303 Punta Berritta.
• Peak Bagger Page for Punta Berritta.
• Google Maps Page for Punta Berritta.
• Wikipedia entry for Punta Berritta.

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