Two mates and I done Glenshee on Saturday and we thought it was great fun, the track is two miles long and could do with a berm or two but well worth a day trip if the weather is fine, The track could do with a wee tweak here and there, but give them time, Glentress did not get it right the first time, the Glenshee area has potential to be a world class Mountain bike stage. Did I mention the great views and great breakfast rolls.

Shouldn't that be "Done I mention…"

TBH Not been however I have seen a few videos of it and it look pretty boring, mostly landrover* track all the way down.

Glenshee
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* other 4 x4's are available.

Yes bruneep I also saw the neeps vid, and I also thought it looked pretty boring, but we had to try it, it also depends on who has got the camera strapped to their lid. 8)

Wow… that's eight minutes of my life I'll never get back.

Yes bruneep I also saw the neeps vid, and I also thought it looked pretty boring, but we had to try it, it also depends on who has got the camera strapped to their lid

agreed 😉

Well – it certainly has potential. If I lived locally, I'd be up there with a pick and shovel.

They need to do something about folk walking up the same track though!

Well that looks utterly shite don't think I'll bother with that place then.

On the neeps vid, It does look "utterly shite" , but ride shite and it will be shite.
And do you think Glentress got it right when they first started? I think not.
As mentioned the track needs a tweak to make it a great track.
I know the management team will welcome feed back, but there hands are tied a bit by the people from the cairngorm National Park.

I found Glenshee not as boring as the Lecht, mainly due to the chairlift not stopping and starting all the time, and you need to keep and eye on the game to ride at the max, or your away. 😯

And do you think Glentress got it right when they first started? I think not.

I thought they did?

you need to keep and eye on the game to ride at the max,

Dude.

Anyways, I'm not going to ride somewhere because it might be good one day…

I ride glentress in the early days and it was way better than that looks. Even when not ridden to the 'max'.

I'd really like to be more positive but that video isn't very encouraging. Building a DH trail that's mainly a landrover track with no jumps or technical features, has quite a bit of climbing in, and loads of walkers coming up the other way just seems like a massive fail. 😕

I posted a REPORT after I went up a few weeks ago.

As I said, if you treat it as a day riding in the hills with most of the uphill work done by the chairlift then it's good fun.

It's not "proper" downhill but for £15 it's good value.

Things on video never look as good as you think unless you're Steve Peat or somebody. We shot some footage at the Lecht and thought we were going pretty quick then when we looked at it we looked like a bunch of old women 🙁

Well I am fairly confident that Aonoch Mor wont be worrying about this. This falls in the same category as the Lecht, looking for new business streams, great idea. But take a trail thats never been ridden and make it DH track, no effort just the reluctance to involve either the MTB community and/or spend money on it. But this looks to be retrospective action again.

Moreso, the comments.. wow that has potential, are you funking nuts?! Its a scottish grampians hill, thus it is high and therefore has potential, so does any of the 100's of similarly large hills! Aonoch are making tons from this downhilling, lets make a track as well, potentially loads of money to be made. Is that what you mean by potential! In the same way, my small back garden has grass therefore it has potential to be an expensive golf course!

What is it with the NE of Scotland and its inability to make a good trail centre? The rest of Scotland has some world leading examples and once again we have another damp squib. Although in the NE favour Drumotchy does seem to have finally come up with something, not ridden it or seen it yet so cant comment. I would love to go if it was worth my while, I strongly believe in use it or lose it.

Glentress and innerleithen were both alright back in the day as well, i rode there in the 90's a fair bit, so yes it was OK and that is the point, there WAS potential there, people WERE using it, people WERE building there, thus it naturally grew.

Not trying to be overly negative but its another half arsed effort looking for maximum returns.

The biggest saving grace is that Scotland has some of the best natural trails in the world, I hope we get some manmade centres which rival those in the North East in my lifetime.

The track as far as i am aware is listed as Blue. So, what do you expect from a Blue run?
For £15, yes its good value.
The builders of the track are not bikers, so they will welcome all feedback.
I agree with Hal, give the Glenshee Team some feedback and given time they will be able to make some adjustments to make it a better track.

The builders of the track are not bikers, I am not slamming into them but surely there was some research carried out on the matter? Why are the other centres sucessful? Terrian it has yes, but it needs to be developed by trailbuilders/bikers to make it suitable for bikes…

What did you expect? Rather nihilistic response for something your trying to promote! Or have you assumed what my riding preference is, its plain old mountain biking for me. Looking at the footage this seems devoid of any features or interest other than its on Glenshee which is a lovely place. As far as blue runs goes I am sorry it IS mundane with the scenery offering some respite. I am comparing this to many of the manmade centres which have both blue runs and are free, thus why on earth is it good value!!!!

