I got interested in Amateur Radio (ham) after reading about a small portable all band/all modes HF radio (Yaesu FT-817ND) – perfect for my outdoor and travelling activities. I have used HTs for my kayaking expeditions in and around Alaska for years but only on marine and air bands.

Doing more research about portable ham equipment I also found out about a highly portable and flexible antenna system (Buddipole) which will easily fit into a kayak and/or backpack. With my geeky nature I had to get such a setup.

Operating near Rabbit Ears Peak (CO)

Since I live in northern Colorado, an extended kayaking trip was not likely to happen in the near future (where is global warming when you need it).  Mountain-topping was therefore the obvious choice for me.

That’s when I found out about an Amateur Radio program called Summits on the Air or SOTA for short. It is an international rewards program with approx. 78’000 cataloged summits to climb and activate (establishing radio contacts) worldwide… and I live smack in the middle of the WØC Association with about 2000 cataloged SOTA peaks – perfect.

You will find my SOTA trip reports on this site for the purpose of providing useful information for other SOTA activators.