What's the steepest trail you know you should be able to climb but can't?

Somehow I think there’ll be more of these oop north than darn sarf!

For me it’s the ba5tard climb that begins on the right as you get spat out of Death Star (coming down Pitch). It looks steep and always imminently doable yet I have to walk every time.

What about you? If not the steepest, what about the most technical?

Somehow I think there’ll be more of these oop north than darn sarf!

ridden up much of the north escarpment of the South Downs when it’s wet?

having said that, this one’s to the South of the SDW and a right git in the wet on a singlespeed – it’s bare chalk all the way up and traction is a nightmare;

http://app.strava.com/segments/1223464

last 150yds of ladys edge on the quantocks.

steep, loose and sharp rise in gradient at the end of a long climb.

climb up from Watendlath on Borrowdale Bash?

ridden up much of the north escarpment of the South Downs when it’s wet?

You mean the chalky/rocky bits (east of Devils Dyke IIRC?)?

South Downs out of Kingston to the SDW taking the right hand track. Nice mix of rutted chalk with a layer of gravel.I get up it but always lose traction at some point and put a foot down. With my puny legs my lowest gear of 32/32 and makes it difficult to keep enough of my enormous 55kg over the back wheel. But I will do it one day.

Still haven’t ever managed the top 5/10 meters or so of Jacob’s Ladder 🙁

The last section up to the tower on Leith Hill. Have never cleaned it – made it 95% of the way loads of time but always come a cropper at the top. Have given up attempting it on a singlespeed though.

first climb from rivi road onto spittlers edge, should be doable but haven’t yet.
zig zags at start of skiddaw
cold side to hollins cross (side of mam tor)
there was a climb near darwen tower too but I cleaned it the other week 🙂

climb up from Watendlath on Borrowdale Bash?

now I know I can’t climb that but I always feel I should be able to get a bit higher up than I ever do. I think my first go at it I got highest but I’ve got better and fitter since then so I either lucked out or misremembering.

Still haven’t ever managed the top 5/10 meters or so of Jacob’s Ladder

do you mean you’ve attempted every part and cleaned each section on JL except the top 10m or are we in the presence of a climbing (demi*) god and you regularly ride all the way up but fall at the final hurdle?

*promoted to full godhood on proof of a 100% clean obviously 🙂

The last section up to the tower on Leith Hill. Have never cleaned it – made it 95% of the way loads of time but always come a cropper at the top. Have given up attempting it on a singlespeed though.

Really? That’s pretty easy when you’re half fit. Maybe you’re not zig-zagging enough?

I’m surrounded by big hills I can’t get up without walking/crying.

My personal nemesis is Rooley Moor Road. I hate it! From Rochdale to Cragg Quarry is 1100ft of climbing in one go. But its the little kicks in the middle where it suddenly goes really steep when I’m already blowing out my arse. I’ve never made it all the way up in one go. Looks fairly innocuous, doesn’t it? It isn’t!

But it just goes on, and on, and on. The suffering is worth it for the 4 mile descent home, that awaits over the other side 😀

tmb467 – good call. Hoping to nail it this summer on my Five, after several ‘almosts’ on a Patriot.

You’d need to be a total animal to get up that climb from Watendlath – way out of the league of most riders I would have thought.

Back of Jacobs ladder (Coldwell clough) and Hagg Farm climb are two in the Peak that are v difficult, but always feel should be doable on my best day. With a following wind. And the stars aligned. Hagg farm has a horrible corner though close to the top.
Coldwell clough is also in a mess from the rain at the mo, so isn’t doable at all under current conditions.

Cam agonisingly close to cleaning the Howden Burn climb (Dreghorn) in the Pentlands a couple of times, but never did it. It’s been smoothed over now so I guess you could winch up it OK at a slow pace.

The last section up to the tower on Leith Hill. Have never cleaned it – made it 95% of the way loads of time but always come a cropper at the top. Have given up attempting it on a singlespeed though.
Really? That’s pretty easy when you’re half fit. Maybe you’re not zig-zagging enough?

Probably – I always end up stuck on the left side, which turns into a rutty, steep bugger. 🙁

Fireroad back to the top of Stainburn 🙁

do you mean you’ve attempted every part and cleaned each section on JL except the top 10m or are we in the presence of a climbing (demi*) god and you regularly ride all the way up but fall at the final hurdle?

*promoted to full godhood on proof of a 100% clean obviously
Yes, although it’s a couple of years ago now. The lowest section in particular seems to be getting rockier (went down it last Thursday after the rain had washed all the sand away and it was tricky going down!).
I’m not alone though – there’s 3 of us that get to the same point. One of us will have stopped for the gate.

Back of Jacob’s used to be doable (5 years ago), but I haven’t managed that the last 3 times of trying.

There are a couple of local trails that keep catching me out too, but I’m the kind of person who will go back and try again and again if I’m on my own.

Coldwell clough is also in a mess from the rain at the mo, so isn’t doable at all under current conditions

has it ever been? Demoralising that one, don’t think I’ve been tempted to give it a proper go (only been up 2 or 3 times). Steep straight so far, so meh, liberally covered in baby’s head rocks, horrible.

