A Lengthy drive from Glasgow, Glencoe isn't a commonly visited place by me but is one of my favourites. A couple of hours drive will eventually see you on the A82 heading towards Glencoe Village. Parking before the road descent towards Glencoe (Altnafeadh (GR 221563)) A small track at a patch of forrest beside the main road is the start at will soon see you grinding a granny gear towards the start of the staircase. The path is an old Military road and switches from side to side as it snakes up the hill. Cue lots of pushing/carrying till you hit the cairn at the top. The views here are awesome spanning East and West.
Once at the top and after the obligatory photo and food stop, wrap up well. This is the start of the descent. Super technical and very challenging (rigid fork users can be crowned as both heros and fools), multiple water runs help add to the difficulty as you lift off and aim for the next corner. Pinch flats are common so running tubeless helps as will running your tyre pressures as hard as you dare. Full suspension helps both in comfort and control especially on long technical descents such as this ( 29ers work too!)
The Devils Staircase descent lasts roughly 5 intense miles and snakes its way down the other side intersected by river splashes and bridges. For the weak legged and hungover amongst the group a pumping station at the start of a fire road section provides a shortcut down to Kinlochleven. For the more inquisitive, a prod around the pumping station will find the pipe road which heads directly up to the Blackwater reservoir. This concrete pipe road slowly rises you up through the valley with tremendous views and scary drops each side at points. Bring a camera. Eventually you find yourself being spat out at the foot of the Blackwater dam signalling the head of the valley.
Either crossing the front of the dam or crossing at the top you can pick up the next trail head almost directly in front of the security gate on the far side of the dam. This winds its way through year round bogs and eventually follows a river bed down the side of the valley once again aiming towards Kinlochleven. This trail carries on from where the Devils Staircase leaves off and provides a very technical, very tiring trail which can chew you up and spit you out. If you master the trail it provides a good hour of descending back towards Kinlochleven and a real sense of achievement. The trail eventually ends in the heart of Kinlockleven itself where the Ice Factory, a local climbing and activity centre, provides toilets to clean up and change in and that all important pub. From here there are two options. 1. A 15 miles road ride back to the car on the main road OR 2. Have a sneakily placed car in Kinlochleven itself to save those boring miles. The road itself involves two big climbs.
This can turn into a long day so make sure you have a big capacity camelback with a good first aid kit, plenty of energy food and fully operational bike. This ride will eat brake pads, tyres, tubes and rims. Did I mention tubes? Bring spares. Lots.