The RAC Winter Contest is over for another year, and once again it was a real blast. I managed to work every RAC station, including VE8RAC in Yellowknife. In fact I got some RAC stations on three bands,
The only spot in Canada I did not make a contact with was Nunavut (their only local ham had gone south for the winter!).
The band conditions were excellent for nearly the whole 24 hour period, and many good contacts were made with VE7's. I even managed to make a number of VE7 and VE6 contacts on 10m during the afternoon.
Not many VE9, VY2, or VE2 stations were heard, but I managed to make at least two contacts in each of those provinces, it took a lot of time to do that though. The other interesting thing was the number of non-Canadian stations taking part. I heard many Europeans in there looking for points.
It always amazes me what a different type of contest the Winter Contest is. It's very nice to hear operators taking time out, in the middle of a pile up, to say a few nice words with an old friend, and even new friends.
The highlight of the contest, for me, was having my very first QSO with a station in Yukon. I've never heard a VY1 station before. I'm not sure if it was the propagation of the day, or my new antenna doing the work for me. Whatever it was I'm a happy camper!
