Northrend Reverse: Gold

Here are my findings on the Advanced Gold races in Northrend. In general, these aren't too tough, nothing as bad as Dun Morogh or Durotar or (shudder) Razorthorn.

Blackriver Burble - Moderate

The timer is looser in this direction. You still have to push hard. Start with a Skyward Ascent, a Surge Forward, and then right after you pass through the first ring do a skyhop*. Thereafter, spam Surge Forward throughout, Skyward Ascent for inclines, and you should be okay. Navigation is the primary concern here. While it's by no means as harrowing as the races in other tree-heavy environments (Elwynn Forest, Durotar, etc), the frequent sharp turns and low-to-the-ground rings demand an accurate course.

Citadel Sortie - Hard (or Moderate with skyhopping*)

Same concerns as in the forwards direction: skyhop whenever the rings are well-spaced and in the open; otherwise, push hard but ease up when vigor-starving is a possibility. Unusually for reverse races, there are white speed boosts in some places. Don't spend vigor in these sections; save it for later. Navigation might be tricky for some, because there are a lot of spires you could get hung up on, but as these occur in geometrically predictable places it's not as bad as some of the woodsy races.

Coldarra Climb - Moderately Hard

I found this challenging to navigate without getting hung up or grounded. There is a bit early on where what looks like a clean line is really a right turn into a pillar that stops you dead. Toward the end, I kept missing a blind drop. Once you've practiced the course enough to navigate it cleanly, however, you'll probably be fast enough to beat the timer. If not, spam Surge Forward a little harder next time, and you should be fine.

Crystalsong Crisis - Moderately Easy

I found this course slightly easier to navigate in reverse, despite a couple of quick turns into trees (in the forwards direction, you enter the trees head-on), because somehow the visual clutter didn't seem to be as much in my way. Start with a Skyward Ascent, push moderatley hard throughout, and slip in 3-4 skyhops* during the long straight stretch out in the open (*after* you get out from under Dalaran and have some head room).

Daggercap Dart - Very Easy

As in the forwards direction, this is easy to navigate and has a very loose timer. Enjoy the ride.

Dragonblight Dragon Flight - Moderately Easy

The timer is a little tighter in reverse, so you'll probably need to skyhop*. Otherwise keep Surge Forward going fairly hard. In the forwards race, there's a comb of bones you have to go under; in the reverse direction, I found it easier to go over them.

Geothermal Jaunt - Hard

Start with two Surge Forwards and a skyhop*. Thereafter, you just have to spam Surge Forward hard without veering off course. The zigzags are brutal, and the obstacles feel worse in this direction. The final pass through the oil rig is rough; I recommend overshooting a little and curving around, rather than taking the straight shot the middle that you use in the forwards direction. On the plus side, it's easier in reverse to pick up the green vigor balls along the way -- which is good, because they're more important not to miss than in the forwards direction. For the final traversal of the runway, skyhop* to shave off a little more time.

Gundrak Fast Track - Easy

The very loose timer means you shouldn't need to employ any special tricks; just spam Surge Forward as your vigor allows. You could vigor-starve yourself early on if you go too hard, but you can pick up the pace slightly later on. Use Skyward Ascent for the final incline and optionally at the couple other more modest inclines along the way.

Maker's Marathon - Moderate (or Moderately Easy with skyhopping*)

It looks like you should start the race with a Skyward Ascent, and maybe you can, but I couldn't make that work. Instead, hit Surge Forward, THEN Skyward Ascent, and that lined me up with the first ring better. Thereafter, spam Surge Forward hard until you're down the stairs and subsequent decline. At that point, vigor becomes scarcer, so you have to let up. However, the rings are far apart and sometimes at modest inclines -- those are perfect for skyhopping* between.

Scalawag Slither - Moderately Hard (or Moderately Easy with skyhopping*)

Timer is tight unless you skyhop* throughout the water section and at opportune moments elsewhere. It's tough to build up speed right at the beginning, but you don't need to if you can keep your speed up the rest of the time. Near the end there's a tricky turn right before one of the ships. I found it easier to clip the top of the ring by the ship rather than go underneath the ramp. Spam Skyward Ascent for the final cliff climb.

Sholazar Spree - Easy

Push hard but don't worry too much about the timer. Use Skyward Ascent for the inclines. The tricky bit to navigate in the forwards direction isn't as hard here, but there is a very blind, very sharp turn shortly after you pass the central spire that you should be ready for.

Zul'drak Zephyr - Very Easy

Easy to navigate, very loose timer. As long as you spam Surge Forward throughout, almost but not quite vigor-starving yourself, you should be fine. I only used Skyward Ascent for the inclines at the end.

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* "Skyhopping" involves using Skyward Ascent to gain horizontal speed for a more sustained burst than Surge Forward can manage. To do it, quickly aim straight up, hit Skyward Ascent, and immediately aim horizontally again. It takes practice to hold an accurate course while doing this, but if you pull it off it converts the vertical momentum you normally gain with Skyward Ascent into considerable horizontal momentum.

You can manage the Scalawag Slither without the skyhopping. For me the biggest win on this course was to clip the ring at the top rather than trying to fit under the ramp. That made all the difference, the rest is just managing your vigor.

Thanks for the tip about skyhopping! I was consistently around a second behind gold for Scalawag Slither before, but managed to beat gold by 4 seconds my first attempt after implementing skyhopping into the run