Following yesterday’s post on the climb to Stirling Castle, here is a shot of a Gan rider pushing up the final cobbles to the castle esplanade on the prologue of the 1998 PruTour. I reckon this is Magnus Backstedt? <edit— Magnus reckoned it was Jens Voigt>The prologue was won by Chris Boardman from George Hincapie, with second favourite Viatcheslav Ekimov a little way back.
While the climb up to Stirling Castle is not a major challenge in cycling terms, the esplanade at the summit offers spectacular views of the surrounding area, not to mention the historic castle itself.
Starting in Stirling town centre, you can climb up the cobbled King Street and past the Red Lion hotel from the pedestrian Murray Place or up Corn Exchange Road and past a statue of Robert The Bruce, the library and municipal buildings. From here continue up Spittal Street and past the Stirling Highland Hotel.
Past the hotel, and the Toolboth cultural centre, the road becomes Old John Street and the cobbles begin. This tough section lasts 2-300 metres, and is tough going until it levels out briefly, parallel to the Church of the Holy Rude and the ancient graveyards.
At this point you can turn back down Broad Street, and descend quickly through Baker Street, looping back around King Street to re-do the climb as many times as you fancy. In summer this area is choked with tourist traffic, so for race training the climb is best repeated early in the year. For those not of a masochistic tendency, follow the cobbled street all the way up to the Castle esplanade, past Hermanns and The Portcullis restaurants.
Gordon Goldie pointed out, on the Braveheart forum that the prologue of the ill fated PruTour in 1998 saw Boardman beating Ekimov up this climb.
Stirling Bike Club used to finish their midweek chaingangs up here, Mark Baugh adding that it was always the choice between the cobbles or riding in the narrow flat gutter trying not to bash your pedals on the curb, and then trying not to spew in front of the tourists in the castle car park.
This is the first of a series of post on good climbs in Scotland. Providing the pictures is a dilemma: the shots accompanying this post are pretty average quality, as I took them on my phone as I rode up the hill. This also slowed down my ride quite a bit- kind of a lose-lose situation.
The road climbs out of the well-to-do village of Comrie for four miles up to an open moor. The gradient fluctuates, including sections of around 10 percent, as well as a couple of sections that flatten out completely. It is best when tackled from the north, as the road winds and gradient changes more than when ridden from the south. Riding it from the north also provides a very fast descent with some long straight sections, interrupted by a pretty tight S-bend.
The hill features on the TLI series of races called the Jacobite Chase, run on an APR format.
Comrie Moor- lower slopes
Half way up
Comrie Moor- final rise
Tom Worthington, Glasgow Nightingale- Comrie Moor RR - click for more race photos
The climb is in the Cowal Peninsula. The road runs East to West from the village of Glendaruel to Otter Ferry. The road is unclassified (but is signposted), branching off the A886 just South of Glendaruel village, and just North of the A8003 turn off for Tighnabruaich. The bottom is about 15 miles from both Dunoon (if arriving by ferry) and Strachur (if arriving by road). The other arrival points in Cowal – the ferries from Bute and Kintrye – are a little bit closer.
Ferry Road Hill, Argyll, image Jim Speakman
The turn off from the main road looks like a beaten-up farm access road. The road is a narrow single lane. In general the surface isn’t too bad (at time of writing!), but there are some sketchy patches where a few craters, gravel and vegetation appear.
At first the incline is gentle, meandering over a humpback bridge. After the farm, the gradient kicks up very sharply. The following series of ramps is the meat of the climb, and you quickly gain altitude with impressive views back to the main road and the hills behind. After several hundred meters of leg-ripping steepness the rest of the climb becomes easier. In the style of most of these Scottish back-road climbs the gradient fluctuates greatly, from flat (or even slightly downhill) to sudden 10%+ kick-ups. Choosing a gear is a bit of nightmare, especially for a weaker rider like myself, already drained by the earlier steepness.
They’ve recently felled trees lower down, but you soon end up amidst the pines. The road is very winding and in general the visibility ahead is very limited. There’s no views of the top until you actually get there.
The view back from the Otter Ferry climb, Argyle. Image Jim Speakman
The descent on the other side isn’t as steep, but is still fairly technical – narrow, twisting road with limited visibility around the corners. If you’re looping back round towards Tighnabruiach at the bottom you should be aware that the road in that direction kicks back uphill steeply at the T-junction, so be prepared to drop gear.
