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Staying in Ballater ATM and rode Heartbreak Ridge today - I may just have a new favourite UK trail!
Anyway, as a follow up I headed over to Tullich and did the descent down from the mast off the south side of Creagan Riabhach. Not sure I've personally ridden such a sustained level of tech in the UK before.
So the question for anyone who knows both - I'm off to The Golfie for the first time in September. How does the Tullich descent compare to stuff at The Golfie? Which trails would I be looking at to give a similar level of challenge (maybe a little harder - there was nothing at Tullich that had me off and walking - it was more the unrelenting nature of the tech with no real time to pause and breathe before the next feature).
I take it you mean Mastermind. You will be fine at Golfie, again some of the trails are long but don't feel you have to do them in one clean run.
I'd probably do lower Wardell, NY NY and upper repeat to start. Big Baw is great but not open yet however that might change, and is quite sustained despite lacking steepness. Lower Feed the Pony also fun but again they are felling so depends when you visit..
No Spleens (bad spelling), Hangover, Trevor and Underdog are the tougher trails; and depending on the weather add in Wolverine.
As rockthreegozy says, you'll be fine - just treat with respect.
If you do go across towards Pony, No Social & No Content are worth a look.
"I take it you mean Mastermind"
Yup, that's the one. Didn't know what it was called when I originally posted as hadn't looked at Strava yet.
Did you do the trail off Craig Coilloch just over the river from Ballater? Shorter, but harder/steeper than mastermind.
Nope. Didn't know that was a thing. Will add to the list for my next trip to Ballater (whenever that might be). Cheers.
Give us a shout a few days before you come up and I'll show you round Golfie and some of the other areas in the valley.
Thornielee is running really well just now.
@singlespeedstu that's an awesome offer! We're up the weekend of September 21. Gang of mixed ability riders so Glentress uplift Saturday and some of us have persuaded everyone to try Golfie on the Sunday. I'll put the feelers out in the group to see if a guide would be appreciated. Must be worth at least a few beers to get shown some interesting stuff.
No worries!
Trailforks is really good for the Golfie, GPS positioning can be a bit wayward but the trail ratings are pretty helpful. The lower trails, Plan B and bottom of Repeat Offender are a good taster before committing to the full climb. Halfway up you can try lower Wardell Way which is pretty mellow but a bit steeper. If you go above the concrete reservoir Repeat Offender and New York New York are great fun. They'll give you an idea of what to expect, not too tech but fairly long so you might want to take a minute for a breather if you're not used to longer descents.
Also if there's a few of you maybe consider hiring a guide from Ridelines (other firms are available). Local knowledge and first aid back up.