Probably heading up helvellyn at the weekend (weather permitting), so wondering which route down is best? From reading the guide books, it looks like we have 3 options, but I havent been up before so havent got a clue.

Will be parking the car at glenridding so, we need to get back to there.

Also, does anyone have any route/gps tracks I can download?

cheers all

Only ever done Dollywagon Pike (twice). It’s pretty damn brutal but great fun, especially from the tarn onwards.

Dollywagon and turn left at the tarn. Not everybody’s cup of tea though. It much fun if you can’t ride it.

Have read that dollywagon is fairly tough, but its hard to gauge, one mans tough is another mans easy.

How does it compare to say the rangers path descent off snowdon?

Search you tube for max dollywagon it should give you an idea of how it goes if your riding well. Steep, rocks lots of sharp water bars and drain gaps. After the tarn the angle eases but it gets faster with from memory some decent drops with little or no run out.

Proper mountain biking.

This video makes it look pretty easy: 😉

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgbJQpEQIEM[/video]

Not ridden Rangers so I couldn’t say but I’ve done a fair bit of techy riding and the first bit down the steps is definitely tough by most peoples’ standards, IMO – mainly because of the drainage channels.

Yep that’s the one grum, I followed max down there a different time. There were even 2 lads on the summit selling tea coffee and bacon & egg rolls. One of the best days out.

Birk Side is fun – drops you onto the Thirlmere side though, so you can then climb up Great Tongue back to Grizedale Tarn for the descent back in to Patterdale

He asked for the best descent, surely the jury is out on Dollywagon, why do you think riding giant man made steps is overly technical, or even interesting, a great descent ruined by those fix the fells do gooders.

PS. i can not believe you sticks in the mud have not mentioned Sticks via Lowman, one of the best descents in the Lakes.

Rangers isn’t in the same league as dollywagon in terms of either difficulty or brutality IMO the film above is max cousins( one of the best if not the best lakes rider about at the mo) descending it which will always make things look much easier than they are. I think the general feeling amongst the guys I ride with is sticks pass (poss doing seldom seen at the halfway point)which throws you back to glenridding is prob the best route down

yup, I agree, Sticks is bloody brilliant. Only downside with it is that you basically do an out and back once you hit the ridge above Kepple Cove. If I was going to descend Sticks, I’d just turn right at the ridge and get on with it.

Hmmm, rangers is probably about the limit of what I’d consider a fun ride, and even then it wasnt much fun.

Keep the opinions coming, thanks all.

And miss Lowman? why if you are not local @bieber.

I’ve done dolly waggon and rangers and I’d say dollywaggon is A LOT harder (in my op of course)
I’ve also walked up a hevellyn a couple of times and cycled it once. It seems to me the best ascent is (luckily for you) from Glenridding up past the mines and then up the zig zags on Keppel Cove. It’s all signposted fairly well and there’s only one path to follow. This ascent is nearly all cycleable in the granny of course.

When I did Helvellyn last time I was on a hard tail, so if you’ve got a full bouncer and you’re very competent then Dolly Waggon might be for you. I like a bit of tech but I also enjoy speed so I didn’t really enjoy dollywaggon at all, for me there was no reward.

Me n mar mate are going back to do it again in April and this time we’re going to go up keppel cover, ride the whole of the ridge as far as we can both ways and then go back down keppel cove, just because it will be insanely fast and fun with little or no tech.

Sticks pass gets a lot of good talk on here. at the cross roads it goes down to Thirlmere so not good if you’re parked at Glenridding unless you want to go all the way round the mountain, north or south. If you look at an OS map there is another descent coming off sticks pass and joins the keppel cove path at the mine, I don’t know about that route so you might like to investigate.

see my similar thread a few weeks ago (http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/getting-onto-and-up-helvellyn-from-the-north-threlkeld)

If you get the weather it is an ace hill.

OH ffs Sticks goes down towards Gleridding!

Have ridden Dolly Wagon and wasn’t a fan of the top, just boring man made slabbyness with big drainage channels. Bottom was great fun though, once you get past the man made stuff.

I think the main Sticks descent that everyone talks about, drops down to the east, handily bringing you back to Glenridding.

As for missing out Lowman, I’ve only dropped off Helvellyn via Dollywagon or Birk Side, so I don’t know what I’m missing. Guess I’ll have to add it to the list then…

Sticks pass

Not done Dollywagon descent but up Keppel and down Sticks is a terrific route.

When I did it I went up Grisdale valley to the tarn, up Dollywagon, down Lowerman, over Raise and down Sticks pass to the YHA and back to the glenridding car park via the Travelers Rest for a well deserved pint!!

Great day out. Need to get round to going down Dollywagon though, got to do it once just to say i’ve done it.

We did Lowerman and sticks. Loved it despite crashing and killing my frame on sticks.

Over the Dodds and keep going south to Helvellyn summit, then about turn and do Sticks Pass. Fantastic descent.

[video]http://youtu.be/v6WNjjm1pCU[/video]

We did figure of eight: 2 ascents & 2 descents of Helvellyn. Ride down sticks pass: don’t see the point of riding down Dollywagaon Pike (we ascended via Dollywagon). They’re not rain bars at the top, they’re stone lined ditches. Sticks Pass descent is great: fast, flowing, rocky technical.

Haven’t done Dollywagon but I really enjoy Sticks Pass.

Sticks pass is awesome and probably the best descent,that said from Grisedale tarn to patter dale is brilliant too, but you need to do Dollywagon first and its a killer on the arms,

I think the best full day out is from Glenridding to Dockreay and over Brutts moss to the dodds, yes it can be wet over Brutts but its so good to be high up for so long, descend via Sticks or Doolywagon its your choice

Sticks pass

Another one with the one and only Max cousins, I was mincing behind..

I think Dollywaggon is god awful. Just big dull steps all the way. The only good bit is the valley bit along the stream.

Sticks Pass every time for me.

My 2p is that there isn’t a bad way off, even Keppel Cove is good if you just want to go fast. I find that from the summit south over Dollywaggon then Grisedale valley is an amazing experience and is my favourite way down. Another thing – I am a long way from being the fastest rider I know but thanks for the kind words.

best? or suggested? (best is a bit subjective in my view)

I’d suggest up Keppel Cove, back down via Sticks Pass.

If the weather is seriously dire (was when I did it), Keppel Cove descent is a quick way off the mountain in to shelter.

Thanks all, will load a few different routes onto the gps and then decide when we get to the top.