Pico do Arieiro - CT3/MI-004 SOTA (2025)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Sunday 27th April, 2025.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Pico do Arieiro, Madeira, Madeira.
Summit ID: SOTA reference CT3/MI-004 (8 points).
Summit Height: 1816m elevation, 1816m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 32.73640, -16.92870. Maidenhead Grid IM12mr.
Distance: 0.2km travelled with 4m of ascent.
Difficulty: Drive on summit.
Elapsed Time: 1h 25m (including operating).
Weather: 19°C, 4kph N wind, 57% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Elecraft KX2, EFHW.
Callsign Used: CT9/M1HAX/P.
Contacts: 4 (20m SSB).

Trip Notes

Pico do Arieiro (sometimes spelled Areeiro) is the third-highest peak on the Atlantic island of Madeira, a Portuguese autonomous region located some 700 kilometres southwest of mainland Europe. Standing at 1816 metres above sea level, this volcanic peak forms part of Madeira’s dramatic central mountain spine alongside Pico Ruivo (1862m) and the imposing Pico das Torres (1852m). The summit is crowned by a distinctive military radar dome, visible from much of the island, and boasts tourist facilities including a mountain cafe and well-maintained viewpoints. Historically, this landscape of jagged ridges and plunging valleys has attracted mountaineers and hikers from across Europe, with the famous PR1 trail connecting Arieiro to Ruivo being widely regarded as one of Portugal’s finest walks.

I visited Madeira in April 2025 for a family holiday and managed to shoehorn in a SOTA activation. Operating abroad under the CEPT agreement, I used the CT9 prefix to form my callsign CT9/M1HAX/P. My kit consisted of an Elecraft KX2 with an end-fed half-wave antenna - compact enough to carry without raising eyebrows at airport security.

Staying in Funchal, I used the Bolt ride-hailing app to arrange transport to the summit. The driver arrived in an amusingly small city car that proved surprisingly capable on the steep, winding ascent from sea level to nearly 1800 metres. The journey took about half an hour and cost approximately 20 euros - remarkable value for such a dramatic drive. The summit car park was completely full when I arrived, making me grateful I hadn’t hired a vehicle myself.

My original plan had been to hike the spectacular PR1 trail from Arieiro to Pico Ruivo, one of Madeira’s premier walking routes. Unfortunately, this path remains closed following wildfires in August 2024 and an earlier landslide in January of that year. Warning signs indicated significant fines for entering the restricted area - a far cry from the Scottish Highlands' freedom to roam that I’m accustomed to at home. While the trail’s closure was disappointing, the authorities are clearly taking environmental management seriously, though it seems unfortunate that over a year later this flagship hiking route has not been restored.

The landscape around Arieiro is stunning, with rich red volcanic soils contrasting against lush green vegetation. I was treated to a spectacular cloud inversion, the valleys below filling with a sea of white while the mountain peaks emerged like islands above. I walked the short distance up to the trig point behind the radar station, explored the mountain hut shops, and visited the viewpoint to the east.

From the summit, Pico das Torres (CT3/MI-003) was clearly visible - a never-activated 10-point SOTA summit requiring rope climbing techniques to reach. This looked like a superb SOTA challenge for those with the necessary skills and equipment, but today’s activation was about squeezing radio time into a poolside family holiday rather than undertaking serious mountaineering.

Setting up my end-fed half-wave antenna on some grass away from a footpath, I settled in to activate the summit on the 20-metre band. To my surprise, the activation proved remarkably challenging, taking almost an hour to complete just four contacts. In retrospect, positioning my antenna near the radar dome with the wire oriented side-on to the installation may have been detrimental. Checking logs from other activators on SOTLAS, a small contact count doesn’t appear unusual for this summit. The highlight was a summit-to-summit contact with CT2IWW/P, who was operating from Serra da Laboreira (CT/BA-015) on mainland Portugal - a satisfying QSO bridging the Atlantic gap between island and continent.

For my return to Funchal, I took the public bus service that now runs twice daily to/from the summit. This route began operating in August 2024, with departures from Pico do Arieiro at 12:15 and 19:00, costing just 3 euros. The official pickup point is shown on tourist leaflets as being by the roundabout at the road’s end, but I discovered by chance that the bus actually waits further down near the restricted parking area opposite the mountain hut. The driver seemed unaware of any discrepancy when I mentioned it.

This was a memorably challenging summit to activate from a radio perspective, likely due to my suboptimal antenna placement near the radar installation. However, the scenery and overall experience were fantastic. For future visitors hoping to undertake the PR1 trail to Pico Ruivo (CT3/MI-001), check current trail status before travelling - when it reopens, this combination would make for an exceptional day combining world-class hiking with overseas SOTA activating.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Pico do Arieiro on Sunday 27th April, 2025.

Station Log

I logged the following 4 amateur radio contacts operating as CT9/M1HAX/P from CT3/MI-004 Pico do Arieiro on Sunday 27th April, 2025 (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 Pico do Arieiro:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for CT3/MI-004 Pico do Arieiro.
• Peak Bagger Page for Pico do Arieiro.
• Google Maps Page for Pico do Arieiro.
• Wikipedia entry for Pico do Arieiro.

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