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2021 – A Year in Mountains
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Posted 2 years ago
Things looked bleak in January and I thought this was going to be a pretty lean year for adventures but it’s actually been a great one. On top of the silly big rides in another thread elsewhere (which effectively replaced any racing) I crammed in a decent set of hills. It was a pretty good spring and summer and while I’d like to sneak in a last snowy summit like I did last year my Christmas plans mean it won’t be possible. Better get on with the reminiscing then, eh?
Thornthwaite Crag
Straight in at the start of the year with a scary one. Despite the gnadgeriness and gnarliness of many mountain descents I’d say few actually scare me these days but Thornthwaite Crag definitely got the willies up me. Very steep and loose, with a few walking sections, it’s a severe descent that, while short, is one of the most memorable I’ve done. Having survived the craggy descent the group of young walkers at the bottom said they’d been afraid on my behalf watching me come down! Then, by the time I was back by Trout Beck all was peace and calm again.
Conic Hill and the Devil’s Staircase
It doesn’t really count, but I did it as part of a raid on the West Highland Way in a day and that had over 11,000ft of climbing in it and it’s my thread so it’s going in. Conic Hill belies its height – a savagely steep climb from the east then a rocky braided descent that was about the limit for the XC race bikes we were on.
The Devil’s Staircase near as dammit defeated me – being the highest point on the ride and coming 77 miles in I was off and pushing up, alone in the dusk after my riding partner had decided to stop torturing himself at Tyndrum. The descent still holds up even in that sort of ruined state – it’s a great ride.
Dove Crag
An easily accessed hill from Ambleside, but not an easy ride by any means. The climb is straightforward but the descent is very technical and with frequent bits that you have to walk. Well, certainly on the east side of the drystone wall that runs down the ridge – there’s another path on the other side which I suspect is easier. If you’ve survived all the greasy slabs there’s then a swooping singletrack descent back to Ambleside. My mate Jim took these shots.
Kentmere Horseshoe
It’d been a while since I’d done this ride, and the last time was in snow and mist making navigation more technical than the riding. This time, in glorious sunshine, we did the whole thing properly, including going over Yoke instead of the bridleway up High Street, and what a ride. Nan Beild heading south is OK, but when it’s dry and combined with the more technical descent off Ill Bell it’s a stonking day out.Posted 2 years agoThe Cairnwell Munroes
More of a box ticking exercise this to be honest – I had an evening free in Deeside and these were easy ones to rattle off. The climbs are easy – I started at the ski centre and that means a steep gravel road drag at the start and spinning up the road from A93 at the end. It’s a funny old place to be – ski lifts and other commercial stuff around very bleak, pretty and quiet Cairngorm hills. The top of the descent off Carn a Gheoidh seemed like it’d be alright but I was mincing down it – a cloud descended on me as I reached the peak and visibility was almost nil so I had to tread carefully to avoid plummeting down to the west. Once below the cloud it was a straightforward land rover track descent with deer everywhere.
Glen Callater Munroes
From a short blast to a big day out. This loop took in Carn an Tuirc, Cairn of Claise, Tolmount, Cairn Bannoch and Carn an t-Sagairt Mor. The start of the ride is a trundle up the glen on a landrover track, which at the loch gets suddenly steep. It’s bottom gear even if you’re fit but manageable. This takes you pretty much to the summit of Carn an Tuirc, then you stay high and bimble about on boggy singletrack. The reward from Sagairt Mor is one of the best descents in Scotland. This isn’t the easiest way to do it but it’s a cracking day out.
Morrone
This is a cracking ride to knock off in an evening in Deeside. If you’ve one all the stuff in Ballater this is the next thing to try. The majority of it is hair-raisingly fast and wide with large chunks of rock thrown up by your front wheel (usually into your shins), then lower down it turns into an engaging and flowing singletrack with some decent rocky features. When I was up there it was at the end of a 6000ft day and wet so I wasn’t flying and the trails were greasy – I ended up elbows deep in a bog but it was still worth it.
Ben Avon
A classic summit that has eluded me for a while. Having gone up Beinn a Bhuird last year and not been too taken with how straightforward the descent was I rode this as a rough out and back – up the Slugain, then Allt Mor to the summit before returning by following Quoich Water to the Linn of Quoich.
It’s one of the all-time greats. I was shocked when I got to the summit to be greeted by what looked like Peak District tors scattered all across the plateau. There’s a decent ride in itself to cover the plateau, and the return is a warm up for a loose, tight, switchbacky descent right next to plummet down the corrie wall to keep you mind sharp. Then the descent turns and becomes flowing technical singletrack. Once back at the valley floor it’s a nice gentle set of trails back home.
Posted 2 years agoThe Cobbler
A sunny day on the Cobbler should be a bit of a daft idea in terms of business but it was late in the day when I started and there were surprisingly few folk about. It’s a descent of two distinct parts – the path up to the summit, which is a very challenging descent with big spikey slabs of rock followed by a seriously steep set of stairs, then the main path back to Arrochar which is a really nice flowing tourist path. It’s well mettled so isn’t the most challenging but it’s a good day nonetheless. I also noted that it looked like some work had been done to the path up Beinn Ime since I was last year so it might not just be a boggy trudge anymore and I will try to give it another go.
Ben Vane
Ben Vane cropped up on Trailforks sometime recently and, having previously written off this chunk of hills as being unrideable, I decided to try and tack it on to the Glen Loin loop from Arrochar. I don’t know who put it on Trailforks, but as with all my other experiences of it, it was a waste of time. The path is rideable from about 600m down but above that it’s a scramble. I aborted after lifting my bike up one cliff too many. Below there it’s a nice enough descent but given that the Glen Loin loop isn’t very engaging either it’s not one I can recommend.
Great Dun Fell
I did this as part of a two day off-road gravel ride from South Yorkshire to Scotland. This section of the route was following Cycling UK’s Great North Trail. I had wondered before I set out why Great Dun Fell and its bigger neighbour Cross Fell hadn’t come up on my radar before – big hills, over 800m, outside the Lake District in England would surely be pretty well known in MTB circles. Well, it turns out it’s because the trails are non-existent. Setting out with 115 off road miles in my legs from the day before, the ride up on the road to the RAF station was tough but in a fun way. Unfortunately, the payback is pushing through bogs and crossing streams for an hour before reaching a land rover track then a tarmac road. A complete waste of time – I can’t fathom why the GNT goes this way.
Ben Ledi
A dependable short-of-time hill, Ben Ledi may not be as exciting as it was before it got sanitised but it’s still a good blast. On my way to meet some friends to walk the Tarmachan ridge (imagine that, going up a munro without a bike. It was fine, but not as good) the next day I stopped off to bag Ben Ledi in glorious evening light.
Lake District Goodness
I’m not normally one for keeping ride locations secret but I was shown this by someone I don’t know so well and in good faith so I’m going to let those familiar with the area figure it out. One last run of the year in mizzley conditions in early November – the perfect time for some absolutely heinous death-tech. A savage but almost 100% rideable climb (apparently, if you’re me and my pal Tom. Apparently not if you enjoy not trying to vomit) is immediately followed by a full speed ahead charge down a wide, loose, twisty trail.
All of sudden we ducked off to the right on a precipitous trail that joins a ridge of greasy, jaggedy rock. The trail fights with you all the way down – sections have to be walked, crashes happen as tyres slide on water and switchback corners are almost made or hopped round. It was the business.
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