Hardest trail I have ridden

Waaaaay back in the day I had the opportunity to ride with the Race Face team on Fromme Mountain on a trail called Ladies Only. I did a search today to see how tough the trail is. Sheesh it's a double black diamond.
It aint happening ever again for me.

What's the toughest trail you have been on ?

Ladies Only to Big Stupid | Mount Fromme, North Vancouver, BC | MTB - YouTube

 

Even further back in the day.... Ladies was the second trail I ever rode on the north shore. I think it was a lot harder then than it is today. And not just because we were rocking v-brakes, 2.1 tires, 110mm stems, and 3.5 inch "long travel" forks. There was minimal woodwork...it was 100% no flow, slow technical riding with wet roots and awkward moves around and over rocks. We spent hours sessioning and learning every part of it. Even knowing the lines you were guaranteed to donate blood or break something on your bike (or yourself). A single lap would take most of the day. These days you can do a lap in an hour or so, and people seldom session anything.


From 1997 or so






As for the hardest trail I've been on, that would be either GMG or Flying Circus on the same mountain. I can't say I rode them because I walked all the harder features. I might have ridden 1/3 or 1/2 of each trail.

GMG - https://www.pinkbike.com/video/529083/ and https://www.pinkbike.com/video/537774/

Flying Circus - https://www.pinkbike.com/video/222711/


The hardest trails I actually rode most of were Wild Cherry and 5th Horseman on Cypress Mtn. Steep and nasty.

 

DH:
Probably 19th Hole in Squamish. I had to walk about half of it - at the time I just wasn't quite ready for something that steep. And, wet roots are an enigma to me...I was involuntarily de-biked within 10' on my first run. That was several years ago. How would I fare now? No idea, but I'd go back to ride Squamish in a heartbeat, given the opportunity.






UH:
Devil's Backbone, Mt. Baldy. There's no good reason to try this. So, of course I've done it twice.

 

I wonder if those are Jeffery Pines or Limber Pines? Very old living at the top of the world

 

@redwoods What's stopping you from going back to Squamish? Also my favorite place ever....so far

The hardest trail I've ever ridden is Flying Monkey in Utah which had some serious pucker factor up top. I don't foresee doing that one again.

The bottom half of "In n Out Burger" in Squamish was tight, loose and sketchy as well but I was having one of those days where nothing could go wrong so I loved it. The guys I was with said "never again".

 

I'd be planning a road trip up to BC this summer, but I'll have to skip it this year for a couple reasons.

 

Not sure if Whistler would have been part of that BC trip but this is a good year to skip Whistler. They are putting in a new Fitzsimmons chairlift (the main lift in the village) and forcing all bikes on to the gondola. I think it's going to be a nightmare. I too will be back in 2024!!

 

Yeah, I've heard that. I love Whistler, and so far have included it in every trip to BC. But if I was hoping to go this summer, I wouldn't hesitate - there's so much world-class riding outside of the bike park that it's still be worth it. For me, maybe in 2024.

 

Hardest I am not so sure. But it would be one of the "Pro Lines" at Mammoth. DC10 is the first thing that comes to mind, but that's just because the upper part of the trail is hard. Bullet and Chainsmoke had some extra hard parts too. I remember them being 95% fun and 5% scary. I get butterflies every time I drop into those trails, but the payoff is so great.

Scariest trail I have done is White Line in Sedona. It wasn't hard, just scary.

 

That takes a special kind of courage. I am certain I would become a cautionary statistic for other riders if I were to attempt that!

 

The toughest trail? Any trail when I have already climbed 7,000 feet