Just noticed it’s on the map now, goes out a bit further than I expected! Wee climb in it, that’s a lot of trail

10km apparently

I see they still have it stopping at the puggy line, you can always shoot along and pick up one of the other ways to finish, although I’m sure some discerning locals will also create some off piste finishes too. 🙂

Was funny though, watching folks walking their hardcore hardtails down it, realising they weren’t quite as hardcore 😉

Surely a long travel hardtail would be more than up to it, it’s not THAT bad

The bike wasn’t the issue Joe, I meant they weren’t quite as hardcore as their bikes (same as most of us tbh!)

I agree, it really isn’t that bad at all, but some folks get the fear on rock and are maybe used to riding in woods, not a big exposed hillside. The whole thing is rollable, and there’s even red dots to show you the easy line.

Surely a long travel hardtail would be more than up to it, it’s not THAT bad

Agreed, the board walk “concentrates the mind” a bit, but there’s nothing horrific about the rest of it, pretty standard Red. I rode it for the first time in 2019 and even towards the bottom, I was still waiting for the black features…

It certainly taught me to ride rock as part of the trail rather than a “feature” I think it’s the sustained nature that makes it harder than a red, I’m meaning to go back and ride it now I have a long travel full suss as i suspect it’ll be a completely different experience.

I Don’t know if this is true but I got the impression that some of the more wheel catching holes in the rock slabs had been filled in between my first and second visits ~ 3 years ago.

It does get progressively harder up to the deer fence. The section from the top of the little climb down the steep boardwalk and over the undulating slab definitely warrants a black grading.

Nice to see the two trails will cross. Gives people the opportunity to try the easier start of Top Chief then bail unto the blue.

perhaps they could build a red start from that crossing point too, it could even link back into the blue further down, would start to allow more options.

Thinking about this actually if you’re starting from scratch the thing to do is maybe to start with an easy trail and then build harder options linking off it that way you’re not straight into the all or nothing scenario you have at NR at the moment.

Problem with having them intertwined is having experts thundering down the same easy runs as the newbs.

I kinda know what you mean Joe, but the last thing you wanna be doing is luring folk in with an easy start then balls oot once they’re baw deep in it. That’s the reason IMBA advocate qualifiers at the start of trails or on skills loops, if you canny ride this, step down a level type thing.

Yeah I can see why that’d be a problem, I think sensible trail building could help with that, a pull off area and a sharp turn followed by a qualifier at the start of the harder bit. All of this is much easier to achieve when trails cross fire roads at regular intervals but surely it’s not impossible.
In terms of fast people and newbs interacting, I think this will happen whatever you do do as blasting down a blue is nearly as much fun as working your way down a technical black.

perhaps they could build a red start from that crossing point too, it could even link back into the blue further down, would start to allow more options.

There’s already a fireroad there that would link the blue to the top of the World Champs XC Red. A short new section of single track would make it more interesting.

Your three options could then be.

Blue Level – Blue Steel top to bottom
Red Level – Top Chief Upper, Red link to World Champs, World Champs to finish.
Black Level – Top Chief top to bottom

It does get progressively harder up to the deer fence. The section from the top of the little climb down the steep boardwalk and over the undulating slab definitely warrants a black grading.

Yip. From there down to the deer gate it’s pretty relentless well beyond any red graded trail centre trail that I’ve ridden, and it’s continual.

All of this talk about how it can be linked up and everything is wishfull thinking. Apparently it’s not even going to be finished this summer.

Don’t know why though as they’ve had months to do it when everyone was furloughed

I’d be amazed if it isn’t finished soon. I was told June by someone that works there

There was a lot of it done last year. Theres footage of sections being ridden

The issue being that its more or less still winter up there now, I was ice climbing on ben nevis last week, it’s been quoted earlier on this thread as being end of June early july, reckon they’ll bust a gut to have it open for the Scottish school holidays.

Don’t know why though as they’ve had months to do it when everyone was furloughed

– obviously furlough means something else for you as no-one was working during furlough so nothing could get done.

Saying that, those who weren’t furloughed, there was a lockdown on manual work and I think they couldn’t return to work until September-ish time, so the ‘summer’ months weren’t utilised due to no-one working.

All of this talk about how it can be linked up and everything is wishfull thinking. Apparently it’s not even going to be finished this summer.

Don’t know why though as they’ve had months to do it when everyone was furloughed

Bizarre.

I just meant why furlough the trail builders when getting it open as early as they can would hopefully make a good return of investment.

But you have a good point about the weather – I had sort of forgotten that it would be difficult with snow..

Which is silly of me considering I was skiing the back Corrie’s only a few days ago haha

Looks good, oh and they’ve stolen the name from Blue Steel at Lady Cannings that Ride Sheffield setup 🙂

“standard red” my bum 🙂

“standard red” my bum 🙂

haha, fairy-muff, I’ve probably blanked the more difficult sections! back up in the summer I’ll give it another go.

Any news on the new blue yet?
We’re off up in August and hoping to have a day at Fort Bill.

I’m here at the moment, not open yet, but I’ll ask if there is a definitive date.

End of July-Early August is what I was told.

It would be nice to have a different route down. Bloody good though.

https://strava.app.link/UawElz6hchb

Must be getting closer, they’ve just announced a competition with the prize of being the first civilian to get to ride it.

Ooh. I’m so excited about this. Or at least I would be if that **** Johnson hadn’t **** over my holiday plans by Brexit.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-a-sneak-peek-at-the-new-nevis-range-blue-trail.html

How many corners? :eek

That looks brilliant, might have to try and make the trip up there late summer/early autumn if I can.

Oooooooooo.

A gondola day is indeed a joy, 3 tracks to choose from just made that a whole lot better. 🍑

See how it gets steepier and snakier right at the end and you can see it tipping down the hill? It’s like that all the way down, just nonstop- and from there, it’s almost 400 feet of vertical descent in about half a mile horizontally down to where it joins the existing (fantastic) Blue Steel that runs to the car park. It’s pretty crazy.

I reckon you’re going to have to be pretty strong to lap it all day, though- in its own way it’s going to be pretty hard work. Not “aargh my skin is falling off and my body has been hit with hammers” like the dh but that just means we can have a whole extra category of aches and pains at the end of the day. Cannot wait.

Barrrrrilliant!

*Goes off to check calendar for August*

Also, that fly through starts quite a bit down, there’s a shit load of snakey pyjama’d joy before that part!

Wow! that looks epic!
Really hope this is open when we go beginning of August.

Is it just me who thinks that looks a bit like a motorway? I know it’s a blue and it’s freshly cut, but it’s hardly singletrack is it?

It’s a bike park track, not some kind of hallowed #gloryholepuristfest

I’m not saying it needs to be a “holy grail” I’m just pointing out that it’s pretty wide, that’s all. Chill

Plenty wide enough for the fast people to pass me while I’m bimbling down it 🙂