So Sunday 22nd February 2015 saw an activation of Black Hill G/SP-002. With Marianne due out to work around 2pm, and Jimmy and Liam firmly intent on their weekendly lie-in, I sensed an opportunity to get out into the hills providing I was early. I would also need to be early as decent weather was forecast for the first few hours, but with heavy snow coming in before lunch.

I set the alarm for 5am, but was wide awake at 4.30am in any case. The flask of soup (butternut squash and sweet potato) was prepared and I got on the road. I was soon engrossed in the BBC Radio 5 Live "Non League Football Show" on 909kHz MW, and one of the studio panel expertly tipping Macclesfield Town FC to win the Vanarama Conference. I hadn't given much thought to the route, until I reached Chadderton on the M60. "Better exit here and double-check" I thought to myself. Good job I did; I should have exited two junctions earlier. Fortunately the junctions come thick and fast on this section of the Manchester outer ring, so I had only lost 5 minutes or so. Which was good, because I soon missed the left fork to Mossley and wasted a few minutes more in Stalybridge.

I reached the parking spot on the A635, opposite the Pennine Way, just as the first hints of daylight started to appear. It was still pretty dark and gloomy, but enough light breaking through not to require the headtorch. It was pretty windy though, and very very cold! I set off, looking towards the dim red lights on the Holme Moss transmitter mast.

Walking onto the Pennine Way, I soon found that things were not going to be plain sailing. The stone flags of the path were iced over and utterly treacherous. The Pennine Way "pavement" normally affords rapid progress across otherwise desolate boggy moorland, but not in this state. Wherever possible, I walked on a thin grassy stripe immediately to the side of the flags. Where this was not possible, I planted my feet on the flagstones with great care and proceeded slowly and with considerable caution.  The two stream crossings were negotiated easily, and I was pleased when I eventually reached the slight increase in gradient. For this marked a respite from flagstones, and a more "rustic" path surface of dirt and stones - and much more friction between boot and ground.

At the summit, I identified the exact point I would sit beneath the trig point to get maximum shelter, and began setting out the antenna accordingly. Being an end-fed aerial, this process starts with a peg right beside where I will be sitting. Pegs don't go into flagstones, but more worryingly, neither do they go into hard frozen earth between flagstones either it seems! I prodded around randomly, and found a bit of soil at the bottom of the trig point base structure that would take the peg.

I intended starting on 40m, but as soon as I tuned across the band, I was reminded of the French HF contest - "Coupe de REF" - which was very busy. It was too cold to be patiently seeking out suitable QRGs on 40m and 20m, so I decided I would do just 30m for the main activation. The SOTAbeams Micro Z tuned the antenna nice and quickly, and I was QRV on 10.117MHz CW - after my first couple of helpings of delicious butternut squash and sweet potato soup.

31 QSOs were made on 30m in not many more minutes, as I alternated my attentions between the logbook and the flask. My clock indicated a temperature of exactly 0 degrees Celcius, and my hands felt very cold. I started to think about putting my gloves back on, but then noticed that my hands were gently warming up with all the CW sending!  After packing away, I called on the 2m FM HT and added four more QSOs to the activation log. I began to walk off the summit on my descent and whoops - bang. My feet had gone from under me on the ice and I was in a heap on the ground. It had got me, for the first time on the walk. Sadly, it got me again about 15 minutes later as well.

I was surprised to hear the sound of local (Halifax) GB2RS newsreader requesting a clear frequency for the news in my left ear. It seemed I had left the VX7R turned on, but that was fine. It was quite a lengthy news broadcast, and it kept me amused for much of the return walk. After the end of the news I called into the end-of-news net and exchanged a few remarks. Soon I was back at the car, and was pleased to have made it without any more than the two tumbles!

On the drive home, the forecast heavy snow seemed to come in somewhat earlier than expected. I listened to the footy chat on TalkSport 1089kHz MW and was back home in Macclesfield around 11.30am.