GLOTA: A New Program For Those Glamorous Hams Who Like to Activate a Summit In Style

Glams-On-The-Air is not a real thing. But, when you can drive up a 6-point summit in Massachusetts (all the others are 1 pointers in MA), operate from inside a beautiful stone lodge, and enjoy an ugly-day-turned-gorgeous day…well, it’s nice. And don’t bother giving me a hard time about a vehicular approach for Summits-On-The-Air — I will take my points where I can get them! After hoofing up most of 34 peaks for a grand total of 79 points (out of a thousand needed for the Mountain Goat award), over the last 2 1/2 years… let’s just say I’m happy to take a zero mileage day once in a while. I am currently tied for 30th top activator in New England (W1 association).

On arrival at the summit of Mt. Greylock W1/MB-001, the view was rather lacking. Of course, this worked favorably as a people deterrent–important given that it was Memorial Day. The anticipated bustling crowd was no where to be found. The temperature was in the 40s.

And the Thunderbolt Lodge was extremely inviting…

The 20M endfed half-wave fit nicely on the side of the shelter, with the coax running in through an open window. If you look on the right hand of the picture below you can see the coax joining the unun.

AA1F made 33 contacts on 20M ssb.

I made 16 HF ssb contacts on 20M and 80M. I also made 5 FM contacts using the ICOM IC-705 connected to an Arrow II Satellite handheld yagi antenna. And you know what they say in New England? If you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute…

My farthest FM contact on 146.52MHz was 62 miles away on Thomas Mountain near Lake George NY. I ran 5 watts using the internal battery of the IC-705.

So with a respectable 54 combined contacts, AA1F and I were ready to get back on the road. But not after a stop off for some fancy Asian cuisine…

By now you might know that I like to find structures on hikes and operate from them. The Thunderbolt Shelter was perfect for scratching this itch! So to all of you ham radio operators who like a bit of luxury, a GLOTA of Mount Greylock (W1/MB-001) may be in order. And, oh yeah, it’s a POTA too!

As always,

KM1NDY