More Pentlands (sorry…) Name your 'unclimbables'

The Harbour Hill thread got me thinking about some of the nastier climbs in the Pentlands.

I've tried a few, and I know robgarrioch's picking away at the harder side of Allermuir, has anyone else got any evil pitches that just might go?

Mine include:

The Red Road from Dreghorn

Landy track to the very top of Castlelaw

The grassy traverse up and across White Hill from the bottom of Puke Hill

The tiny 'travelator' on the way up from Bonaly reservoir to the side of Capelaw

Both tracks up Allermuir (one definitely goes)

(apologies, I may have read too much W.H.Murray recently)

The Red Road from Dreghorn

Tick, not that bad actually if you save yourself for the last loose bit and pick the best line.

Not sure on where the others are apart from Allemuir whihc I've not tried in years – you need to show me the rest sometime!

red road at dreghorn too. Last time I had to push about 20 m of it. I'll d it one day Its a swine – just as you are running out of steam it turns a corner and gets steeper and loose surface

Teh other is the one you refer to as eh wee travelator I think – the steep smooth grassy slope you get to on the side of Capelaw if you turn left after bonally reservoir. The furthest I have got up it is on the tandem – but the r3ar hub exploded under the load as we stalled out

Now where can I get a 20 tooth granny ring from?

Nowt there that I cant climb. (Th previous statement may be a lie.)

The goat track from Green Cleugh onto the start of the Black Hill descent.

Also the climb from pretty much the same start point but to the west and onto Hare Hill.

Red Road a.k.a. Howden Burn Climb – been within half a pedal turn of nailing that. Never have Need to go back on the Rush and pwn* it. Also the only place I have ever had chunks in my mouth while riding.

Can do the White hill climb in the dry (not the one that passes the Tree of Doom), likewise the Bonaly "travelator" (if it's the one that links up with the bottom of Scalextrics).

Black Hill from Green Cleuch is always a challenge, ridden it a few times, usually late summer when I am at my fittest and it's riding best.

Stu, I managed the Red Road once, but was running a massive sticky freeride tyre so it felt like cheating. Reckon I could do it again but don't relish the thought!

Epic, the climb to black hill is a beauty, I love the exposure. There's a bigger, more exposed version that climbs from near the base of the Loganlea reservoir and traverses the slopes further up. My mates named it something unrepeatable but thats another one for the list.

Fat Elvis, I don't know which Travelator you mean, the one me and TJ are talking about goes in the opposite direction from Scalextric (if you mean Scalextric on harbour hill).

I'm gutted that someone else has managed the white hill one, I thought I was the only person who'd tried it 😥

The bonally / capelaw one that I mean – after climbing puke hill and pass the resovoir thru the top gate turn left. A fork in a bit turn right. As you reach the steep part you have a choice – straight on up a grassy slope or left to climb and zig zag round. Its the steep grassy slope I mean

around gr216 664

Ah, Fat Elvis, do you mean the rooty one in the trees? That's a beauty, nasty grass run up too.

13thfloormonk, not sure we're on about the same place. I am thinking of the climb that, if you come up the road at Bonaly you take a left at the gate at the bottom of Puke Hill, cross the burn, push up a couple of steps and then head towards Howden Burn. It's short and steep and not particularly hard but I _always_ slip the back wheel if it's even slightly damp.

Once I climbed Monk's Rigg from Nine Mile Burn. Proper Steep and deeply unenjoyable. I was surprised I rode it and it's not something I plan on repeating.

West Kip from the West I reckon can be ridden, but I've never managed it.

Managed everything else on this thread. Black Hill from Green Cluech is a middle ring affair, harder in granny as you have a greater risk of spinning out on the gravel.

