# how do guys ride down some of these things? I don't understand how....



## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

so I been mountain biking for 3 months now, quick learner.

I just spent weekend at mammoth.

I was handling their black runs not badly, so I see this sign come up saying

"shock treatment" (upper)

I figure what the hell, experts only, thats me, im going down it.

Well, I walked down half of it, and rode the other half badly, and wiped twice.

I would have felt very lame, except at the 2 most difficult parts, I sat and waited and every single other rider that came down also walked those parts, 50 out of 50 each time walked it, not a single rider even attempted it.

So i thought ok its just not possible. then i get back to hotel room and load youtube.

Mammoth Upper Shock Treatment Trail 2009 - YouTube

this guy goes down the trail like he is eating a bowl of cereal or something.

specifically at 45 seconds and 50 seconds, the 2 places where everyone walked.

how good is this guy? how do you even get to attempt these obstacles..... is this guy in the video like top 0.1% of all mountain bikers?


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## ianjenn (Aug 1, 2004)

I have not heard his name before. WC racers are in the top 1%. I cant tell never having been on the trail. How hard it is via video is tough sometimes. He is probably a Cat1-Pro level rider I would guess.


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## loggerhead (Mar 8, 2009)

Definately doable. Just maybe not at that speed unless I have ridden the trail before. Wearing all that gear definately boost the confidence level as well.


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## schlockinz (Feb 6, 2009)

Remember, he wrecks as well. Lots of shots went into making that.

Check him out on Shotgun

shutedawgg's Channel - YouTube

Wreck footage at the end.


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## Largextracheese (Feb 4, 2004)

Hard to say. That trail looks pretty mellow compared to most of the "tough" trails we ride in the PNW. It's all about building confidence. Taking small steps lead to big breakthroughs. In a year or so if you continue pushing your limits. You'll be railing that trail like that guy. Looks like a fun trail!


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## chuk2rs (Apr 25, 2007)

Keeping your momentum is key. If you can ride the rest of the mountain, you can ride that. This is one of those sections where steepness freaks people out and they slow way down. Stay centered, stay loose, and keep up your momentum.


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## Norcoshore1 (Apr 28, 2010)

Based on the way you describe it, I'm sure its pretty difficult but its hard to tell from the video. In my short time I have been doing DH I've come to learn that things are never as bad going down them as they look walking by them. Just pick your line and let the bike do the work underneath you. As for how you attempt them, after a certain amount of times walking by an obstacle, you get fed up and realize its probably less effort to just go through the damn section than to get off, walk the bike past it, get back on, pedal up to speed again etc. You just kinda say screw it and try it.


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## tacubaya (Jan 27, 2006)

Same thing happened to me when I went to Seymour Mt. and rode Ladies and Big Stupid (the section after the wooden drop where there is a ginormous rock)

I was like:


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## Stalk (May 24, 2005)

Upper Shock Treatment is relatively mellow. Stay in control, learn the turns + some balance finesse.
It's is steep, but since they had built wood bridges over crazy parts, it's mostly about making turn.

Trust your bike. There is one spot with tangled roots and it's look like front wheel gonna stuck there. But once you roll this thing it feels like nothing.

Now if you'll venture into Chain Smoke or Upper Velocity, or let's say DC10 
But if you got all single blacks there just after 3 month of riding, you have nothing to worry about.


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## mammothpunks (Apr 30, 2006)

You just need to choose a line and go for it. Here is some POV footage of that trail i took a few years ago.

Kamakaze to Shock Treatment at Mammoth Bike Park - YouTube


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## TheMTbiker89 (Jul 11, 2011)

tacubaya said:


> Same thing happened to me when I went to Seymour Mt. and rode Ladies and Big Stupid (the section after the wooden drop where there is a ginormous rock)
> 
> I was like:


Haha now that picture crack me up!

Sent from my Droid


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## arkon11 (Jul 26, 2009)

Yeah none of that looks particular difficult. You could probably do it without trouble on a 3-4" travel bike. It's really all about just keeping up enough speed and confidence to float over the obstacles.


