[COham] Colorado 14er and Mountaintop Event - 2025

[Bob Witte K0NR]

During the *Colorado 14er & Mountaintop Event*, amateur radio operators 
from around Colorado will be activating *Summits On The Air* (SOTA) 
peaks and communicating with other radio amateurs across the state and 
around the world. Join in on the fun during the annual event by 
activating a summit or contacting (chasing) the mountaintop stations. Be 
aware that many mountaintop activators will hit the trail early with the 
goal of being off the summits by (1800 UTC) noon due to lightning safety 
concerns.

This event is normally held the first full weekend in August. Again this 
year, we will add *two bonus days* to the event. The main two days 
remain *Saturday and Sunday (Aug 2 & 3)*, while the bonus days are 
*Thursday July 31 and **Friday Aug 1* for those SOTA enthusiasts who 
need more than two days of mountaintop fun!

This event includes *Summits On the Air (SOTA)* peaks, which provide 
over 1700 summits to activate. (See the W0C SOTA web page 
<https://w0c-sota.org/> or browse the SOTA Atlas <https://sotl.as/map>.) 
The Colorado 14er Event was started in 1991, about 19 years before the 
SOTA program was set up in Colorado. As SOTA grew in popularity, this 
event expanded from just the 14,000-foot mountains (14ers) to include 
all of the SOTA summits in the state. We call it the Colorado 14er & 
Mountaintop Event because, well, that's where it all started, and the 
14ers are the iconic summits in the state.

*Important: *The recommended 2m FM frequencies have been changed to 
*146.58*, 146.55, and 146.49 MHz, to align with the use of the *North 
America Adventure Frequency for SOTA (146.58)*. The National Simplex 
Calling Frequency (146.52) may be used as appropriate. There will be 
plenty of action on the other ham bands, for more information see the 
operating frequencies page <https://ham14er.groups.io/g/ham14er/wiki/23190>.

First-time activators should read our Beginner Guide. 
<https://ham14er.groups.io/g/ham14er/wiki/34254>

Radio operators who plan to activate a summit should post their intent 
to this ham14er group by adding it to the database. 
<https://ham14er.groups.io/g/ham14er/database> It is also a great idea 
to post an ALERT on the SOTAwatch <https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/> website.

*Warning:* Climbing mountains is inherently a dangerous activity.
Do not attempt this without proper training, equipment and preparation


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