East slope of Capelaw, opp. the cattle grid / gate below Allermuir, is a good one –
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Just recently cleaned it after thinking it'd never go…. just gotta avoid them step-ups!
Just heading for Black Hill now too, always seem to lose concentration somewhere & make a dab, usually just a few yards from the dyke 🙄

Fatelvis, I think you're talking about my 'traverse across white hill' above. I wouldn't call it short though if you head for the style at the top! (grids NT211673 to NT214671 if you have a map handy)

Dougal, kudos, I was expecting you to weigh in! Have you done both lines up Allermuir though? I've looked at the west kip climb and thought it might go, there's a nice flat bit midway up where you could recover briefly (not that that concerns you I'm sure).

Rob, the one above is next on my list!

what about the climb from swanston village to windy door nick? i've got close a few times, but that was a couple of years ago when i used to commute to penicuik and had a pannier bag to plant some weight through the back wheel…

At the top of Maidens this morning I was sorely tempted to try the direct route up Harbour Hill as there was a stiff wind from the west which would have helped. Decided to just follow the quad track round to Scalextric again though, but the wind was very helpful on the first part of that as well.

The climb onto Black Hill is probably about as difficult as I've ever seen it at the moment as it's very dry and dusy with a lot of small stones on some of the steeper bits.

Still very much getting to know the Pentlands so I'm not sure where half of this stuff is. The Black Hill climb I really want to nail though, I can manage about 80% but there's a couple of bits where it pitches up, I get forced out of the saddle and it's game over. I'll give the middle ring a go but I'm not convinced I've got the legs for it.

Oh from Wednesday night, I think it might have been Hare Hill, it was a hoor!

I think the Black Hill climb would be very difficult in the middle ring at the moment as it'd be really tricky to maintain traction on the steep bits as they're so loose.

The climb from Green Cleugh to Hare Hill I've seen attempted a couple of times but I've never seen anyone get close to cleaning it.

From the Howe over the pass between scald law and carnethy is a bit of a ****. Do-able though with a bit of a gurn.

Cox backwards would be a bit of a mission, not to mention a well deviant route choice.

Also from the bottom of puke, left over the river and up through the trees, with the switchbacks half way up? You'd get your climb-horn on getting up there.

Up Poet's on the singlecross in 42:18 requires strength of the bear, I've only ever nearly made it.

West Kip from the West I reckon can be ridden, but I've never managed it.

You reckon Doug? I know you're quite the climbing-weapon, but still it's turbo-steep. Maybe with a DH spike on the back?

I can't walk up West Kip from the west without stopping for breath!

MrK, i don't think I know that one, where's Windy Door Nick?

IA, you're an evil man! I'd written off your White Hill climb, given that I can barely get through those switch backs dab free going downhill, I don't fancy my chances going up.

I reckon I could take poets 32:16 on the mountainbike (almost managed first time I tried it) but 42:18 on 700c wheels? Nasty.

How would you attempt to climb Cox's? I've never looked but I though the last steep pitch as you descend would be too steep? Might just ignore that one for my pride's sake!

Epic, if its the same climb I'm thinking of from Green Cleugh to Hare Hill, then I managed it on a TBC ride a while ago, although we never ended up at the top of Hare Hill so maybe I cheated.

13th – it's the 'pass' between allermuir and the hill with the ski slope. the trail drops down from windy door nick to boghall farm first on singletrack, then on double track… i think.

basically if you climb from swanston, then you get to a junction – left to the ski slope, and just go right. or straight on, but that's a vertiginous scree slope…

EDIT: here – http://www.multimap.com/s/iiI6Qih4

Is there an idiots guide to these trails? I thought I knew the Pentlands ok but many of these names are unknown to me.

Oh and can we have the same thread for single speeds?

IA, you're an evil man! I'd written off your White Hill climb, given that I can barely get through those switch backs dab free going downhill, I don't fancy my chances going up.

I reckon I could take poets 32:16 on the mountainbike (almost managed first time I tried it) but 42:18 on 700c wheels? Nasty.

