[VHFcontesting] Rover Action on Mt. Washington NH

[Chris Lumens]

>ZR mentioned to me that we should try Mt. Washington as our first stop
>on the Saturday of the contest this fall. I’m pretty sure that we’ve
>never worked a station who was there. The mountain is well off the
>beaten path and travel times to other grids would be torched, but if it
>would proved 150-200 Q’s for a 304 hour effort it might be OK.

I have hiked it a ton of times and operated the 10 GHz contest from
there.  I have not operated any other bands from there, and I don't
really have any plans to contest rove.  Here's my thoughts on it...

* The weather, obviously, is the biggest factor.  It is likely that
   there will be high winds and precipitation.  So, be ready for that.
   It might be so bad as to make you cancel your trip.  It might not
   happen until you are already up there.  Have some way to secure your
   gear to prevent it blowing away.

* It's kind of a long way from Mt. Washington to anywhere else I would
   want to stop.  This has been the biggest reason I haven't roved from
   there.

* It is extremely busy, and it takes a long time to travel that road.
   I got there when the gate opened for the 10 GHz contest.  If you
   wanted to start on Saturday, you'd be there at 2pm.  I think you would
   have a hard time finding a parking space unless you got there early
   to claim your space and just waited for the contest to start.  Plan
   on at least 30 minutes to drive.

* For the 10 GHz contest, there's really only one good place to park.
   There may be better options for the lower bands.  This makes getting
   there early even more important.  Also, from the parking lot, the
   mountain will block you to the north and northwest.  There's not many
   people up that way, but just something to be aware of.

* Maybe not important, but I'm not sure if the summit buildings will be
   open which might mean no bathrooms.

-- 
Chris Lumens - KG6CIH
Hike * MTB * XC Ski * Haskell
Research - Experimentation - Testing - More Testing