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

Stalk said:


> Upper Shock Treatment is relatively mellow. Stay in control, learn the turns + some balance finesse.
> It's is steep, but since they had built wood bridges over crazy parts, it's mostly about making turn.
> 
> Trust your bike. There is one spot with tangled roots and it's look like front wheel gonna stuck there. But once you roll this thing it feels like nothing.
> ...


yah i walked down the top of one that looked much harder, but no one was riding it at all, I wasnt on a bike, and I didn;t know what it was called, so I don't really have much to say about it other than it looked even harder.

here is the video of where I am after 3 months mountain biking.

probably does not help so much that I am getting close to 40 and probably not the ideal size for this sport (6ft3 and 220 lbs), but what the hell.....

PS if you dont like queen music, either mute speakers or dont watch, the person who edited queened the entire run (which I cut down to like 4 mins afterwards).

mammoth on Vimeo

bah vimeo says 1 hr until conversion done, oh well, 12 PST

here is a 7 day old video clip

Untitled on Vimeo


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## kdiff (Apr 25, 2010)

Brian's a really good rider and he rides that trail all the time. (I don't know him. Just exchanged a message or two on another forum.)

Great video but I prefer this one:


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

kdiff said:


> Brian's a really good rider and he rides that trail all the time. (I don't know him. Just exchanged a message or two on another forum.)
> 
> Great video but I prefer this one:


damn. now velocity looks easy as well...... (until I am on it).


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## Iceman2058 (Mar 1, 2007)

3 months is a short time in mountainbiking. You have a lot of room to progress still. That trail does not seem particularly difficult, pretty much run of the mill in a bike park. If you are serious about getting into gravity riding, you'll get there, and then you'll wonder what the fuss was all about (until you get to the next "unrideable" trail/feature...).


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

arkon11 said:


> Yeah none of that looks particular difficult. You could probably do it without trouble on a 3-4" travel bike.


No.


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## Lelandjt (Feb 22, 2008)

OP: Rent a DH bike next time you're there and you'll have a different perspective. Imagine attempting an expert ski run on cross country skis.


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## CombatMutt (Jan 3, 2011)

Looks can be deceiving. Those two sections you mentioned didn't look too terribly difficult, but I imagine that's not his first time riding that trail. And they may be much harder/scary than they look in the video.

Now you want to talk about the part that gave me pause, at the :45 mark he just rips a section that I would piddle myself before attempting. And then at 1:09......well I'm not good at super narrow sections so I'm sure I would have introduced my shoulder and/or face to that rock.


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## essenmeinstuff (Sep 4, 2007)

Like others have said, that does not look like a difficult bit of trail, trail seems pretty mellow (I have not been near that hill ever).

Videos do tend to flaten things out, so its probably a bit steeper than it looks, still nothing crazy.

Now you've been on a bike for 3 months, that an expert does not make!

Give it some time and you'll look back on this thread and ask yourself what you were thinking.


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

the good riders do make it look easy (fast and smooth). 
I agree that this trail does not look very steep or any more gnarly than what I can do, however the perspective may be distorted. 
From my own experience everything "new" seems way more steep, and technical initially. After sessioning the sections a couple times I'm more confident, looser and balanced.


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## Stalk (May 24, 2005)

To clarify about this trail, IT IS very steep and intimidating. Video doesn't do any justice. 
What makes it mellow compare to some insane gnar on the mountain, is that you can do pretty much all of it slow, picking the line but it all as long as you can keep the balance while scrubbing butt with rear tire


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

Lelandjt said:


> OP: Rent a DH bike next time you're there and you'll have a different perspective. Imagine attempting an expert ski run on cross country skis.


i rode it on gt force carbon expert, my bike which I just recently got

before that i was riding everything on giant revel 2

noticed the bikes with gigantic shocks at mammoth, does it make it much easier?


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## Lelandjt (Feb 22, 2008)

Yup. More travel, taller handlebar, slacker head angle, bigger tires. It's a whole different world.


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

Lelandjt said:


> Yup. More travel, taller handlebar, slacker head angle, bigger tires. It's a whole different world.


ok so here is the big question

in my area I have to ride at least 10 miles but up to 20 miles of mostly uphill to get to the good downhills

is there any true downhill bike like you mention that can still be peddled uphill? or is it just pure downhill like for lifts / mammoth?


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## skittles8810 (Aug 14, 2011)

awesome video.. wow i hve been riding for years but i am too chicken to attempt these type of rides.. i just went thru this trail the other day and it made me slow down alot.. if i would of had my helmet on i would of attempted to jump and go faster but i didnt have it on... and i would of face planted!


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## pancho4 (Jul 4, 2006)

jasonjm said:


> so I been mountain biking for 3 months now


Give it more time you will get there. You don't see golfers shoot under par after 3 months of playing.

It also helps to ride a dedicated downhill bike.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

honestly there are a few sections on that trail that are tough but overall the wood has lots of grip....I always open the day riding Kamikaze and then hitting Shock Treatment...Just gets you loose and warmed up...gets your arm and legs letting the bike move around.... The kid on the video is absolutely killing it...just slaying it....don't even think of it at that speed

that being said just roll everything and look ahead.....enter slow and barely touch back brakes...3 months and you are doing well:thumbsup:...trust the bike


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## ehigh (Apr 19, 2011)

I have to get up there soon, 
got some friends that I can crash with there

grueling 6 1/2 hours there though


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## Lelandjt (Feb 22, 2008)

jasonjm said:


> ok so here is the big question
> 
> in my area I have to ride at least 10 miles but up to 20 miles of mostly uphill to get to the good downhills
> 
> is there any true downhill bike like you mention that can still be peddled uphill? or is it just pure downhill like for lifts / mammoth?


The type of bike I'm talking about (8" travel, slack, 2.5"+ tires, tall gearing) is uncomfortable on extended flats and a real chore to pedal uphill. They're just made for riding lifts or truck shuttles. Here's mine:









This next bike is an example of a slight compromise. 1" less travel, slightly smaller tires, steeper geometry, wider range gearing, 6lbs lighter. It still has the capability to make trails like this manageable but not at full race speed. It also is comfortable and fun to pedal on normal trails.








The downsides: It's not quite as good as the full on DH bike for blitzing steep, gnarly trails. To get a bike this capable to a weight that doesn't hinder normal riding is EXPENSIVE. Those tires are still kind of heavy and draggy on long XC rides.

This bike gets the most use in my fleet though. Really fun to jump and descend but I can enjoy it anywhere.


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## Gemini2k05 (Apr 19, 2005)

What no one said here is that the trick to making those trails looks easy is to ride trails much harder than that. Shock treatment seems relatively easy riding steeper trails like this, this and this and ultra steep/rocky trails like this

Also despite what Mr. Ultra Gnar from the PNW says, shock treatment is not an easy trail. What people tend to forget is that in Socal/mammoth you have ~50% or less of the traction those east coasters and PNW people have.

Edit:

Also, I was up there with a group of 5 other guys 2 weekends ago. All but one of us I would call expert/Pro (can more or less clean every feature on every trail the first time down) but the one guy who wasn't did remark that there is a large jump in difficulty between the single and double blacks there. He said he could essentially clean all the single blacks no problem, but every double black had at least one or more features that gave him a lot of trouble or, he had to walk. I'm pretty sure that one steep rocky chute on shock treatment, and maybe those wooden rollers fell into that category. So, I guess my point is you're not alone.


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## Gemini2k05 (Apr 19, 2005)

arkon11 said:


> Yeah none of that looks particular difficult. You could probably do it without trouble on a 3-4" travel bike. It's really all about just keeping up enough speed and confidence to float over the obstacles.


Says the guy from Chicago, IL...


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

arkon11 said:


> Yeah none of that looks particular difficult. You could probably do it without trouble on a 3-4" travel bike. It's really all about just keeping up enough speed and confidence to float over the obstacles.


yeah you could do the trail on a 3 to 4 inch travel bike....heck you can ride a hardtail on any trail....but* I would like to see you come ride it without dabbing on a less then 5 inch bike*


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

Gemini2k05 said:


> Says the guy from Chicago, IL...


land of flatness and super tacky trails

fyi: these trails are very steep and no traction because it is very loose, dry conditions


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## carspidey (Aug 1, 2011)

i've only been riding a few weeks and this trail does not seem that bad but then again, i have noticed that trails on videos are not the same as in real life


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## NorKal (Jan 13, 2005)

jasonjm said:


> specifically at 45 seconds and 50 seconds, the 2 places where everyone walked.


I've ridden that trail and specifically at those spots they really aren't as bad as you might think. The key is momentum, staying off the brakes and letting the suspension do its thing. That being said, you've only been DH'ing for what three months? I probably wouldn't have tried those either being that new to riding. Give it some time, you're skills will improve and next summer when you come back to Mammoth try to ride some of the spots that you walked this year.


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## ehigh (Apr 19, 2011)

carspidey said:


> i've only been riding a few weeks and this trail does not seem that bad but then again, i have noticed that trails on videos are not the same as in real life


try getting a friend to film you riding and you'll see how much smaller things look. Have to remember that the video isn't in 3D



kdiff said:


> Brian's a really good rider and he rides that trail all the time. (I don't know him. Just exchanged a message or two on another forum.)
> 
> Great video but I prefer this one:


Well that just wrecked my idea of using a Ratatat song in a video.


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## Gemini2k05 (Apr 19, 2005)

SHIVER ME TIMBERS said:


> land of flatness and super tacky trails
> 
> fyi: these trails are very steep and no traction because it is very loose, dry conditions


Ha ha yep. That's why I left good ol' Illinois


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## COLIN M (Mar 26, 2009)

I agree with Norkal its not that hard of a trail just takes practice and you will get better. Brian the guy in the video lives and works on the Mtn. so he rides it all the time. He kills the trails up there because he rides it so much. I worry more about trails like GINGER in bootleg canyon now thats a hard to clean trail for me. I have had peeps tell me ITS EASY for them as they ride the GNAR GNAR like Face trail. With practice and lots of riding i might clean GINGER one day and so everyone has trails that give them a hard time just gotta ride to get better .


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

sorry to revive a dead thread, but was funny to come back to it. Went back to mammoth last week, and went to all the same spots I had no idea how anyone could possibly ride down, and I myself rode down them this time.

amazing what good gear, practice, and experience can do (and I am not very good, 15 months in now)

mammoth 2012 short - YouTube


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## Gemini2k05 (Apr 19, 2005)

Once you have those mastered, go ride the hardest trail on the mountain, Upper Velocity. They finally reopened it this year. If the trail wasn't hard enough, it's the most physically demanding trail to even get to! The mammoth trail map doesn't really even show the trail on there. If anyone feels up to it I'll be there the 13th through the 16th. I prefer not to ride it alone again. Couple of those chutes are...sketchy.

Upper Velocity

Weird, when I try to embed the video it keeps going to the wrong video. Just click the link.


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

er which mountain? never heard of it


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## SteezusChrist (Mar 1, 2012)

[QUOTE

amazing what good gear, practice, and experience can do (and I am not very good, 15 months in now)

[/QUOTE]

Good riding.
Big improvement.
Great job on hitting the intimidating looking root drop on Shock Treatment.


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

Gemini2k05 said:


> Once you have those mastered, go ride the hardest trail on the mountain, Upper Velocity. They finally reopened it this year. If the trail wasn't hard enough, it's the most physically demanding trail to even get to! The mammoth trail map doesn't really even show the trail on there. If anyone feels up to it I'll be there the 13th through the 16th. I prefer not to ride it alone again. Couple of those chutes are...sketchy.
> 
> Upper Velocity
> 
> Weird, when I try to embed the video it keeps going to the wrong video. Just click the link.


you know every time i went up in the gondola i Looked and looked for "upper velocity".

