The physical difficulty rating of each track has been determined by the combination of the categories in the table below; length, total climb, average gradient and track condition.

This method is an attempt to create a standardised and measurable rating system. The difficulty levels for each category have been based on logical thresholds that generally align with the variance in people’s fitness and experience.

This is particularly useful for tracks that fall into multiple difficulty levels over the different categories. For example Barnicoat Scout Track has a length of only 800 m (very easy), but an average gradient of 50% (very hard); across the four categories it receives a moderate difficulty rating.

It is important to consider that track conditions may change at any time through natural phenomena such as slips and weather conditions. If you want to search for tracks of certain physical difficulty, use the Search and Filter Tool.