How would you attempt to climb Cox's? I've never looked but I though the last steep pitch as you descend would be too steep? Might just ignore that one for my pride's sake!

You did ask for unclimbable…

Not sure about going up the switchbacks, need to give it a session sometime. I think the issue would actually be the step just before (as you're going up) means momentum based means of attack are out.

Poets on the cross bike is all about being able to keep the power on at low RPM on the rocks, but I just ran out of steam higher up – gets surprisingly steep as you climb toward the fence. Though going up Poet's on a single speed cross bike is proper special-interests. Going down it is fun though, especially at night 🙂

Climbing Cox's, no idea. You just asked for unclimbable! I'd maybe start with a nice dry day with plenty of grip… never actually tried to get up it.

Ah, fair enough, although I did add "just might go" to preclude anything too silly!

I'd heard of Coxes either being done or being attempted, so assume its do-able somehow…

I know the one now MrK, think I've done some variation of it (the easier, grassier version that meets it half way) but the wind thwarted us on the second bit.

Cynic, Poet's runs parallel to the Kirkgate road, via a swampy looking pond that earned it the alternative name "jurassic park".

Cox's Encounter is a secret, think it would suffer for being publicised up here 😉

i did a ride with my brother inlaw yesterday,me cycling ,him running..some ball breaker climbs that had me off pushing a few times :oops:, booze the night before didnt help… 😆
i didnt find puke hill that hard last wednesday evening but these buckled me, the heat didnt help where out the breeze,
up northside of Castlelaw Hill,
up fenceline to Allermuir Hill,
the mentioned east climb onto Capelaw Hill,
then a bit of the rutted landy track climb from the stone pumphouse back to Castle law hillfort carpark,
i did a write up with some pics and stats which if you run aswell as cycle may be of interest 😮
pentlands cycle/hill run

Christ Bruce yer brother in law must be fit as a fiddle to do all that , looks like a great day though.Recognised some of the routes and sounds like you did the dreaded Dreghorn drop but as a climb. You still up for Inners.?

hi paul,ian was a top hill runner with my brother a long time ago… he too did the cullins race and the imfamous larig gru race the year my brother was 4th (1987/88?),
yesterday he just kept going up the hills and i ground to hault!,
yep pick you up tomorrow for inners, drop me a text 😮

Green Cleugh to Hare Hill, then I managed it on a TBC ride a while ago, although we never ended up at the top of Hare Hill

I'm a little befuddled – are we talking about this yin –
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A few of us managed it last Wednesday night, coming from Loganlea & taking the 'slip road-track'.

Black Hill is a' marbles just now but managed it this morning for the 1st time – not pretty though, took 3 goes just to hit the start right, but no way could I do it in the middle ring…

Still, Vishnu restored the spiritual balance with a wee low-side into the deck while executing a right-turn-semi-drift 3/4 the way down the descent 🙄

That climb is not too bad. I nearly cleared it and there are loads fitter than me around

Rob that's not hare hill. Look at an os map, e.g. on multimap.com. They mean the climb up to the track that cuts across to red road (the path from north esk to nine mile burn). Also known as disco to some, or possibly Allan's Love trail (but only a few know it as that) – depending which exact climb they're talking about.

And as TJ says, that climb's not that bad. Folk middle ring that, and not even up the big end of the block.

?? That picture ^^ is (the side of) Hare Hill, it would be hard to confuse with your trail IA (Lover's Loup) as there's an enormous ditch between the two.

Blimey, I've been wrongly identifying that for a while… Any chance of a grid ref. for the steep one, as I reckon I've completely missed it!
(the photo above is at NT 182 619)

Ah yes, slightly ignore me, I didn't look at the picture properly 🙂

I know where I'm talking about in my head 🙂

Lover's Loup to Scald Law would definitely make the list, I've almost cleaned the East Kip to Scald Law line, but for one steep loose s-bend. Tacking Lover's Loup on would make it extra masochistic.