17 Dec 2017, SOTA on YO/EC-007 "Giumalau"

Essential summit info

Target summit: 8 pointer YO/EC-007 "Giumalau" - http://www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/EC-007
Our Route: From Saua Fundu Colbului we hiked on the trail marked with a red band. We climbed the last bit (above the treeline) straight up to the ridge instead of going on the summer trail to avoid avalanche prone terrain. Check the GPS track for details.
GPS Track: http://www.wandermap.net/en/route/3549630-giumalau-yoec-007/
(download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data").
GSM coverage: Fair.
Summit conditions: Open, no cover. There's a huge concrete cross on top and a concrete table.
Other info: Medium steepness, can be medium-hard during winters because of snow accumulation.

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Activity report

We parked the car in Saua Fundu Colbului, right where the trail starts. It was quite a bit of snow and progress was slower than usual on some stretches. In the alpine zone the original track followed a diagonal trail that climbed on the eastern face, but in winter time there's a more direct route to the ridge, chosen for avalanche safety reasons. The snow was quite deep and the junipers on the ground didn't help either. Still, there were some fresh tracks left by a group of hikers that passed through there earlier, so it wasn't that bad.

The milky fog restricted the visibility to about a hundred meters for our entire stay at the top, so the spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and valleys remained concealed. The huge concrete cross that marks the summit was completely covered in ice and snow, a testament of how windy it can get around here. We were lucky, though, having almost no wind during the activation.

It was the first summit to activate with the newly acquired & assembled BitX40 transceiver. Because of not having the chance of testing it properly, and being low power, we carried the Yaesu FT857 as backup. The BitX40 worked surprisingly well, however, and we made enough QSOs before freezing up and deciding to pack it in and leave.

The descent was quite painful for my leg and I moved slow through the crusty snow. We got to the car after dark. It was probably one of the nicest summits we ever activated.