Toughest trail centre climb?

probably, but you did read the thread title though, right?

Yes, but as I can’t think of a trail centre climb I’ve ridden that I’d even class as tricky, I thought I’d voice my opinion, sorry if that’s not allowed Mr Farage 😆

Is the route in the woods at Stainburn still there? The little climbs on that are *really* hard. Short but beyond my skill level, for sure.

Rachel

Another vote for Brechfa’s Raven climb, properly tough. Not as techy as the climbs at Cwmcarn or Afan but it always gets me gasping and making mistakes. Could add the midway climb from the bottom of CYB’s Tarw, from the bottom of snap, crackle and pop all the way to the viewpoint as a contender too, really demoralising as well as tough!

Actually love climbing as much as descending 😀

Yes, but as I can’t think of a trail centre climb I’ve ridden that I’d even class as tricky,

swoons

I thought I’d voice my opinion, sorry if that’s not allowed Mr Farage

fanks for your contribution, caller

I’ve only done it once but if my memory isn’t playing tricks on me, the climb at the *gawr trail stung a fair bit.

*Other side of the hill from Afan, not big but it is fun!

Trail centres, by their very nature of being designed to be ridden, have easy climbs compared to many local “natural” climbs near me that I always struggle to clean.

True enough, but obviously still considered too difficult by some. The ‘trickiest’ sections of both Twych (a rooty section about half way up) and Whytes (a step up) both got removed a few years back. Never understood it – both were ridable with a bit of skill and can’t have been considered dangerous.

The Cafell climb I find a drag – less to challenge/interest than Twych or the Afan trails but the decents are worth it. Whilst the most difficult climbs are definitely away from trail centres I tend to have a lot more fire road or dull doubletrack climbing on natural rides where generally try to go down all the best stuff.

I hated the Twrch trail climb at Cwmcarn, a slog, and technical without being fun, it’s a job to maintain momentum, rooty, rocky, stop start, just not fun at all.

Where as I loved that old climb 😉 I like all of Cwm Carns 🙂 Great trail centre.

Definitely have a love/hate relationship with the Twrch climb.
I always find it a struggle but keep going back for more,and when you eventually get your peripheral vision back its a lovely scenic trail.
Only ever cleaned it once on a full-sus though.

Heartbreak Hill at Kirri is the first one that sprang to my mind – not technical but steep. Having said that I have a 2 from 2 record on it, whereas I frequently fail to clean the first climb at Grizedale – there’s a tight corner followed by a rocky section about half way up that always catches me out

Funny, nothing at Kirroughtree really registered with me. A steep section after the road crossing but all over pretty quick I thought.

I’ve not ridden many centres south of the border but I’d be surprised if there was much as technical as Golspie. Certainly can’t think of anything in Scotland as hard in that regard.

Yep Golspies Lactic ladder climb. A good test of balance, technique, stamina, legs, and lungs. I kind of enjoy it I a strange way.

Dalby, Black/WC Course

Climb from near bottom of medusa’s drop to top of medusa’s.

Not exceptionally hard but the start gets me, bad line out of the corner and your gonna stop, steep and slippy.

A lot of people walk up “k2” on Sutton Bank red route (although not technically a trail centre). I can do it, but my knees are never happy about it.

There’s a but half-way round Mabie that does my nut in. Not unrideable but tiring coming so late.

Scotroutes

The stinger? Or scorpion or something.

That was my first thought to be honest, but I’ve not been beaten by that, heartbreak hill did me in, but I was on a worse bike

Back from lunch 🙂 Interesting comments.. I’d forgotten

road/fireroad climb towards the end of the Beast at Coedy Brenin

It’s not super hard but if it’s been a sloggy / wet day it’s just a bit ‘oh really. again’. Descent from there back to the centre is fantastic tho.

There’s a few climbs I’ll do twice to do the final descent again. Marin comes to mind, winch back up because the descent is so much fun. Used to do it when Jetlag was first built as well.

The first climb out of the carpark at Innerleithen is a killer. That gets my vote

Cafall is great! I don’t go riding often, and although the climb is stiff and mega anaerobic, it’s manageable. As a whole, the trail is brilliant. Varied, atmospheric,fun descents. Still can’t seem to carry any speed in powderhouse section though!

In Scotland, as above Heartbreak Hill @ Kirrie gets me everytime, Ive cleared it once, find it harder since they sanitized it as well, too loose and smooth with gravel now :/

No one mentioned Swinley’s vert?

Midlanders! remember the old kitbag hill at Cannock?
my god that was a slog. There’s nothing too bad at Cannock really through.

The old kitbag was a boring hard old slog the new one is much better.

