Aviemore-Carn Ban Mor-Lairig Ghru and other big rides

there we are and we didnt even spot it!
we need to open our eyes!

You can’t miss it

We did!

i havent a clue how we missed it
and where does this drop you off?

There is another good climb and descent after the Burma Road singletrack doownhill. Once you reach the bottom you come across a gate beside a burn. You’ll see the farm ahead of you.

Cross the burn to your right and follow the fence line till you come to a river , a deer fence and the corner of a forestry plantation. Follow the zig zag LRT up to a couple of telephone masts. Once you reach the masts turn right uphill following the path. You’ll come across a singletrack downhill to your left, but its worth climbing up to the cairn (see pic) to get more of a descent. The singletrack goes down to a sawmill on te Alvie estate. We usually head down to Kincraig, cross the Spey and head back to Aviemore via the aforementioned Inshriach Nursery Cake shop, then have a quick spin up to ride the Lairig Ghru descent!

A flavour of the Lairig Ghru descent back towards the Estate:

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Ian Lairig Ghru[/url] by Ginger F0x[/url], on Flickr

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Andy Lairig Ghru[/url] by Ginger F0x[/url], on Flickr

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Jim Lairig Ghru[/url] by Ginger F0x[/url], on Flickr

i havent a clue how we missed it
and where does this drop you off?

If you look on google maps satelite images, you can see the singletrack from space. You couldnt see it behind a cairn?

A few days of spring like weather and I’m looking lustfully at the mountains again… bliss 😀

Cannot wait to get up on the hills. Chears for a great thread guys and all the route advice is greatly appreciated :). With the Burma Road i guess we just didn’t know it was there so didn’t bother with it!

Ben alder, yeh I haven’t done it yet. Its in the scotland wild trails guide. It has got a hard hike up to the col but the descent is described as one of the best single track descents around, looks good on the map.

Aye. Nice weather means extra motivation to get out into the hills and do some proper big stuff. Lots of days away pencilled in already – sweeeeeet!

With the sun shining, daffs poking their heads up in the garden,It’s time to think about mountain biking. As in biking in the mountains.

So come share your adventures please, Cairngorms, west coast, north west west.

Andy

Well its a lovely day so im off to do the Carn ban mor loop, hope its not icey cos im not taking the crampons 🙂

most of the sgorans is snow free, just a wee bit left on the moine moor.
enjoy.
Andy

Have a good trip sweepy 🙂
let us know the conditions up there!

Well im back, and the climb is a bugger, well I say climb but I wasnt on the bike for much of it.

Plenty of snow up top, which meant the path was obscured and I had to navigate, Bah!

Obligatory summit shot, Visibility was piss poor so no view

Descent was not obvious to start with, and when I found it it was a jumble of rock, some loose, some not. Not the flowing decent id hoped for, Even had to walk some of this, and still managed to go OTB a couple of times and actually off the path and rolling down the hill to the side once.

In hindsight, as has been said here its a mountain and needs respect, I was a bit blase, thinking ‘Ill just follow the path’ but put a map and compass in and Im bloody glad I did. Dog loved it, first big day out for him, and all I saw all day was his arse. Still lifes a marathon, not a sprint- we’ll see whos faster in 15 years or so 😀

Looks really good sweepy!
shame the descent wasn’t up to scratch!
how long did it take you?
if you went OTB a few times, ill be lucky to come back in one piece!

Lewis
give me a shout on email – guide related!

Regards BJ

bjdoherty@hotmail.com

Bj

Have sent you a quick mail chap

Lewis

I daresay a better rider would enjoy it more, Probably took about 4 hours,maybe more, but there was a lot of faffing about navigating. oh and im glad I wore kneepads too.

Fabby doo looks like a great day out, one of many ways downs off that ridge. The climb hurts eh!

Is there more than one way down off the top there?

Ja. AJ showed me ans Dave good alternative a few years back.

You dont have a GPX of that do you?