Looking back from Otter Ferry, image nadialena on flickr
“Some footage, with music by Ensemble Tengir Too from Kyrgystan (second and third track) from a recent trip to the Wakhan Corridor in N.E Afghanistan. We travelled from Dushanbe in Tajikistan down to Ishkashim in the Wakhan, then travelled up the corridor, spending 9 days in the Hindu Kush where a new peak was climbed,and then crossed the Wakhan into the Great Pamir, where both the Wakhis and the Kirghiz were tending summer pastures. An unbelieveably beautiful area and a welcome contrast to all the negative press coming out of Afghanistan.. This area has never been ruled by the Taliban and you could not recieve a warmer welcome. For more information visits www.mountainunity.org. ”
-Samuel Mansfield
A full account of the new peak that was climbed is posted here. The full scale of what he achieved is brought home to me in a couple of frames of that video.
I think that might be my wee brother!
holy moly, I'd better not show this to Mum and Dad
“Sandwiched between troubled Northern Pakistan and the Tajik Pamirs is an awesome 200km chain of unclimbed glaciated peaks reaching up to 7500m — the Afghan Hindu Kush. A team of five British/New Zealand guys (including a glaciologist, conservation biologists, a grassland ecologist and a BBC researcher) headed deep into this remote mountain range, their aim to climb a new 6000m+ mountain in the completely unexplored Qala I Hurst valley of the Wakhan corridor but also to collect crucial data on glacial temperature fluxes to contribute to ongoing work on glacial recession and more immediately crucial (for the population) – snowmelt water resources in the region.
A trekking trip last year to the ruggedly beautiful Wakhan corridor in NE Afghanistan, together with a deep belief in the importance of well-managed tourism for remote and desperately poor mountain communities in the region – spurred me into organizing a return climbing expedition this summer.
Our objective, the Qala-I-Hurst Valley, is one of the many high altitude valleys dominated by jagged peaks in the Afghan Hindu Kush – the valley itself had only been visited once before by climbers and all peaks remained unclimbed.
The North ridge of Koh-I-Beefy, 5410m (in memory of Jamie ‘Beefy’ Fiddes) was climbed third time lucky – previous attempts were thwarted by heavy snowfall and ‘Dal’ induced sickness! The route would rate as around Alpine Grade AD+/D-, pitches of ice at Scottish IV, and easy rock to UIAA II. Descent was by snow bollards and Abakalovs. Route length 600m.
Fantastically stable weather, great rock and ice, countless unclimbed peaks, together with the incredible hospitality of local Wakhi people make this a very special region to climb/hike in. This is one of the last unexplored mountaineering destinations that our shrinking world has to offer – and a true adventure!
This hidden mountain kingdom is a world away from the troubles of ‘mainland’ Afghanistan both geographically and culturally. While not an obvious travel destination in the current political climate – a trip to the Wakhan is certainly not a crazy idea. Challenge your perceptions of Afghanistan and check out – http://www.mountainunity.org/ or come see us at the Kendal Mountain festival 19 – 22nd Nov for a chat.
We will be heading back out there next year with the aim of climbing the stunning granite and ice clad pyramid of the 6500m Baba Tangi and further supporting the return of expeditions to this magical part of the world.
A big thank you to our fantastic local guide Gorg Ali, David James at Mountain Unity and Rab for the gear they supplied; all three helped make this expedition a great success. We were especially impressed with Rab’s ‘grass root’ support for our small expedition – increasingly rare in world of outdoor gear manufacturers.
Rab Kit used:
Rab Bivi tents (bomb proof, small footprint or mountain pitches, pitch in a flash, snow collecting/pee hole out back) Vapour-rise tops/bottoms (lived in them), Photon Hoody (super cosy for its weight, great hood), Neutrino down (super cosy and light – kept us toasty when things got a bit crappy) all awesome bits of kit which contributed to making the climb successful.” http://www.rab.uk.com
Another instalment from the wild and exciting life of Chris P.
This time we see him in one of his oft-visited habitats of the tropical rainforest. Chris nimbly scales a 100 foot Dipterocarp, makes a brew, and abseils back down again.
Filming, editing and swearing: Mike Guest
Dipterocarp climing: Chris Philipson and Danum valley locals
Music: Kings of Leon, Wasted Time (not used with permission, of course)
Amateurish beeps: Owen Philipson
Location: Sabah, Borneo
Tea: loose leaf, cold water
More information coming soon at: http://www.extremetea.co.uk (just a single page for now)
Chistopher Philipson and Joel Fiddes are the first climbers to conquer a 5000m+ peak in the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. The climbers scaled the north-east ridge (facing you in photo below) after an aborted attempt the previous day. The peak has been named Koh-I-Beefy after Joel’s brother who has passed away.