There’s climbs that you get into, absolutely throw everything you’ve got at, turn yourself inside, scorch your lungs, shred your legs, wrench your arms and ultimately fail. Falling to the floor in a gibbering shaking hyperventilating wreck, broken, once the multicoloured spots have gone form your vision your legs will still be screwed for the rest of the ride but you’ll happily give it another go next time you ride that trail. Then there’s stuff like coldwell where first time your rear wheel kicks 2′ sideways you think “**** it” and start walking.

but each to their own, maybe some people feel like that about coldwell.

Yes, although it’s a couple of years ago now.

chapeu sir

Re Watendlath climb

I always feel I should be able to get a bit higher up than I ever do

most times i even struggle to get over the initial step up onto it!

Stonor Chilterns, it’s not that long, but it’s pretty stern from the get go, and there’s a nasty little left hander in the middle that’s just a git, after that it’s just a slog up to the top.

D0NK – Member

Coldwell clough is also in a mess from the rain at the mo, so isn’t doable at all under current conditions

has it ever been? Demoralising that one, don’t think I’ve been tempted to give it a proper go (only been up 2 or 3 times). Steep straight so far, so meh, liberally covered in baby’s head rocks, horrible.

There’s climbs that you get into, absolutely throw everything you’ve got at, turn yourself inside, scorch your lungs, shred your legs, wrench your arms and ultimately fail. Falling to the floor in a gibbering shaking hyperventilating wreck, broken, once the multicoloured spots have gone form your vision your legs will still be screwed for the rest of the ride but you’ll happily give it another go next time you ride that trail. Then there’s stuff like coldwell where first time your rear wheel kicks 2′ sideways you think “**** it” and start walking.

but each to their own, maybe some people feel like that about coldwell. I agree Donk, the best, hardest climbs have some epic character that is missing from something like Coldwell Clough – it’s just a farm track most of the way up, so you can’t really be arsed with taking it on. Saying that the top half is good to get stuck into – hard, rocky and always seems longer than you remember.

Coldwell clough was ‘improved’ last year irc which smoothed it out no end, definitely do-able last time I was up there a couple of months ago.
The one I always fail on is the climb to the barn from Ladybower up to WLT, three steps from the barn gate every bloody time!

Stainburn black back up.

Done each section individually at some point or other but cannot for the life of me piece it together into one consistent run.

twang – agree – 2 bike length every bloody time!! Done it once EVER

Looks fairly innocuous, doesn’t it?

I’ve seen steeper climbs in Essex 😀

Stainburn black back up

Now this I can do, not every time, but more often than not. Just takes practice.

The climb up beside the garden centre in Guiseley. Think it’s called Fairy Dell.

I ride my CX bike up the black run at Aston Hill.

It’s ok unless you meet some idiot coming down too fast.

The climb behind the Poets pub at Ashover (heading away from the pub not towards). Can get so close, but never seem to hit it when the conditions are right

I’ve seen steeper climbs in Essex

Pfft! Anyone from Essex would be getting altitude sickness at the top of there! 😉

The one in the woods behind Nationwide in Swindon. Obviously.

Back of Crooks Peak on Mendip, starts off nice then just goes up through 3 rock chutes with breathers inbetween, I will do it one day.
Cheddar rock garden, more commonly know as a descent, just a little bit thrutchy in places and the rocks are randomly random, just where you don’t need them to be such

thrutchy

Eh? Wossat then?

just a little bit thrutchy in places

you are Guy Kesteven and I claim my £5 reward 🙂

Concrete hill on porridgepot, nr pirbright barracks.

I couldn’t do it for ages – although the surface is good for traction I couldn’t keep the front wheel down. Then I cracked it, with a change in technique, now it’s doable every time. Except – then I went to 1*10 on my 29er, and it got hard again on the leg side of things. Took a few tries before sorting that out. So that just left single speed. It was claimed to be doable, but I didn’t believe it (unless you specifically went out one day with a silly low ss gear just to claim you’d done it). And then two weeks ago, on a trolls ride I actually saw with my own eyes, one guy fail just where the concrete runs out but it goes to loose dust and gravel, followed by a genuine, witnessed ss clearance of the whole thing.

So now I know it can be done, ergo I should be able to do it, but I can’t.

witnessed ss clearance of the whole thing.

That’s one of the benefits of SSing … getting in that groove where you HAVE to attack so many bits of trail. Gets you fit, eh!

Eh? Wossat then?

thrutch-core my favourite type of riding 🙂

witnessed ss clearance of the whole thing.

That’s one of the benefits of SSingone of the “benefits” is that your success or failure will be witnessed. If some idiot comes out on a singlespeed at any steep hill everyone will wait for them and say “go on, lets see you attempt this” and wait for inevitable failure 🙂

Singlespeeders are really handy to have around, as when they inevitably get off on a big, steep nasty climb to push, you can hop off too. Then you can make it look like a noble act of brotherly solidarity, as opposed to a not even remotely noble act of can’t-be-arsed-riding-up-that-big-hill-ness 😀

“go on, lets see you attempt this” and wait for inevitable failure

Absolutely. Those that make it up ba5tard climbs do gain a degree of man respect though!

My nemisis is the sandy bridalway that leads up St Martha’s hill to the church at the top(nr Guildford). Singlespeed hell. Sometimes I clean it, sometimes it cleans me. It’s not so much the gradient as the sand…