So I’ve been recommended this route by a kind gentleman, and whilst plotting it on a gpx and penning it in on my OS i have noticed between Coire dhondail there is no path marked, is it just a case of cutting across or is there a path present that just isnt marked.
Also anybody else tried this ride or any other on the Lairig Ghru?
Following the glen derry was another option?
Really all i want is a spin on the Lairig Ghru but preferably not more hiking than biking!

Well… it aint no trail centre 😆

no but it is a trail forum 😀
where you ask for route help you dopy fool

Any More Info to update for me 🙂
Any good rides
conditions of paths
and singletrack discovered?

Trails are bone dry. 20 degrees today with no clouds. Some snow very high up but only in the areas which are not exposed to sun.

Badaguish trail map is online if you are creative with google.

Unlimited singletrack around Nethy Bridge/Boat of Garten. Not high altitude wise but bloody brilliant.

Fancy sending me some info of thats ingletrack sniff?
I’ve got GPX files, Routecards and Maps for
Carn Ban Mor
Ryvoan Pass Route
Rothiemurchus estate Route
Burma Road Route
Glenfeshie with return via Lairig an Laoigh
If anyone would like them
Lewismorgan10@gmail.com
tap me up

Latest trail conditions?

WET

Fancy sending me some info of thats ingletrack sniff?

just spotted this – YGM

Cheers Sniff,

hope you’ve had a good trip!

“Glenfeshie with return via Lairig an Laoigh”
I did LaL the other week. Started at Bynack More and then down LaL and onto Glen Derry.

Is LaL ridable??? i had to carry my bike for most of it…not fun. I definately wouldn’t want to do it going uphill! Am I a big wuss? 😆

sorry i meant to say clockwise, so LairigL return via glenfeshie, some say its ridablesome say not, i guess i’ll just have to do it and find out! How long did it take you? and it has to be more ridable than the Ghru. i’ll be happy as long as i get 50% worth of riding out 🙂

Fords of Avon up to Glen Derry saddle is a hoot heading Braemar to Aviemore, I imagine it’s a ball ache the other way… which is why I would not do it that way.

We came down from Bynack More, on the map the decent looks great but in real life it is slow going and I felt kind of robbed of a potential great bit of trail. From the Fords of Avon Refuge, we had to push for about 4-5k to Glen Derry. Once on glen Derry the riding was pretty good, lots of rain bars though.

Towards the end of Glen Derry you get into a forrest, we took the right fork (singletrack that crosses a bridge over the Derry Burn 039 958)great fun piece of twisty rooty single track that put a smile back on my face. I believe the other fork is just a plain landy track but i’ve not ridden it before. You’re now spat out at Derry Lodge.

The above is just how I found it. I would definately do it clockwise as ascendin up over Bynack More from the south would be a challenge. Put it this way, when we got to the bothy we decided that instead of retracing our tracks, we decided on a 75k+ ride back via braemar and Tomintoul! That was a cracking ride but about 40k on road probably.

If you can start at Braemar, you could also take in Beinn a Bhuird, not done it myself but meant to be great.

Edit: can’t remember how long LaL took us but from the top of Bynack More to Glen Derry must have been around 3-4 hours give or take.

Fantastic 🙂 we are sttarting form Aviemore, and hope to finish in Aviemore, in one day with a bit of luck! I think instead of the braemar tomintoul, we could head back via glenfeshie? I think its meant to be quite a good route. The whole thing is probably not a very enjoyable ride, its just one i want to do! Many people say don’t do it, but this just makes me want to do it! especially for the descents!

Lewis – the descent down the Lairig an Laoigh towards Braemar after the Fords of Avon is excellent fun. I can’t remember pushing for 4-5k as Paul says – it was only a 20 minute on/off the bike shove. Glen Geldie and Glen Feshie is good – the way you’re doing it will involve a steady climb up Glen Geldie (there’ll be a lot of shoving of it’s been wet) and some noce singletrack heading into Glen Feshie. You’ll have a big shove up Bynack Mor as well…..

It’s a great route in the right conditions and will put lead in your pencil. However, it’s not a route that I would do ‘especially for the descents’ as they’re by no means amazing….lots of quality, challenging riding though. Leave early 😉