A set of beautiful pictures giving a real sense of the Wakhan and its people, shot in 2008 by Vassi Koutsaftis, are available by clicking the image below.
Please also take a look at Mountain Unity, an organisation that are promoting the Wakhan Corridor as a destination for serious mountaineering. The Wakhan is extremely poor and suffers from high infant and maternal mortality, and tourism is one of the only ways of developing this remote, rugged area.
The Bealach Beag is a 43-mile mini cyclosportive run by Hands On Events in Wester Ross.
It takes in the Bealach-na-ba road, (gaelic: Pass of the Cattle), which rises to 626m (2053 feet). It’s one of the highest roads in the UK, and a great place for a sportive. It has a great feel to it when you ride it on a bike- like an Alpine or Pyrenéen Tour de France climb.
The sportive starts and finishes in Shieldaig (route below)
I entered the ride with a Mr Ian Wallace, who is training for the Étape de Tour in July, and four of his friends. Having ridden with him recently, I was aware of his strength on the climbs, and wanted to hold his wheel for as long as possible up the Bealach-na-ba.
We set off promising to take it easy until the climb but as we warmed up, the pace kicked up as the excitement built. It was clear and sunny, with a brisk wind, but the top of the Bealach was clouded in mist. Rain began to fall after 30 minutes, and the bealach loomed nearer. I began to lose touch with Ian in the crowds of cyclists, but jumped on the wheel of a couple of fast riders who pulled me up the road, and I was safely with my mate for the start of the six mile climb.
We ‘dibbed’ at the bottom of the climb, so our times would be recorded, and set off at as high a pace was sensible. By this point the original group of 6 had become 3. Ian and I took turns to pace up the climb, passing other riders all the way, and getting the occasional word of encouragement.
As the road got steeper, and we passed more and more riders, I started to feel tired but I pictured Andy Schleck in the 2008 Tour de France on the Alpe d’Huez, with his head up, arms lightly on the bars, and the pedals rhythmically turning, and I pushed on, leading Ian and a couple of others who had tagged on behind us.
My enthusiastic imagination perhaps did me a disservice as I faded further up the climb, and lost touch with Ian and the others we were riding with. But I ground the gears as the gradient got steeper, the rain heavier, and the mist thicker.
I dibbed at the top of the climb and had got to the top, at it in 42:52, a minute or so behind Ian. The rain seemed to stop immediately and the sun came out as I began the descent. But my fingers numbed as my soaking gloves dried, and I was worried I would not be able to operate the brakes at speeds nearing 40mph. I wiggled the fingers to keep some circulation going, and sped downhill, passing cautious riders as I went. I was keen to catch Ian, and took in some fast corners without taking too many risks.
The descent to Applecross was exhilirating, but a further rush of adrenaline helped me to prepare for the road back to Shieldaig as I swept through the village to a clapping crowd. As I got settled down, I could see the orange jacket of my buddy up the road and pushed the gears hard to try to catch him. Luckily it did not take me too long and we were able to spend several miles working together in a group in fine conditions.
After around 10 miles our group was caught by two very fast riders whose presence upped the pace considerably. We sped along the rolling terrain until people began to be dropped from the back of the group. Ian worked hard to keep in touch but gradually lost them, and should maybe have dropped back to get the benefit of a mini-bunch, but he persevered on.
I ground my way over the incessant rolling road to Shieldaig, spurred on by the anticipation of a good time. I knew Ian was only a minute ahead of me at most, and was keen to catch him. At one point I had him in my sights, at maybe only 10 seconds, but a car waiting at a ‘passing place’ on the single track road (ubiquitous in the Scottish Highlands) thwarted me and suddenly the gap was 30 seconds or more again.
We pushed on to the finish and I was pretty chuffed when I saw the results – Ian and I finished 37th and 38th out of 458 riders. My overall time was 2:48:00, with Ian finishing in 2:47:34.
On Sunday 10th, I drove up the Bealach-na-ba road to show my wife. The conditions were clear and warm- a shame we did not enjoy that on the Saturday!
Next up, a century… maybe the Bealach Mor or the Cairngorm Century, also run by Hands On.