Always doable though. If the question was ‘worst trailcentre climb’ it would be up there 😆

Whites Level always feels utterly bastard if I start from Glyncorrwyg, more doable if I start from the other end and warm up properly on the Wall.

There’s a little bit on CYB, I think just before Pink Heifer which is a steepish, loose track followed by a horrid little rock step. For some reason I always cock it up or run out of energy just before the hard bit.

It’s just before false teeth I think. Always a good indicator of my fitness as like you say there is a good pull before you reach the crux. If on good form then I have enough oomph for the rock step but if struggling then it’s a tough one.
Hardest traiL centre climb I’ve done is the CYB road shortcut from the cafe to the top of Adams family (so not really on the trail) or the start climb at penmachno went on a bit albeit not technical.

Yeah that shortcut is brutal. But cuts out a lot of Meh.

I know what you mean by that step. You’ve just finished that superb descent to the bridge and then it’s that climb. I’ve probably done it about half the times I tried it. Most of the failures were of the ‘bugger this, it’s going to be as quick to walk!’

That concrete bit on the twrch.

Hardest traiL centre climb I’ve done is the CYB road shortcut from the cafe to the top of Adams family

It’s only really bad if you’ve just stopped for a doorstep sandwich, crisps and a tin of pop.

😉

Still can’t seem to carry any speed in powderhouse section though!

Took me over 10 goes at that section to get it figured out 8) Same with Riddler too, dunno why as they’re not overly complicated but I keep on either getting too carried away and running wide somewhere or being super cautious instead and killing all my momentum 🙄

I can’t say any of the Welsh trail centre climbs have registered as being memorably difficult for me.

Lactic Ladder at Golspie for me. So hard it actually makes going uphill fun!

Climb up to deadwater fell at keilder. God it’s long. God its dull.

Rostrevor in Northern Ireland is quite a climb at the start
https://www.strava.com/segments/5776064
1st mile at 10%

Blue 3 at Swinley. What a git!

I’m not great at uphill – I’m more about surviving the climbs to do the fun bit of descending.

I normally make it all the way up cafell at Cwmcarn, but never clear the twych climb. I can do the technical aspect of it – I’m just never fresh enough in the legs to be bothered to battle through so I get off and push. Actually easier than riding.

Hated whites at Afan- just torture.

I have one mate who lives for climbing and just doesn’t get my hate for it. Another mate won’t ride uphill at all – he’ll only do uplift days and smashes the downhill.

I have to try and live with both!

I’m not a climber but before moving to the flatlands of East Anglia I used to spend a lot of my weekends at Welsh Trail centres so had to learn to appreciate them. Twych was tough, only ever cleaned the climb and the concrete ramp once when the rooty sections were still there. I need rhythm in a climb and once I fail one bit the rest is usually tough.
I liked Whites climb, only found the section to the first switchback tricky, and even then it was more brute power than technique. The shortcut fireroad up from the end of Energy, past the end of the black and to Windy point is a real hardly moving slog.
I’ve only done Inners once but remember it being fairly relentless, it was scorching so perhaps that made it seem harder than it is, I then binned it 1 minute in to the first descent and had to mince down to the car.
Drumlanrig whilst not physically tough is very hard to clear in the wet because of the roots.

Swinley red 18 😛

Cwmcarn though – Twrch is worse than Cafall, or it was. Haven’t done it in years, not since the forestry work. Though back then was a lot less fit.

Raven climbs at Brechfa – Maybe not tough but it’s tedious, annoying and pretty much ruins the trail for me. 70% fairly dull climbing on that trail for far too short descents (and worse one bit is a fireroad descent!), except at the end where it’s okay.

I swear my way up from Thornthwaite to whinlatter/ lords seat every time.
The Nant y Arian one sticks in the mind too.

Personally I really enjoy twrch cafeal and whites all a really good challenge and long enough to get a real burn on if you sprint them.

I’ve only been to Brechfa once and there was a section of raven I had to push so it must have been tough.

For a real challenge qecp red in the wet….

The only on I can recall as a tough is Innerleithen, car park to Minch Moor. Still, it’s pretty much all down hill back to the car from there at least

The rocky one at Pitfichie.

Deadwater fell at Kielder. You start in the valley at 205m and winch yourself up fireroad, through a bog, some badly-surfaced singletrack and finally 4km of exposed fireroad to top out at 575m. Its miserably long, wind swept, cold and generally raining. Oh and I’m generally on my own.

Soon as i saw the title I thought Golspie so glad a few said the same. Ktree (not including moab) is easier I would say. Also a wee honoray mention for Comrie Croft. The red climb is pretty tough in places, never Golspie levels but the fact you usually do it 5 or 6 times on a day there..