View Log - Log of all contactsThis is the northerly view from the operating site.

The FYBO (Freeze Your B--- Off) contest is an 8 hour qrp contest designed for the guys that can't wait to get back outside for some field operating after a long hard winter.   Since Warrior Peak is at an elevation of 11,000 feet it was more like 'during' a long hard winter then 'after' a long hard winter here.   It had snowed a few inches the night before and on the drive up to the operating site I was the first vehicle on the mountain road and left a several mile long 3" deep track as proof I was there.  By the time the picture below was taken the snow plow had been by.  

I operated from Warrior Peak Picnic ground.  I had planned on operating from the peak of Warrior Mountain which would require driving past the picnic ground and then hiking a short distance to the peak.  There was so much snow that the road was impassable beyond the picnic ground so I settled for stopping there.  I arrived at the site at around 8:30AM.  There was about 2 feet of snow all around.  I cleared the top of a picnic table for my operating position and pearched my lawnchair on top of the table.   I affixed my 66' dipole to the top of my 33' kanga pole and then simply leaned the pole up against a tree to support the dipole.  I attached the 300 ohm balanced feed line to my Elecraft K2 and had proven to myself that the K2's auto antenna tuner would load the antenna on 10, 15, 20 & 40 by 9:00AM (the start time of the contest).  As soon as I turned on 40 meters I heard a friend, Bill, K0UK working another station.  I had promised Bill that I would try to be on 40 meters for an informal sked with him at 9AM and there he was, 599.   I worked him easily and had a brief chat.  I then followed with K7VT from Bill's station (I think) and then was called by W5YA in NM all before I had really gotten out my operating logs, dupes, pencils, etc so I was a little harried trying to get my act together.  After that I paused, got the rest of my stuff from the pickup, took a few pictures and was ready to sit down for the contest.  The temperature was only 18 degrees and peaked out a 22 degrees a couple hours later.  I drank a thermos of coffee to warm my insides but its tough to stay warm sitting in a lawn chair at 20 degrees and by 10AM I was shivering bad enough that I decided to bag it.  Overall I had a total of 27 qso's and 18 spc's.  A pretty lackluster showing by the numbers but I was happy enough to have gotten on the air (and to be leaving!).

  The road leading  up to Warrior Mountain picnic ground.

 Warrior Mountain picnic ground

 Chair perched on table

K2 at the operating position

Yours truly operating

Temperature ranged from 18 to 22 degrees F