Kinlochleven these days?

We’re planning a wee trip up north next week, staying at Dalwhinnie. Still haven’t nailed down the riding just because there’s a load of good options, we’re definitely doing laggan/area for one day, and probably glen loy for another, or maybe glen nevis/nevis range offpiste but for the third I was thinking maybe Kinlochleven…

We’ve both ridden there before with racing but not for a long time. I could navigate around a couple of good days riding in the area back then but last i heard some of the lower trails (grey mare’s and kennels especially which are probably my favourites in the area) were in really bad shape with winter/water damage? Does anyone know more about that?

Also, Stephen is a bit more adventurous than me and is suggesting a ride/push up and downBinnein Mor, around the side of Sgor Eilde Beag as an out and back. Now, I’m not usually one for hike-a-bike, and it looks like potentially quite a lot of hike-a-bike, there’s some very narrow contour lines that go on for quite a long time. So my gut reaction is, **** that, but I thought I’d see if anyone has done it and can recommend? The riding back down looks excellent but I’m just feeling that it’s a decent size walk up even without a bike!

Nothing to offer, but watching this thread for my summer road trip (will be in Glenoce for a few days and like to get a ride in at each stop – did the Devil’s Staircase loop – anticlockwise – last summer).

Looking at the map, it looks like the sort of thing I’d love to ride. Looking at Google Earth suggests I’d give it a miss 😂  looks like there’s a lot of ways to fall off Binnein Mor.

Also watching with interest.  ( Slightly confused by the choice of sleeping venue and riding venues, but ho hum)

Now, I’m not usually one for hike-a-bike

Sea level to 1130m I expect all of it to be either hike-a-bike or pushing.

The riding back down looks excellent but I’m just feeling that it’s a decent size walk up even without a bike

From my experience, the thing that’s easy to overlook is what state you’re going to be for the descent after that much non-riding ascent. It’s not the sort of terrain to ride down while already knackered, mistakes often have harsh consequences.

@thegeneralist, why Dalwhinnie, it’s much much cheaper is why! Reasonably close to Laggan and I used a wee “I am doing the driving” veto cos I really like the A889 and A86, stuff like this is why I have the big subaru and not a van 😉

So up to at least 400m it all rides pretty easily, I’ve been up to that point, it’s just a slightly awkward landrover track- ever so slightly too steep to be easy and too lumpy to be simple. The highest part of the ride looks to be the worst part both for getting up and riding down, tbh I think if you were doing it just for the riding you’d just go up to the switchbacks at about 900m (more or less west of the sgor eilde beag summit) and turn around, or maybe to the cairn at 1062m, but that top doesn’t even seem to merit a name, it’s just “the southwest end of the binnein mor ridge” so I’m pretty sure once we were up there, we’d want to do the summit proper. None of it seems to be a mandatory clamber or a scramble, as far as i can tell there’s a decent path all the way but absolutely not all ridable.

Not going to lie, my preference would be to just use the access roads and stay relatively low and do mostly the stuff off the mamore lodge road that’s been in the old enduro races up there, and maybe the ciaran path or the wee steepy off meall na duibhe, basically spin up and smash down. But sometimes I like to pretend I’m open to doing something different 😉

I did the binning mor switchbacks as an out and back a few years ago, was super fun and you could ride a reasonable amount of the path after you leave the land rover track.

The Scotty laughland series of you tube videos had a route that gives a different way to the top of the ridge between binning mor and sgor elide beag which it sounds like your mate is proposing.

Video from 4.55ish if the link doesn’t go straight to that

https://www.komoot.com/tour/583563702?ref=atd

I was riding there on Thursday.

We went up across the front of Sgor Eilde Beag (a lot of pushing, but carrying not mandatory), curling round up the eastern flank before turning back on ourselves at just over 800m and riding down and across to the waterfall descent.

That was fast and techy, getting very janky with the path hard to follow at times. Deffo worth a go though. It’s called “Cairn to Loch” on Strava.

Ciaran Path was also excellent. Just a couple of fallen trees to duck under.

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/there-and-back-again-putting-the-mountains-back-into-mountain-biking/

Binnean Mor is a classic. In the video, we went up from the back and down the switchbacks. Rode it all comfortably but realise that switchbacks can be a real love hate for folk. Having gone up the back, I would say that as a descent, it would not be as good as the switchback descent. The views from the latter are arguably better too.

Cheers

sanny

Scotty, you could ask a local how Gaelic names are pronounced rather than just opting for made up “Buynan More” delivered with supreme confidence. if you at least added “I think it’s pronounced…” it might encourage others to find out even if you don’t think it’s at all important to.

Hiked thru few weeks back, the local chippy (rice & chips) was serving oven chips, very disappointing.

Cheers folks, much to chew on there. I’m not sure it’s going to fit, for this trip-it’d have to be a travel day and I’m not sure that’s a great combo.

Any thoughts on the other lower trails especially the stuff they used to use in the Dudes enduros?

timc
Free Member

Hiked thru few weeks back, the local chippy (rice & chips) was serving oven chips, very disappointing.

KLL chippy is completely weird, even managing to get to it when it’s open is a challenge.

Scotty, you could ask a local how Gaelic names are pronounced

Or just click on the sound file on Walk Highland. There isn’t really any excuse for not making an effort these days because so little effort is required.

“Any thoughts on the other lower trails especially the stuff they used to use in the Dudes enduros?”

Is this one of the enduro tracks?

https://www.strava.com/segments/10165483

If so, it was running well enough. Really enjoyed it.

Is this one of the enduro tracks?

https://www.strava.com/segments/10165483

If so, it was running well enough. Really enjoyed it.

That track was used on the BES round up there before covid.

Thanks for all the input! So in the end I chickened out, but it worked out well because on the day there was a good amount of snow on the upper slopes and it’d have been really stupid to try and get to the top, even without the rain and hail on the day! But it’s a good looking mountain…

We ended up just doing trails on the mamore lodge side. Kennels is a bit further up and is still much like it was 10 years ago, dozens of lines down the hill, and about 1 in 10 of them end suddenly in massive holes or narrow ditches, so it’s pretty much a matter of luck whether you’re on a good line or one that just stops. But as long as you’re lucky and can deal with a little bit of stop and start, it’s ace, just constant difficult streambed loose rock, some properly tricky corners and rock rolls and suchlike. A bit of a battle and not for everyone but I think we both had a great run down it. Really made me feel rusty with this sort of stupid chaotic riding. It doesn’t seem to get ridden much any more but I love this stupid trail, for good and bad.

Grey Mares is off the same road but a little further down, it’s reverted to nature a bit- it was always largely a stream tbh. The traverse has got pretty overgrown and there’s a few parts that especially in those conditions we just thought this is not smart to ride- nothing outright unridable I think but some very hard sections and really pretty high risk. But then we got absolutely pissed on so it ended up being a case of getting off the hill. I think the venn diagram for people who’d enjoy this one fully is probably pretty small! I’m not in a massive rush to re-ride it.