‘EMMMM SEEEE, where are we gaan on Sunday?’ The Friday evening phone call from italspark is always eagerly awaited at Moonter Towers.

‘We we did the Beinn a Ghlo loop last week….erm’
‘Lets do Beinn a Ghlo then. there are two other Munros, lets do them too.’

There are no paths marked on my 1984 Orwellian OS map. Whats the worst that could happen?

We leave not from Loch Moraig at the start of the Land Rover track, but at Escape Route in Pitlochry. Kevin Dangerous fits new shock bushes to italspark’s bike and fuels us up with some super strong coffee.

We spin alongside the Garry on the singletrack rather than take to old A9 to Blair Atholl. The climb up to Loch Moraig isn’t as bad as I anticipated having descended it at 40mph the previous Sunday.

We find the singletrack climb that leads us up to the bealach between
Braigh Coire & Beinn a Ghlo. In parts its rideable, but there is a fair push up to the watershed. There is still snow in patches.

Our extended ride in has sapped at least my legs. We opt to bypass the ascent to the summit of Beinn a Ghlo and climb upwards to the cairn on Braigh Coire. It’s still a push, but as the gradient evens out we can ride more than I anticipated. The views north up to the Cairngorms are spectacular. The descent down to bealach to Carn Liath is huge, steep, loose and fun.

We ride a lot of the shoulder up to the top of Carn Liath. The descent is if anything better than the previous one. Italspark has pads, I don’t. He goes for the rocky route down, I opt for the heather. I’ve got the first aid kit, but its missing a bandage from a hemorrhaged tyre sidewall incident a couple of weeks before. Its a long technical descent either way. We both have legs cramps. Italspark’s phone ghost dials the emergency services who call him back as he negotiates another sequence of gravel strewn drop offs.

We make it back down to the Land Rover track, and spin back down to Tilt Stores for fizzy drinks, salted peanuts and ice lollies to get us back on the road to Pitlochry.

We make it back just as Dangerous is shutting the shop. 7 hours of epic riding, under brilliant sunshine. Like the old Moont epics of yore.

It’s a top loop that Stuartie-C can add to the evergrowing list of top fives!

Pics in no particular order. More here
https://picasaweb.google.com/mcmoonter/20110417BeinnAGhloCarnLiathRide#

Fabulous! One of my favourite hills, having done it once in mist and once on a beautiful January day when we wore crampons for around 7 hours, I’d go back in a heartbeat. Never ever thought about taking the bike though. the descent off Airgiod Bhienn would be, err, testing,…….

[pedant]
Beinn a’Ghlo is the name given to the whole mountain. Carn na Gabhar is the Munro you missed out and Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain is your first peaks name.
[/pedant]

Bloody hell! Definitely one to add to the list, thanks. Excellent pictures too.

And to think its only 2 weeks till my new bike arrives, poor thing doesn’t know whats in store for it… 😀

hmmmm, I was eyeing this one up for a ride in a month with some mates….

WAs up there walking last year an I thought it would make a good bike ride even with some hikabike in places

You could certainly ride the full horse shoe including Airgiod Bhienn and Carn na Gabhar if you started from Loch Moraig. I would still do it the way we did. Athough the ride/push up to bealach is hard, it would be nothing to the direct climb up Carn Liath or Airgiod Bhienn.

Sweet. We went to the ‘tress today. It was rad, but wasn’t half as rad as that. Chapeau.

Looks grand – great report and nice pics. You’ve just inspired me to change August’s holiday plans from Sutherland to Pitlochry / Kinloch Rannoch. Emails flying now…

that certainly does look like a proper bit of my idea of Mountain Biking, exploring the landscape, go up there, see what’s there. Find way home! Love that.

Awesome ride MM. We did the Oisinneach Lochs with a bivvy camp half way round, great weather.

Tom

MC, spooky coincidence – surprised we didn’t bump into you. Did a shortish route parked at Loch Moraig, carried up the path to Carn Liath that you came down, down to the bealach, then the unmarked path round Carn Liath and back to the Shinagag track. The path is more eroded that last year, rockier and boggier and a bit on/off the bike so pretty tough

Did it with two friend who are hill runners. They were running it, and except for the descent from Carn Liath to the bealach they were definitely faster.

nice photies m.c. , top day out and a true moont epic, its very off putting when your descending a gnarly monro and the dundee polis are asking you “which emergency service will you be requiring ? “
good to see the cairngorms free of snow for next weeks epic installment

CaptainMainwaring,

We saw your tyre tracks in the boogy stuff near the ‘Betty Ford Hut’. That must be a hell of a climb up Carn Liath! We saw the singltrack trail leading down from the bealach to the Shinagag LRT. It looked promising, as did the one on the other side leading all the way down to Glen Tilt.

What we’d like to have a go at is the LRT that heads out of Glen Tilt just after Forest Lodge. The descent looks much longer than it did on my retro map, it may have been extended as it traversed for what looked like a couple of miles.

User-removed, there are loads of great routes up near Pitlochry / KInloch Rannoch. Speak to either the guys at Escape Route or Captain Mainwairing for advice on what’s what.

Stu N, Pitlochry is 50 minutes from my door north, Glentress is 50 minutes south. While the weather window is this good, it makes a lot of sense to go and ride some big natural loops.

MC – yup, pretty tough carry up Carn Liath – good practice for next weekend! I’ll check with my friends about that LRT from Forest Lodge. IIRC they tried it last year and found it was just loose rubble and almost unridable – might have bedded in a bit now if it’s been used

it must have been a good day cos my solar pv system pumped out 10 kw hours………..a new record since i installed them in november !

What we’d like to have a go at is the LRT that heads out of Glen Tilt just after Forest Lodge. The descent looks much longer than it did on my retro map, it may have been extended as it traversed for what looked like a couple of miles.

Just got word that the descent extends as far Clachghlas, there is even some singletrack at the end.

i was up there this weekend. a good day…

http://drj0nswanderings.blogspot.com/2011/04/ghlo.html

hey its doctor john, hows it goin ? where did you start/finish…..looks like you came down tiltside ?

yes boss. up from bridge of tilt, along ridge and down to glen tilt back to b o t….good times – even got buzzed by a comedy gyrocoptor :-)~

Brilliant Dr J.

Wow!

Missed this at the time of posting. I’ve now got 14 PAGES* of top 5 descents Mc…

*completely made up number.