new chairlift served trails in Scotland in 2010

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new chairlift served trails in Scotland in 2010

11 posts & 6 voices | Started 2 years ago by rapiddescent | Latest reply from TroutWrestler

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chair uplift scotland glencoe

rapiddescent - Member

For those that aren't skiers - there was a massive problem with Glencoe ski resort earlier in the year and was facing closure forever as the company folded. The good news is that it has been bought and being invested in. The press release is here: http://www.winterhighland.info/forum/read.php?2,109311

however, get this:
"In addition to plans for the development and improvement of the facilities for skiers and snowboarders, the new owners plan further development of the resort as a year-round facility; with new mountain bike trails (and bike hire), an adventure play-park, dry ski slope and archery range being on offer for the 2010 summer."

The current DH trail is pretty hard and descends 1500 ft or so into the glen. it is served by bikehooks on the access chair. However, if they do it right, then you'll be able to get two chair rides to a shade under 3800ft and hopefully there will be a wide variety of trails to take you down to the bottom. It will compliment the Aonach Mor trails and will make Fort William an excellent weekend holiday venue so you can do two different trail resorts.

congratulations to the new glencoe team!

Posted 2 years ago #
BoardinBob - Member

Excellent news. It'll be interesting to see what effect this has on FW, particularly for those heading up from Glasgow and the south.

Why drive another 40-ish minutes to FW when you can stop at Glencoe.

It's good to see them taking a pro-active response to their survival by diversifying activity. It should be feasible to get the chairlift up then cycle on to the Cliffhanger chair though I wouldn't fancy taking my bike up on that old thing!

Posted 2 years ago #
rapiddescent - Member

@Boardin Bob: yeah, that's what I was thinking - ride down from the access chair to the cliffhanger chair. I'm not sure what give you more of an adrenalin fix - riding the cliffhanger chair up or riding down!

It definitely has a DH'ish red-route potential from the wee hut restaurant over the back to the north and then winding back towards the car park.

The good news is that if FW and Glencoe can make lift served MTB work, then Glenshee will follow. Glenshee has the best mountain biking potential in my opinion of the 5 ski resorts. Especially if they take bikes to the top of cairnwell and if the sunnyside chair ever gets extended over to Glas Maol. I understand they have planning permission for a bike trail heading from cairnwell, down the bunny run to butcharts

Posted 2 years ago #
doug_basqueMTB.com - Member

Imagine the cliffhanger with a DH bike on the side and a slight breeze! Mental! Also, the chair doesn't slow down to pick you up so I wonder how they'll manage to get your bikes on without having to either run it really slowly or manually slow it down like they do to get wee kids onto it?

Posted 2 years ago #
steviegil - Member

Thats brilliant new's and good on the new owner's for hopefully dragging Glencoe into the modern world and making it a year round resort, its not far from so im one happy bunny

I agree, mugs alley's chailift does need errr updating

Posted 2 years ago #
rapiddescent - Member

for those not familiar: glencoe has a car park at low level near the road to fort william. It rarely has deep snow at this level and skiers are taken up to the 'plateau' on an double seat access chairlift.

There is a rocky DH route from the top of the access chair to the car park. there is real potential for black and red rides from the top to the north (right hand side of map) to the plateau. There is a series of ski jump park etc up at the top on the right which might be usable as bike/ski jumps. The cliffhanger is longer than it looks on the map. The two tows to the top aren't suitable for bikes (my mistake) at the moment.

Posted 2 years ago #
Heather Bash - Member

Congratulations are definately in order for rescuing the skiing but it's a bit premature to suggest there's going to be lift assisted trails from 3800ft (nearer 3600 anyway)

The curent track has less then 1000ft vertical but with the ground conditions up there I think you're looking at fairly major construction work to make a fall line type trail like that sustainable. What's more likely and achievable would be contour type trails descending SE from the top of the access chair. Major environmental issues up there with anything high impact...

Posted 2 years ago #
rapiddescent - Member

yeah - my mistake, I got overexcited and forgot that the cliffhanger doesn't go all the way up. It just seems like it when you are freezing your tits off wondering whether the cable is actually going to survive the day.

If I remember correctly, the DH trail at Glencoe isn't allowed to import material - they have to use what they find up there.

Is that blue run to the south east the wide track that the pistee-beasties drive up? I wonder what that would be like on a bike - probably a Green-Downhill route on a bike. I always get confused with steepness because I can ski down stuff much steeper than riding a bike and so it's difficult to work out whether a red ski run is unrideable on a bike because of its steepness.

Of course, you're free to ride wherever you want. You don't necessarily have to follow the current DH trail down

Posted 2 years ago #
Heather Bash - Member

>If I remember correctly, the DH trail at Glencoe isn't allowed to import material - they have to use what they find up there.<

Not sure on that but that could mean anything from not using quarried stone at all to only crushing indigeneous rock (which makes sense anyway from a cost p.o.v)

I think there is a track of sorts that the Piste basher uses but not the same as the blue piste which is undefined on the ground. Reckon any built trails would have to be on that flank as they can't build down Creag Dubh and going around the back of it probably isn't workable.

Seem to recollect there was fairly broad agrement over on WH that any built trails would need to be fairly special to draw in people in significant numbers. They aren't going to beat Nevis Range at their own game imo - better to come up with a model that compliments it.

Posted 2 years ago #
rapiddescent - Member

Each area already has its own character so I don't think resorts would be treading on each others toes. fingers crossed it all works out.

Posted 2 years ago #
TroutWrestler - Member

The current Glencoe trail isn't so much 'built' as 'marked'. It seems to cut up badly (as you'd expect given the environment and surface type) and will require a 'built' surface to remain sustainable. This will cost, and cost a lot.

Almost all of the Nevis trails are with 'built' surfaces.

Posted 2 years ago #

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