Nevis Range Mountain Resort, Scotland

In the winter it is a ski resort and in the summer the mountain bikers come.

The Nevis Range has been host to world class mountain bike DH events going back almost 3 decades and the famous World Cup DH track is rated as one of the best on the circuit by pro riders themselves.

The base of the resort sits less than 50m above sea level but the Gondola spits riders out at 650m offering up one of the longest continuous DH rides in the British Isles.

The World Cup course is open to the public although it is truly black – Double diamond black in fact. There’s only one part of the course that is not open to the general public for good reason – the massive road gap. For mere mortals this is closed off and riders need to pick their way around it. But those who like to get airborne still have a couple of stream gaps and the famous Motorway Section in the final run in to the finish arena. Beware, there is plenty to catch out even the most experienced of riders on this track.

Which brings us neatly to the other black trail on the mountain, Top Chief. While still a trail reserved for the expert rider it is a little more manageable than the full on adrenalin run of the WC track…

Blue Doon Trail

This uplifted blue trail was opened in 2022 and is possibly the longest continuous blue graded trail in the UK at 5km. It’s accessed by riding right once off the gondola, past the DH start hut for about 200m. The top section is wide and open and some of the corners have limited berms so require an element of rider caution if you let the brakes off. The surface is hardcore but not smooth, which should be expected a) in the Highlands and b) at this altitude. Quite a few experienced riders have expressed their caution and concern over the construction of the top section although it needs to be considered that this trail is intended for novice riders who keep speed in check. That said, after a few familiarisation runs even experienced riders can extract a good amount of flow and buzz from the top half of the trail. It’s also worth pointing out that the upper sections have had some work down in early 2023 to shore up some of the corners.

The lower section of the Blue trail is a completely different story. The trail narrows as it enters the trees and the corners are built for speed and offer a lot of support for beginners and experts alike.

Top Chief Trail

This originally started as a tough red trail from the gondola station but has been developed in the last few years to encompass more technical, rocky and steep sections that wind their way down the left side of the mountain (From the POV of standing at the upper gondola station). As such it’s now graded black and it most definitely is. However, good intermediates should be fine on this excellent techy trail as there are no precipitous jumps and most sections can be walked if needed. That said the upper woodwork sections can be somewhat intimidating and there are places with significant exposure.

Non-uplifted trails

On the lower section of the mountain you will find a good selection of trails that are served by a number of climbing routes from the main car park and gondola station. These are rated from green to black and are excellent trails that flow well and are well maintained by the trail crew. It’s entirely the case that you could spend a whole day riding these trails and have more fun than you would on the uplifted options. These trails are ‘sessionable’ in that the climb back to the start of the descents takes less than 30 minutes for an average rider. There is also a skills area and pump track located close to the gondola station with trails suitable for beginners.

Accommodation

Staying on site has, until recently, been something only those with camper vans could entertain. In April of 2023 the resort opened its first onsite hotel with additional catering and retail units. The hotel is claimed to have been built from mostly onsite materials, reclaiming much of the wood from the mountain side. This level of sustainability and environmental concern has not gone unnoticed.

The hotel hosts 20 rooms – mostly doubles but with a handful of family rooms. The decor can be described as basic but that doesn’t really paint the full picture. Basic, maybe but modern, clean and with tasteful highlights, like the bed heads made from recycled wood from the mountain. All the sockets have USB connections, which is an essential these days. Each room has a modern smart TV and you can login to your own accounts like Netflix if you really want to.

Downstairs and in the covered courtyard are a few retail units. There’s the Commencal branded bike shop for spares and bike essentials and next door is a restaurant in addition to the long standing Pine Martin cafe that has been a mainstay of the resort for decades. The restaurant offers a full bar and during our visit pizza was the only item on the menu. Why only pizza? At the time of opening there were no actual kitchen facilities open in the restaurant and the pizza offerings came via a pizza trailer operating around the back of the hotel. However, we were assured by the staff that within months there would be a fully operational kitchen offering a full menu.

During the day the Pine Martin cafe offers everything from breakfast rolls to plated up meals.

Further afield.

The town of Fort William offers up a range of accommodation from small B&Bs to a Premier Inn nestled betwixt MacDonalds and Morrisons supermarket.

Recommendations.

On the high street in Fort William is Spice Tandoori. Once upon a time located underneath a now defunct night club, it has now upped its game to become one of the most popular dining destinations in the town, and for good reason. Cater for vegans and coeliacs as well as the mainstream diner.

Head out of town for a few miles towards the start of the official trail to the top of Ben Nevis and you will come across the Ben Nevis Inn and Bunkhouse. The menu is traditional rather than exotic but the quality and the service is high.