My suggestion for the Glenshee team; speak with the either/and/or Glentress, Innerliethen, Laggan, Golspie, Fort William, Ae… Scotland has some of the best riding in the world, heck even been voted one of the best places to ride in the world. Do you not think the effort should be put in the effort to give it the reputation it deserves! IMBA offer help on these matters as well, and will act as intermediatory bodies between the relevant parties. Glen Shee is not FC land thus dont have that body backing it i understand that. There are lots of groups and clubs in the the area, ask them for feedback, but do note not all clubs/groups actually build trails, this i feel will be crucial in the progress. We already have a rather exhaustive list of good manmade centres, please please address what it is they are doing right and take the good experience. It has been a fantastic winter season for Glen Shee in that guise its a great venue once again and i understand there need for investment but it IS worth spending money to get the right people involved in the trail building process. Adjustments maybe a lot more major than expected as retrospective design always covers for failing to do a proactive design initally, so bear this in mind. There are plenty of examples in Scotland to draw from. If it is good trust me people will come, NE Scotland really needs a good showcase of what we have.

namastebuzz – Member

I posted a REPORT after I went up a few weeks ago.

As I said, if you treat it as a day riding in the hills with most of the uphill work done by the chairlift then it's good fun.

Hello Buzz, honest write up and probably a fairer assement of what it is, or is trying to be. This is where the question lies, is it a future trail centre? Or is it assisted mountain biking in the hills? Which does put a very different slant on it.

I was wrong in saying that GT did not get it right the first time, 😳 but it was ok for what it was, but each time I have been down to GT it has improved with each visit, just don’t write of Glenshee just because of one poor quality video. 🙄

You need to accept what is wrong with something before you can make it better. It does get fustrate me that this is retrospective, but its done now. However if some posters (who appear to have an involvement) are not willing to accept the issues, then this will never ever go forward. 🙄

We would all like to see something that represents MTBing in the area, been here before and would be disappointed if lessons were not learned. Take heed from what is already there that works ❗

For piece of mind i will head up for a jolly anyway as no point in commenting further on something i havent ridden. 🙂

I'm one of the 2 mates who went to ride Glenshee with Hal.

The team at Glenshee have done what they can whilst following the restrictions placed upon them by several outside bodies (SNH, Cairngorm NP)etc.
I'm not saying it's a brilliant track, but neither am I writing it off before it's had a chance. I've ridden it so can make a subjective decision, rather than form an opinion after watching a video.
By all means come and ride Glenshee. Form your opinions and find the negatives and positives. Then, offer any advice to the team at Glenshee on how to improve the facility. They are an approachable group made up of outdoor enthusiasts, so they want what most of us do. That is, to enjoy themselves in the outdoors. Please don't just sit at your computer and knock people who have tried to provide another facility for folk to enjoy a day out.

My feedback isnt postive granted. But please note i am not the only one to form an opinion without riding it, you have to acknowledge that will happen, but I have extended the courtesy of my reasoning. I have been riding for a long time and involved with trails for a long time which has some bearing on my inital response. Hey I have ridden, walked and snowboarded in and around Glenshee. I did suggest earlier, IMBA were setup to deal with just these sorts of circumstances, and there have been others who have worked in senstivie areas already, there are lots of good reference points to aid the cause. Help and experience is out there. I want to give this a chance, actually I am by going to ride it, so please take on board my feedback as I am yours.

Is there a point of contact for the Glenshee Trail Team?

I would love to see the Glenshee team participate directly in this or any other forum or at a grassroots level, perhaps they are already? We all want to see the same thing in the end 😉

I've ridden it so can make a subjective decision, rather than form an opinion after watching a video.

That's all well and good – but I can tell from watching videos that the DH runs at Nevis Range are something that I would travel a considerable distance to go and ride.

I might consider using the Glenshee uplift if I was in the area already, but it doesn't look that enticing. Given the amount of excellent technical riding, both purpose built and 'natural' in Scotland – for an uplift service to succeed surely it has to offer something more than this.

It just seems like a bit of a half arsed effort – was there any input from mountain bikers into this? Or thought about what mountain bikers would actually want? Because without that it seems a somewhat pointless exercise.

Sorry if that is negative but that's just the way it is.

Is there a point of contact for the Glenshee Trail Team?

You can e-mail Kate (the boss) at info@ski-glenshee.co.uk

I'll stick with watching a video and seeing pics thanks. I have no appeal to ride a 2 mile track over and over again for £15 after a 2 hour drive. It looks awful as others have said Fort Wm. looks very good in a video so the cure for there is better. If your going to try and draw crowds away from these places it needs something from the start not 5 years down the line.

I think my GF would enjoy this – she loves the hills but would not ride up the mountain and it's about the right level of downhill difficulty for her. She'd probably do three runs then want to do something else though.

It's been ages since I hiked up there so memory is hazy – can you access any other descents from the top of that lift?

after a 2 hour drive

In a ferrari on blue lights maybe ?

I was intending going up there next month but it's now looking like October. Anyone know if they run the lift all the time or is it very much weather/demand dependant?

