Peaks Descents: cave dale or the beast

– which is hardest??
I did cave dale for 1st time yesterday and ended up dabbing many times. had to stop for walkers coming up which didnt help and put me off my line a bit, but anyway, I did beast for 1st time a couple of weeks ago with the pootle all fine. Cave Dale seemed much trickier in my view- is this the general consensus?
what is jacobs ladder like- even harder?
😀

IIRC jacob's ladder isn't too bad at all coming down, just impossible to get up. Whereas cavedale just bamboozled me when I tried to get down it, I'd be going ok for a bit then realise I'd ended up stuck and had to pick the bike up and put it down the other side of a rock. Possibly too much line choice was my problem?!

Cave Dale.

JL is easy.

I've renamed the Beast as the Pussy Cat – it's just a good rocky track. Cavedale has defeated me so far (just 2 attempts)

do cavedale on a downhill bike awesome !

cavedale.

dont see point of doing it on a dh bike,

Cavedale isn't that hard

I always have trouble working out which trail is which – can someone put a big arrow on them exactly???

Cavedale's harder than the Beast by far. Only had 3 attempts on Cavedale and it was always that first bit after the gate that got me – never found the right line through that bit.

Cavedale finishes in castleton, beast finishes by the res

cavedale is the hardest i would say definatly ! the beast i dont think i very technical its just quite loose, and jacobs ladder is steep and loose but cavedale is definatly the most rewarding !!

Cavedale > The 'Beast' > JL.

edit: that's a ranking, not a route (though it would be quite some route)

I've always found Cavedale miles harder than the Beast. The Beast is pretty straightforward once you've ridden it once or twice and know the lines. Cavedale starts off tame enough, then after the gate goes pear-shaped pretty quickly. There are a few lines possible, but commitment is required more than anything.

Used to ride with a guy who'd cleaned it on a rigid SS…

ahh good to see i'm with the consensus and wasnt having an off day. 😯
as you say, its all doable but early line choice is key I think on cavedale as its so unforgiving if you stray onto a dodgy line as i learnt….

Cavedale is by far the hardest. Best done first thing so the walkers don't have chance to cover the loose greasy rock in gloopy mud just to add to the slipperiness. It's perfectly doable (although tricky on an xc hardtail) – you just have to be prepared to go where the bike takes you.

The Beast is fun. Easy enough to get down, a bit tricky to ride *really* quick though.

The thing about JL is that it's very easy to tie on some real speed and find yourself getting out of your depth. The bottom bit after the gate is getting really rutted, and after the hairpin is now proper rocky – the last couple of times I've done it I've ended up using the gate to stop at the bottom, simply because there's no where else smooth enough to brake on. 😳

Now – how about chucking Chapel Gate into the mix – obviously taking the gully on the bottom bit below the gate. 🙂

Is it me or does Cavedale get into limestone territory rather than granite like the Beast. There's some bits near the end that are like ice when it's wet!

(was VERY proud of myself on the one occasion I cleaned Cavedale)

Cavedale is harder as it robs and punishes any drop in momentum at all. Whereas Beast you can pick lines, slow, speed up, turn, pick, speed.

Hardest still is that footpath down from the top of Hope Cross to the side of the reservoir. Nothing in the Peaks beats that.

Jacobs Ladder is great. You always receive grins and encouragement from the walkers as you pass them on there 😀

I don't think I've cleaned Cavedale (~3 attempts). There's a bit after the gate on the rocky section where it gets funnelled a bit and it catches me out everytime and I know I could do it each time, it just mocks me.

But I don't think its a great descent anyway – better to be had over on Mam Tor (*sour grapes*).

Slightly OT- whats the name of that descent from Rushops Edge that brings you out onto the road into Edale? Long long long and Lush.

Edit: Jimmy (see this post!)

Hora

Hardest still is that footpath down from the top of Hope Cross to the side of the reservoir. Nothing in the Peaks beats that.

is that the muddy one we came up the top bit of on the last pootle?
is it all permissive or 'cheeky'??

hora, thats Chapel gate, i think. A top descent, get 2 people to go down and open the gates before you.

Cavedale is very hard, I can get it about 2/3rds of the time (and I've cleared it on both my XC FS and on my HT) but so many times I've ended up with a stupid dab or a daft choice of line.
The Beast is just a rockfest, a little bit of commitment will see you through that every time although, as mentioned, it's very hard to ride it fast and well. I think the best I've ever seen it done was Cy on his Cotic Hemlock with some huge burly Magura forks which just ate rocks!
JL is rubbish as a descent (IMHO), it's much better as a climb.

rather than granite like the Beast

I think you mean sandstone vdubber67.

I've only attempted cavedale once, and failed. I'm not convinced it's worth the climb. Seemed like alot of effort for only one short down.

What's with all this dabbing being a bad thing?

Cave Dale definitely harder. Beast is pretty easy, really, no real line choice required.

Its 100% cheeky. You go down some large slab steps then a tiny 1.2metre wide twee-low spring loaded gate brings you out into big rooted step downs with a gully to your right. Its not even safe to be a footpath IMO more a goat trail!

Chapel Gate- thats it!

No mate, Chapel Gate's legal – even for motors I think.

I'm not sure which one you're thinking of… There's a footpath between the start of Chapel Gate and Upper Booth. Could be that?

Hello all, hora, you're talking about chapel gate. Legal all the way.
The type of stone in the area is gritstone.
From hope cross to the res is beast I believe. The climb back up is wooler knoll and not entirely legal.
Cavedale is def the toughest, followed by beast and then jacobs. Have you been down the toboggan run yet hora?

Den – next time you're about let me know

rather than granite like the Beast

I think you mean sandstone vdubber67.

Sorry people, it's gritstone (yeah yeah yeah, type of sandstone etc – still grit.)

Cavedale harder than the Beast. Chapel Gate harder still. The thing (footpath) Hora's on about harder than all three put together.

Brown, can you send me a link to that hard descent?

Have you been down the toboggan run yet hora?

I went down weekend before last. In Summer that will be amazingly quick but the top 2/3's were a mire of mud 😕

Once you've cleaned it in summer(?) conditions try Cavedale with ice on it. My only encounter very exciting and dab-tastic.

Brown no! It'll bloody kill someone that!!!

Sounds like Hora is talking about Parkin clough.

Cheeky descent off Win Hill – Parkin Clough?

Never tried it, but on the list next time I'm up that way mid week. Proper mental I'm told.

Soo funny how it looks ridable on these pics. I honestly wouldn't recommend anyone ride down that-you only have one line choice. Just one. Not negotiable and IMO you are not in control for the majority of the descent. At least on the other descents you can brake, move, slow, adjust, turn even stop. If a Walker was coming up you would hit them and cause a serious accident as there is no where for them to jump like on Cavedale, Beast etc etc.

.

Cavedale – tried it on a few bikes, never managed to clean the section from the gate.Okay from about 100 yards down but still a challenge. More mental really, bike will do it, you just have to believe!

Beast I just think is fun (on my Pace 405 anyway), speed is definitely your friend.

Parkin clough is ace 🙂 Only done first half and then turned left. Looked down the second section and it is proper difficult.

Parkin clough vid here

Pook

Den – next time you're about let me know

cheers, will do. wont be this weekend, poss next or following

Pook, is it possible to create a ride that includes Chapel Gate, Jacobs Ladder and say the Tabogon?