This summit was activated by myself, accompanied by Jimmy on Wednesday 18th August 2004.   

From Seat Sandal LD-022, we descended back down to the coll and started cutting across to meet the zigzag path up to Dollywaggon following a sheeptrack (ie avoiding descending all the way to Grisedale Tarn), I heard Roger G4OWG/P on High Rigg G/LD-044, but failed in my attempts to work him. Alas, another point for the SWL log! I also chatted to Mark M0DEV/M, completing his painstaking descent down the sharp end of Fairfield G/LD-007 as we began the haul up to Dollywaggon Pike. We stopped around halfway up and sat down for a bite to eat and a drink, while admiring the lovely view of Grisedale Tarn, with it's backdrop of St Sunday Crag G/LD-010, Fairfield G/LD-007 and Seat Sandal G/LD-022.

   

Energised by Mars bars and corporation pop, we were soon skrting around Dollywaggon and enjoying a very pleasant level walk along the ridge. Many were coming the opposite direction, and for the first time, distant rumble of thunder was heard. Aware of this possibility from the weather forecast, I had read-up on recommended procedure in my book 'The Hillwalker's Manual' the night before, and taught it to Jimmy on the earlier ascent of Seat Sandal. Anyhow, we heard no more thunder for hours, although we later discovered that Mark M0DEV found that thunder to be sufficiently loud and close to encourage him to abandon his impending Seat Sandal G/LD-022 activation. We continued past High Crag and Nethermost Pike and onto the approach to Helvellyn, where the wind was very strong, and we were stunned to see the queue on Striding Edge in such wind. After inspecting the trig point, the summit cairn and the aeroplane memorial, we occupied the only free quarter of the shelter that wasn't being buffetted by the wind, and took our seats. This was quite tricky because of a recent occupant who had seen fit to allow his/her horse to use it as a lavatory, rendering 75% of the available seating rather unappealling.

   

The heavy wind was now accompanied by rain of the feline and canine variety, and so my arguably selfish policy of qualifying on low power as quickly as possible was maintained. Out came the Standard C108 230mW handy, and three contacts were racked up rapidly. I then struggled, and realised shortly after that the rain was getting into the rig and shorting the PTT to leave it permanently switched in. Prior to this, I was on the verge of a fourth contact, but the howling wind and driving rain was making it almost impossible to hear the tiny speaker. I made out a woman's voice with "...0YL..." and guessed it could be Shirley M0YLS. But now, unfortunately, I could hardly hear the other station at all. I did get to the point of establishing "...0YLM" and hence NOT Shirley, but that was all before the PTT shorted out completely. I learned later that the rest of the gang had been listening in on this debacle, and I was gleefully informed of an exasparated Linda G0YLM insisting "I AM NOT SHIRLEY!". In fact Myke G6DDQ made a point of reminding me of it at regular 15 minute intervals at dinner and in the pub that evening, and at breakfast the next day!   And on the Cross Fell NP-001 activation a few days later...!

   

Reluctantly, I got out the prized FT-817, which quickly brought in a further three contacts using just the rubber duck aerial. The loud punchy audio and much better resistance to raindrops made me realise I had made a mistake in preferring the handy to it in the first place. This would be rectified on The Old Man of Coniston G/LD-013 the following day.

We emptied our flask of hot mulligatawny soup into our appreciative bellies and descended via the Wythburn path. Upon nearing the wooded areas near the bottom, we noted the return of the thunder, but this time louder, longer and accompanied by lightning. We counted the seconds between the sheet lightning and the explosion of thunder in order to guage how close it was.  Our readings followed an eventually reassuring pattern - 14, 11, 8, 6, 4, 3, 4, 7, 10 - so it would have appeared to have passed. Except the next one appeared as two tiny bright squiggles before my very eyes with the thunder deafening and almost reaching my senses before the realisation that the lightning had happened. We quickened our stride and reached the car within about 10 minutes.

Back at the hostel (Thorney How YH in Grasmere), Penelope joined Gwendolyn for the evening, while Jimmy and I deposited most of what we owned in the drying room, even the 230mW handheld - which worked perfectly the next day after a night drying out! A shower and a change later, we were in the company of Shirley M0YLS, Mark M0DEV, Stuart G0MJG and Myke G6DDQ at the dinner table, and enjoying homemade soup, chicken and leek with new potatoes and carrots followed by apple crumble and custard. A fine meal was made finer with the accompaniment of Myke's olde English dandelion & burdock and sarsaparilla cordials, and Shirley's bottles of red wine, which she insisted she couldn't manage alone. I was only too pleased to extend a helping hand.

The group then took the 15 minute walk down to Grasmere only to find the Lamb Inn at the Red Lion to be packed. Joined by Rob G4RQJ and Audrey, we adjourned to Tweedies bar around the corner, leaving the rigs on S20 for John G3WGV to find us if neccesary. In here, was a fine Cumbrian ale, the name of which I will not repeat on here, but they are also reputed to be found in Buxton and Wales... I timed getting my round in to perfection, being in the bar area as Shaun Wright-Phillips scored his stunning solo debut goal for England versus Ukraine on the box!

We walked back up to the hostel in time to make the 11pm curfew. Everyone else did the proper YH thing by going to bed, but I am not, and never have been an early-to-bed sort (except term-time), and so I plonked myself down on the floor in the hallway of our annex and read my book - 'Electric Don Quixote - the Story of Frank Zappa' for an hour or so before retiring myself.

Thanks to the following stations, all worked on 2m FM using 2.5 watts: