Red Hill; Legal trails
- Thread starter Jesterarts
- Start date
wkkie
It's Not Easy Being Green
Very true. Hopefully if a few riders get there during the trial, then hopefully there'll be more access to the lifts at better times and more trails will be built that are accessible for the lift.
I'm going to head down Thursday and I'll give a heads up on how it goes.
I'm going to head down Thursday and I'll give a heads up on how it goes.
Boom King
downloaded a pic of moorey's bruised arse
Another option is to head east from the top of the Eagle along the side of Arthur's Seat Rd, down the fire trail to Crits(10?), down Crits and the into Glenn's Pony all the way to Boundary Rd. Hang a left and ride Boundary Rd back to the Eagle base.
The Duckmeister
Has a juicy midrange
Just a heads up, Eagle does stop operating the lift in high winds. With strong winds forecast at least until the end of the week it's probably a good idea to contact them before heading down to be sure it's running.
wkkie
It's Not Easy Being Green
yuley95
soft-arse Yuley is on the lifts again
Hit up the gondola today for some laps of Charlottes Pass. It was good conditions and the set up for mountain bikes was pretty good.
I've never done lifts or gondolas elsewhere so all I can compare to is the Blue Dirt shuttles at Buller, bright, kinglake. Compared to that, the gondola is expensive ($45 for 3 hours) and a bit slow but it's also clean, staff are friendly and it seems well run.
I got five runs in during the three hours I had. If you push it you could get six but that would be it.
It's pretty easy to access charlottes pass and I enjoyed that trail. I've never ridden it before but it's got a nice mix of technical and high speed. Even in the high speed sections, there are plenty of rocks and roots ready to push a wheel offline so you have to be on your toes.
The trail back to the gondola base station is a nice little blast thought the bush to keep things interesting.
It would be a bit of a stretch to access the other trails from the gondola so I reckon most people will just do charlottes. Not sure if it willhold up to well with increased traffic but time will tell.
Will be great if they can open up one or two more runs close to the top.
I think they have about thirty four gondolas in total and had just four dedicated to bikes today. Doesn't sound like much but I never had to wait when I got to the bottom. The staff are good too and will sneak you on even if the bike specific gondola has gone by the bike entry door but is still in the boarding area.
Not sure what else to say. It will be up to you to decide if the value is there but it's a good service and the main trail you get access to is a good one.
I've never done lifts or gondolas elsewhere so all I can compare to is the Blue Dirt shuttles at Buller, bright, kinglake. Compared to that, the gondola is expensive ($45 for 3 hours) and a bit slow but it's also clean, staff are friendly and it seems well run.
I got five runs in during the three hours I had. If you push it you could get six but that would be it.
It's pretty easy to access charlottes pass and I enjoyed that trail. I've never ridden it before but it's got a nice mix of technical and high speed. Even in the high speed sections, there are plenty of rocks and roots ready to push a wheel offline so you have to be on your toes.
The trail back to the gondola base station is a nice little blast thought the bush to keep things interesting.
It would be a bit of a stretch to access the other trails from the gondola so I reckon most people will just do charlottes. Not sure if it willhold up to well with increased traffic but time will tell.
Will be great if they can open up one or two more runs close to the top.
I think they have about thirty four gondolas in total and had just four dedicated to bikes today. Doesn't sound like much but I never had to wait when I got to the bottom. The staff are good too and will sneak you on even if the bike specific gondola has gone by the bike entry door but is still in the boarding area.
Not sure what else to say. It will be up to you to decide if the value is there but it's a good service and the main trail you get access to is a good one.
yuley95
soft-arse Yuley is on the lifts again
The price thing is interesting. I agree it’s a bit steep but today was packed with paying tourists and evey gondola with just one or two bikes on it, is a gondola not carrying 4 full price tourists.
Maybe today was especially busy but given it was a weekday in winter, it seems to me they are not short of paying customers...
Anyway, I had fun and would probably do it again every now and then so hopefully the trial goes well
teK--
Eats Squid
I doubt it has anywhere the allure of hitting the snow!!
The Duckmeister
Has a juicy midrange
Eagle are now taking bikes every day (weather permitting the thing running) during the trial period, plus I'm led to believe are adding another 7 bike-compatible carriages. It's early days, but this advancemt after only two weeks is a good sign that they're seeing things our way.
Now what would be really good is if they'd channel some funds into tail development in the corridor close to the lift.... More trails would give riders more ride options, and more incentive to use the lift.... Win for everyone. ;-)
Now what would be really good is if they'd channel some funds into tail development in the corridor close to the lift.... More trails would give riders more ride options, and more incentive to use the lift.... Win for everyone. ;-)
Boom King
downloaded a pic of moorey's bruised arse
What's the clubs plan for trails in that corridor? Surely the local council would be on board with some funding?
dynamitedread
Likes Dirt
Was thinking of heading up on Wednesday and Thursday. Weather may rain out on Wednesday and winds are forecast 24km/h on Thursday. Would that be too strong for gondolas and do we have to book or can we just rock up ? Cheers
dynamitedread
Likes Dirt
Thanks
The Duckmeister
Has a juicy midrange
Current wind forecasts are a fair bit higher than that... 20-30 knots wih higher squalls. 1 knot = 1.852km/h, so that's Bloody Windy. Best to give them a call before heading down in case they're not running.
wkkie
It's Not Easy Being Green
Yep, call the arvo before and they might be able to tell you then. If not, call them that morning before heading down
dynamitedread
Likes Dirt
Will do. There’s sickies being taken so shall work on a back up plan in case of bad wind. Weather not me