Nevis range gondola uplift

Nope, you just rock up and get a ticket. They don’t have the capacity issues of places using minibuses and the like.

The DH track is a funny beast. You’ll likely be able to get down with out too much drama. The problems come when you pick up speed and find out just how brutal all those rocks are.

Do you need to book the gondola in advance or can you just get it on the day?

School holidays? I'd book, at least the night before.

Oh and if I (cautiously) ride the WC DH track will I die?

Probably, better off to ride it with abandon*

*maybe not but you can't really ride it cautiously. I know this having tried. It was a slow walk.

The Scottish school holidays finished at the end of this week (they're a couple of weeks out of sync / earlier than in England). Back to school next week for kids in Scotland.

Our kids (Aberdeenshire) still have another week of holidays to go. Doubt this'll make a difference though 🙂

Thanks all.

If you're competent at riding enduro trails and mountains then you'll be totally fine. A bit of speed probably helps.

The changes up top for the world champs looked pretty good, though I believe the big gap is closed for normal punters and the little one optional?

Oh and if I (cautiously) ride the WC DH track will I die?

Nah, you will survive. Bits get closed to average punter. Please do pull off the track if you stop and keep an eye out behind. Eldest had a very close moment a few years back when someone had left bikes strewn across the track in the woods and wandered off to look at something...

FWIW, Top Cheif red I really enjoy and find a challenge, the blue I find fun and lethal in equal measure.

Whilst you’re in the area I’d recommend riding the red at glencoe.

you can get a discounted lift ticket for the afternoon

The Scottish school holidays finished at the end of this week (they’re a couple of weeks out of sync / earlier than in England). Back to school next week for kids in Scotland.

Daughter goes back on the 21st, still a while to go!

matt_outandabout Full Member

FWIW, Top Cheif red I really enjoy and find a challenge, the blue I find fun and lethal in equal measure.

I think that Nevis Range gave up claiming that Top Chief is a red route a few years ago and it's rated black these days.

My impression of the DH track was that it wasn't massively difficult but all the rocks are bigger than they look on the TV and if you go fast and get off line you are in big trouble.

Don't book more than a day in advance for more than one day..
Did that last year and they closed the gondola... but I had to queue and pay for parking to be told they wouldn't refund me as it was 2 days and the second day might be open but I had to come back the next day, pay for parking and queue again... thus preventing us getting a full day at Glencoe both days

We ended up pedalling up and doing the DH track once... bit of a crap birthday present for my 12yr old 🙁

They didn't refund to my card either just noted I'd "attended" (e.g paid for parking and queued up) so I could claim a refund and 2 weeks later they hadn't refunded.

I ended up having to resort to the legal process and Sheriff, they claimed they were too busy to refund but they had plenty of time for social media posts.

Whilst you’re in the area I’d recommend riding the red at glencoe.

you can get a discounted lift ticket for the afternoon

Total hoot and the black is brutal... whilst we warmed up on the red we watched lots of people trying to push down.
Whatever you do don't stop or slow down on the black... it's a nightmare to get up to speed again before the next brutal rock drop

I ended up having to resort to the legal process and Sheriff, they claimed they were too busy to refund but they had plenty of time for social media posts.

Whilst I can sympathise with your situation do you really think the social media bod and finance bod are the same person?

But yes, wind is a massive show stopper up there, always best to look at the forecast.

I found most of the WC course to be pretty rideable, just not at the speed the pros blat down it! I think Top Chief is probably more technical in places.

Whilst I can sympathise with your situation do you really think the social media bod and finance bod are the same person?

It was the process that was broken... it's not the person at the windows fault either but any well run company should be able to process a refund there and then. That leads onto we can't refund until you can't use the service the second day (why not just refund the first) and further to I paid for this over the t'interweb but they wouldn't allow me to claim a refund other than by parking/paying to park/queuing and showing we had turned up even though they had closed.

I asked at the window if it was closed the next day if I had to waste time and money or I could just claim and I was told if I didn't physically turn up I wouldn't get a refund (hence we couldn't do Glencoe again)

It feels like they are making it as difficult as possible hoping as many people as possible won't claim a refund and pay for parking rather than just getting on with refunds.

.. and if they were really so backlogged it took 2 weeks and still no refund processed (not actually in my account just processed) I'd expect their social media bods are also mucking in... I suspect they were just seeing how many people didn't persist.

But yes, wind is a massive show stopper up there, always best to look at the forecast.

Hence my advice to only book 1 day at once 1 day in advance.

and if they were really so backlogged it took 2 weeks and still no refund processed (not actually in my account just processed) I’d expect their social media bods are also mucking in

So you do think that.

Let me just disavow you of the notion that a social media person has any business near finances. They don't. Mostly because they probably don't know how the system works and how not to do things that an auditor would crucify them for.

They could well have had staff absences that meant, yes, you were a very low priority. It sucks and again I sympathise but it happens. Refunds would also be in the T&Cs, in fact it's the second item:

Tickets are not refundable. If the Gondola is open then we will not give out any refunds, even if your trip has been shortened due to poor weather conditions. In the event that the Gondola does not run due to weather conditions your ticket can be refunded or exchanged for another day, contact the ticket office on info@nevisrange.co.uk within 1 week of planned visit.

Maybe if you had read that you would have saved yourself a trip and not had to rely on admittedly misleading advice.

Well that didn't go to plan.

My wife ended up in Raigmore Hospital (Inverness) on Monday night with a kidney infection - she spent 2 nights there.

So I had my Daughter & the 2 dogs to look after.

Managed to get to Fort Bill on Friday to discover that the gondola had been closed due to high winds 😕

Rode a couple of the lower trails but by god they need better signage for them!

Going back next year anyway so will try again lol

Sorry to hear that! Yeah, there's a ton of good riding in the forest but it's never been brilliantly signed, way too much of the "point you in a direction and then you just go on faith" stuff with no repeaters. I think they still have that one amazing sign on the red route that tells you the red goes in 2 different directions at the same time and has another arrow on the back telling you the red goes back the way you just came 🙂 Once you figure it out there's basically 2 or 3 key routes across the forest and everything connects to that, Trailforks is in its element there and a lot of the offpiste is on it.

(when you're planning a return trip, try to make it 2 days, and do the uplift on the first day if the weather's right. Supposedly they only lose about 5 days in a typical year but somehow it's happened to me twice 🙂 And it's not just about being open, it's so exposed both up top and in the car park that it's a hard day in anything but nice weather. The dh's mud is like sandpaper.

Ooft, I hope your wife heals quickly.

Supposedly they only lose about 5 days in a typical [s]year[/s]week

FTFY

Seriously though, that's surely more like a monthly average.

Sorry about your wife OP, hope she gets better soon!