Punta Maggiore - IS0/IS-064 SOTA (2024)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Wednesday 8th May, 2024.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Punta Maggiore, Sardinia, Italy.
Summit ID: SOTA reference IS0/IS-064 (6 points).
Summit Height: 970m elevation, 546m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 40.72970, 9.57730. Maidenhead Grid JN40sr.
Distance: 6.2km travelled with 425m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T4 / Grade 1 Scramble.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 2h 50m (including operating).
Weather: 19°C, clear, 19 kph ENE wind, 64% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Elecraft KX2, EFHW.
Callsign Used: IS0/M1HAX/P.
Contacts: 8 (20m SSB).

Trip Notes

Punta Maggiore rises to 970 metres in eastern Sardinia, its slopes cloaked in varied vegetation including forests of oak, cork oak, oleander and juniper. The mountain supports diverse wildlife including wild boar, ravens, peregrine falcon and golden eagle. With 546 metres of prominence, this summit carries 6 SOTA points.

I was excited to know that this would be a first-time SOTA activation for the mountain. Operating as IS0/M1HAX/P under CEPT agreement guidelines, I drove along good tarmac roads to reach the Sorgente sos Pantamos viewpoint. Despite the remote location, the car park was busy with other visitors.

The walk begins by heading north back along the access road for a few hundred metres before reaching the trailhead and turning east towards the mountain. The established trail follows the route of the Canale sos Nidos watercourse to its source at approximately 825 metres. Progress was deliberately slow in the hot, sunny conditions.

Here the route takes a northerly turn as the path becomes narrow and overgrown. After a short distance, a rocky amphitheatre is reached. From this point, the path becomes indistinct and route-finding through bushes and rocky terrain becomes necessary. Some hands-on scrambling was required over the final section. Eventually we arrived at the summit where other walkers were present. The approach from the southern side via Punta Ruosa may prove less arduous for future activators.

Setting up my Elecraft KX2 at the summit, I was pleased to work eight stations on 20 metres including two summit-to-summit contacts. HaWe IS0/HB9GUX was operating from Monte Perda di Liana (IS0/IS-025) elsewhere on the island, while San EA1EBJ/P was on Teso de las Corzas (EA1/AT-302) in Spain. UK chasers Keith G3BAR/M and Andrew G4AFI also made it into the log.

We retraced our steps down the rocky boulders and took the trail back to the road. This was a picturesque area and I would certainly recommend this hike for those comfortable with some adhoc scrambling.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Punta Maggiore on Wednesday 8th May, 2024.

Walking Route for Punta Maggiore

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Punta Maggiore. The IS0/IS-064 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 8 amateur radio contacts operating as IS0/M1HAX/P from IS0/IS-064 Punta Maggiore on Wednesday 8th 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 Maggiore:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for IS0/IS-064 Punta Maggiore.
• Summit Post Page for Punta Maggiore.
• Google Maps Page for Punta Maggiore.
• Wikipedia entry for Punta Maggiore.

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