Cwmcarn ladder drops
Does anyone know what the story is with the removal of the three ladders at the top of cwmcarn?
They have all been taken away between last weekend and this!
I can only assume that someone had a big fall off them, but it's a real shame because they were a great way to build up your confidence to bigger drops
They have all been taken away between last weekend and this!
I can only assume that someone had a big fall off them, but it's a real shame because they were a great way to build up your confidence to bigger drops
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That's a real shame - I enjoyed dropping off those.
Lets hope they come back.Specialized Enduro SL Pro Carbon
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Yeah, the small one was the best for XCers cause you could roll it, but also big enough to drop it properly, perfect for learning. Hope they'll be back soon.
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Bugger. Was quite looking forward to a trip up there! Ahh well... Maybe next time, ay?Boo-yah mofo
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke0 -
What :shock: :shock: :shock:
A bunch of us were there for the first time on the 9th of May, and they were great.
My mate took a tumble off the small one, due to high winds(nothing to do with his riding ability). He just lost most of his skin on his elbow, forearm, knee and shin. It can't be because of that though, no one saw him do it or his injury.
Real shame, they are great for learning on.0 -
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Hmmm, the area was done, finished, and the drops were in place and fine.
No idea why they've disappeared now...0 -
Nah the whole top part has been being rebuilt over the last month, its my local and can't find any details about that at the moment.0
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Yep there is a big re design of the Freeride area going on ! It has been closed off the last few times I have been up there.
I have tried asking the guys what they will be putting there but its ' top secret !!'0 -
as far as i know the redesign was done and dusted and the area was re-opened, but now the drops have gone. The chap driving the uplift van said something about too many people hurting themselves off it. I'm just glad i got the chance to conquer the big one before they all went!0
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I now know the full story behind this-
I was up there again today and met a couple of chaps checking out the site where the drops used to be. It turns out that one of the guys sons had a pretty big stack on the small drop, broke his spine in 2 places and collapsed his chest or something- they were all scoping the area with the intention of bringing a legal case against the FC. Initially they asked if we happened to have any pictures of the drops and i was happy to provide them with some pictures- this however was before i realised to what end they wanted the photos and once i realised this i quickly changed my mind!
Obviously i feel for the guy and his family but i'm not willing to assist them in claiming agains the FC for an accident- if stuff like this keeps happening, soon enough the fun sponging lawyers will bring an end to everything fun that has even an element of danger!!
Anyway just letting you guys know- but i guess this means the drops will not be back0 -
that sucks for the lad but surely you ride stuff like this at your own risk
Arent there disclaimers on the entry points?0 -
Afan is now littered with warning signs on every slightly technical feature... Not sure if it's coincidental but it the signage is all new and everywhere and slightly over the top...0
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I guess responsibility for an accident lies with someone and if the kid was too young to be considered responsible maybe they can go after FC (I dont agree I'm just saying) but I'll warrant the parents arent riders or dont know where there son is going riding
The woods near me are full of dh trails built by the local kids - some look pretty gnarly - surely kids will do crazy stuff on a bike if you give them half a chance and sometimes they will fall.Closet jockey wheel pimp whore.0 -
Unlucky for the child involved and I wish him a speedy recovery.
However, pursing the FC is clutching at straws and will completely destroy mountain biking trail centres. People have to start taking responsibility for their own actions.
The removal of those drops has ruined the enjoyment for thousands of riders
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Dang. We're coming back down to Cwmcarn in August and I was looking forward to hitting the drops and rest of the trail again. Shame they got taken down because of careless riding or possibly some over protective parenting.0
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yeh this is a shame,
Though i did think of all the places to put them there it was the worst choice, that top area is very exposed and windy so it was easy to get a gust and stack.
The idea of sueing the FC for the fact your kid did something he actually wasn't capable of is the adults fault no where else to blame.0 -
Generally I agree with the previous posts but there are exceptions. I don't know this trail but if they got the classification wrong (eg a red that is obviously a challenging black or a blue which is way to hard) then somebody has screwed up, also the meaning of different classifications should be displayed somewhere obvious along with general warnings. I'm not suggesting this at every obstacle but at the start of the trail and maybe at junctions if you move from a blue to a red trail. Things need to be made obvious for the newbies. I assume that they did this anyway here - Health & Safety is generally pretty strict these days and they must have risk assessed it properly. if they did then I'd 'guess' that they should be OK in court. Mind you, just been taken to court & hiring defense lawyers can be expensive, even if you win. Sorry to hear about the kid.
I ride natural trails myself - noone to blame but myself if I fall off
'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.0 -
The trail is well sign posted.
and just before the drop there is a sign pointing to the red trail, and another that says Black freeride section pointing at the slightly scary ladder drops. Health safety is taken way to far in this out door pursuit. in my opinion it is the riders obligation to be sure hehas the abilities required. not the trail builders0 -
I agree that it 'should' be that way.
I think that Health and Safety can be a good thing e.g. it has save thousands of lives in the construction industry since the law was changed in 1974. However it doesn't really translate well to outdoor sports like Mountain Biking where the individual has to constantly assess risk & is there of their own free will.
If you look on insurance companies websites you can see MTBing is a statistically safe sport - not like rock climbing. It would be a real shame & unecessary if trails were changed as the result of legal action. However you'd think that the trail builders/operators have foreseen this and should have a robust defense, so I'm not too worried at the moment! Does anybody know if legal action like this has happened before?'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.0 -
Just been looking on the Cwmdown website where the removal of these drops is obviously mentioned, due to a high number of people crashing, falling off etc.
They even link to a video of someone coming off, who either doesn't have the skill to ride them or just had a bad day, you decide, link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5X3QCqq6fs&feature=player_embedded0 -
likewise i feel for the family, but trying to blame someone isnt going to help, the kid could have done the same thing riding down a set of steps.
the drop offs were in the wrong place anyway-there was barely a gap to the downslope to clear and i have seen numerous 1st timers flat bottom off the top one
mountain biking is supposed to be an extreme sport, hence danger is part of the appeal, everytime a trail is closed down a new unofficial one is built in the underground scene that is much more dangerous.
i think the problem with the Cwmcarn free ride is that its part of the XC loop and silly XC riders think they can ride free ride, even though some of them have the bike control and jumping ability of a slug.
they should have built it at the top of the DH trail really ( i wont name names lol), i know its not very tech really but for kids or clueless xc riders it can be dangerous.
with that said they did a good job of revamping the jumps-it flows so much nicer now. good work boys-you know who you are!Dont look at it-ride it! they are tools not f*cking ornaments
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yeah, where the ladder drops used to be the trail splits, it's well signposted that it's a 'BLACK FREERIDE ' route and the other direction is the 'TWRCH XC' route. it's on a nice flatish bit that no one could really get confused cos they were going too fast.
again, i feel sorry for the kid though, i hope he gets well soon- never nice to hear. 0 -
They have gone for good according to their website due to the amount of crashes, heres the link - http://cwmdown.co.uk/blog/northshore-dr ... de-section0
