GW/SW-002 – Waun Fach – 811m – 8 Points

I climbed Waun Fach (GW/SW-002) from the East (28 Dec 2014) as well from the West (16 Oct 2012) side.

Report for the East-side-activation on 28 Dec 2014:

After climbing Waun Fach from the West side I tried the East side this time. Temperature were below 0C but blue sky all day. I drove to the car park Mynydd Du, walked to Grwyne Fawr Reservoir, crossed the dam and then climbed up to Waun Fach. After reaching the activation zone I had a quick look around, took more pictures and settled on the East side of Waun Fach. Further details can be read in the picture section further down.

28 December 2014: 11:22 – 12:07 UTC

Temperature at the car park -3C, sligthly warmer on the hill and little wind.

39 CW QSO on 20m
24 CW QSO on 30m
then I was too cold (especially my fingers) to cover other bands.

Car park: 51.948908 N / 3.088456 W, 400m.

Hiking statistics – uphill only:
Time: 1h23min & 25min for taking pictures
Distance: 6.0km
Total Ascend: 400m

: This is my route to and from Waun Fach from the East.

: I parked at Mynydd Du.

: On the other side of the river you can see this path following the North side of the forest up to “Pen y Gadair Fawr” and then cross over to Waun Fach. This might be the easiest approach to Waun Fach.

: Dam of Grwyne Fawr Reservoir.

: On the dam with view towards Waun Fach.

: Between Pen y Gadair Fawr and Waun Fach.

: My shack setup on the eastern slope with view down to the reservoir.

Report for the West-side-activation on 16 Oct 2012:

Waun Fach was on my agenda for a long time but the weather was never right. Oct 16th was to be sunny but I underestimated the high winds on top on Breacon Beacon although temperature was never an issue. Activation reports I found on SOTAwatch describe the ascend from the Eastern side. A search on google also revealed a nice approach from the West. Although the elevation to climb was higher the overall distance was shorter. Due to high winds I also was “pushed up” the hill 🙂

16 October 2012: 10:44 – 11:29UTC

Temperature around 10C with very high winds.

59 CW QSO on 10’115.5 kHz

Statistics provided by Watt’s Up Meter:
13.63V / 0.35A during RX of the K2. Powerpole plug @ green
0.934Ah which I used for 59 QSO @ 10W
13.23Vm – Voltage minimum
40.6Wp – Watt Peak
2.95Ap – Ampère Peak

Car park: 51.965402 N / 3.199851 W, 360m. There is space for four cars.

Hiking statistics – uphill only:
Time: 1h23min & 16min for taking pictures
Distance: 5.4km
Total Ascend: 508m
Total Descend: 65m

: Waun Fach climbed from the West near Pengenffordd

: The small parking area on the narrow lane leading to Dinas Farm off the A479 at Pengenffordd fits easliy four cars. Mynydd Troed (GW/SW-009) can be seen in the background.