Has anyone emailed Kate a link to this thread? I will do if no-one else has?

I have done just that grum. The horses mouth really needs to read this and most important listen to how their investment is percieved to the MTB community. Both postive AND negative.

The negativity in this thread is incredulous. I think people have been spoilt by trail centres and expect something all singing all dancing from the off. The amount of money that it costs to build man made trail is huge. The Nevis red cost £218K to build and doesn't even go to the bottom. A few mountainbikers paying £15-30 a day would simply not cover the cost of investment. Mountainbiking is always going to be a fairly insignificant sideline for the ski resorts in this country so why should they invest significantly. Show your support and maybe it will happen.

I have done just that grum. The horses mouth really needs to read this and most important listen to how their investment is percieved to the MTB community. Both postive AND negative.

I also did this earlier. I've asked what their proposals are for the future and suggested that they publicise this to the MTB communitee.

Glenshee have always run the old chairlift through the summer for lazy walkers and the bus and car loads of tourists who pass through. Some folk have even got married at the top!

Putting in the bike track is simply another little thing to get more utilisation (and get bums on seats in the cafe – which has always had good food). I wish them the best with it but what they will be allowed to do with the hill will not be to everyones taste. I have no doubt that hooning off the top will be fun and compared with spending £15 at a theme park or the cinema your getting a whole days entertainment instead of a couple of hours fun and six hours heartburn.

Mountainbiking is always going to be a fairly insignificant sideline for the ski resorts in this country so why should they invest significantly. Show your support and maybe it will happen.

Dunno about that. If global warming continues they are going to make less and less money from winter sports.

I don't think anyone was expecting something on the scale of the Nevis red – but just a couple of jumps or rock gardens or drop offs even? Even just a token gesture to show they were making an effort? That might encourage people to support it.

<crystalBall>Downhill skiing was once a niche, grass roots sport for nutters, but it became highly accessible and commercial. This kind of development opens up downhill mountain biking to families. It could be the future</cystallBall>

Buzz, you are a wise man.

my Gf wants to take her bike to the alps – for chairlift accessed mountain biking – so she can do more than 3 downhills in one day – just like a skiing holiday.

but i'm stuggling to think of anywhere to go – as most of the bike trails in the alps are either too hard for her or too boring*.

she loves the Glentress blue trail, but i've never been anywhere with lift accessed trails like that.

from the look of it, she'd have much more fun at Glenshee than the Nevis-red.

(*it's either stuff like the Pleney at morzine, or gravel access roads – there's very little that isn't steep and brutal – where are the nice swoopy lift accessed bike trails?)

if you want mountain biking to take-off like skiing has, there needs to be more easy stuff – stuff your nan could ride down. that would increas the number of participants, that would increase the money available for building all the radness that we want to ride.

Mountainbiking is always going to be a fairly insignificant sideline for the ski resorts in this country

Not if they have any sense it won't. Given the poor snow records, last year excepted, if they are to have any chance of being viable they have to diversify and utilise the facilities all year round if possible.

A decent mtb network incorporating uplift would be a welcome bonus for the local economy.

(*it's either stuff like the Pleney at morzine, or gravel access roads – there's very little that isn't steep and brutal – where are the nice swoopy lift accessed bike trails?)

There are lots and lots and lots of them in the Alps, it's not all super-bumpy DH courses!

lots and lots and lots? – oh yeah?

tell me about just one…

(that's a graded mountain bike trail, and of a similar technical level and fun-factor to glentress blue)

?

we take the p155, and sneer at them, but for part-time cyclists like my Gf, graded trails are brilliant, blue ones especially so – and for that reason this Glenshee run gets my stamp of approval.

(i don't know if it's got a 'blue grade' – but that's what it looks like)

for example, the only green and blue runs i found in les arc were actually roads, and that's not good enough.

lots and lots and lots? – oh yeah?

tell me about just one…

The alps is a big old area you know. Have you been everywhere in the Alps?

portes du soleil (lots), verbier, les arcs (twice), livigno, Zermatt, Serre Chevalier, Le Deux alpes, alpe d'huez, etc.

i've been around, but far from everywhere.

my point is this: look at a ski-map, there are lots and lots and lots of fun green and blue runs. they're mostly easy, but also lots of fun for experienced ski-ists. (blue runs are good for practising riding switch, and getting some speed on and carving some smooth turns, etc.)

now look at a mountain bike trail map for the same resort: you'll see a couple of red dh runs, and some green and blue runs – which will be roads.

i would like to see more green and blue runs, of the same fun-standard as that found at glentress, but with chairlift access*.

the Glenshee run discussed above is an example of this, and i approve. a few more swoopy corners wouldn't be a bad thing – even on the climbs – the first climb at Ae is a good example of this.

if you know of somewhere in the alps**, that has trails like this, please tell me – and we'll probably go there next year!

(*i've heard good things about whistler in this respect – but the air fare is prohibitive)

(**or scotland)