I just couldnt see it not saw anyone riding it, thought it just didnt exist, kinda like dc-10?

also could not find that


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## aedubber (Apr 17, 2011)

Gemini2k05 said:


> What no one said here is that the trick to making those trails looks easy is to ride trails much harder than that. Shock treatment seems relatively easy riding steeper trails like this, this and this and ultra steep/rocky trails like this
> 
> Also despite what Mr. Ultra Gnar from the PNW says, shock treatment is not an easy trail. What people tend to forget is that in Socal/mammoth you have ~50% or less of the traction those east coasters and PNW people have.
> 
> ...


Dayum man your nuts lol that last video HAS to be super steep cuz it looked crazy on the gopro and we all know how the camera flattens everything .. Sick secret trail tho:thumbsup:

Best thing for the OP to do i would say is , walk down what you have to , memorize it , hit it with speeds your comfy with but dont stop or ever go to slow ... Youll then start ripping right thru it  Dont worry , youll soon see the lines once you are comfy with it.


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## Trail_Blazer (May 30, 2012)

WOW, I'm very *underwhelmed*, we ride stuff like that and call it intermediate level in Texas.
You should see the hard stuff that we walk down.
Seriously the parks around the mountains in some states can be seriously terrifying, but the locals ride em cause they know the trails so well.


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## pwd81 (May 2, 2011)

schristie11 said:


> WOW, I'm very *underwhelmed*, we ride stuff like that and call it intermediate level in Texas.
> You should see the hard stuff that we walk down.
> Seriously the parks around the mountains in some states can be seriously terrifying, but the locals ride em cause they know the trails so well.


So which All-Mountain trails are you hitting up in San Antonio on your hard tail?


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## genemk (Sep 15, 2009)

Same way you ride this stuff, like a BOSS!

500px / Photo "In Deep, Whistler Mountain" by Conrad Petzsch-Kunze


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## Gemini2k05 (Apr 19, 2005)

schristie11 said:


> WOW, I'm very *underwhelmed*, we ride stuff like that and call it intermediate level in Texas.


L...O....L....



aedubber said:


> Dayum man your nuts lol that last video HAS to be super steep cuz it looked crazy on the gopro and we all know how the camera flattens everything .. Sick secret trail tho:thumbsup:


Here's some pics I've found of it. I'm gonna try to get some more still photos next weekend if I can get someone to hike over to it with me.

http://forums.mtbr.com/4927185-post50.html

The first picture is the last chute at 4:40 in the helmet cam I believe. Although allegedly it used to be gnarlier than it is now (the trail overall, not that section specifically).



jasonjm said:


> you know every time i went up in the gondola i Looked and looked for "upper velocity".
> 
> I just couldnt see it not saw anyone riding it, thought it just didnt exist, kinda like dc-10?
> 
> also could not find that


DC-10 doesn't really exist anymore. Most of the trail was cleared out when they were doing some improvements/construction for the ski season. The middle and bottom basically have to be completely redone/rerouted. They plan on doing it next season I believe.


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## Trail_Blazer (May 30, 2012)

Ok Ok, let me have some humble pie please.

I'm not saying its all easy as pie, but I am keeping in perspective what "hard" courses are like in comparison.

Not so much in San Antonio, but there are some gnarly trails around Texas and especially the rocky mountain states I have visited.


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## JefedelosJefes (Jun 30, 2004)

I'm surprised you picked out Shock Treatment as the difficult trail to ride. Chain smoke, Upper Velocity, DC-10, and the rock garden on Bullet are much more difficult that that trail in my opinion.

The difficulty with shock treatment is that the sections are steep with some sharp corners on top of the loose kitty litter. The wood crap they put in actually made it harder as you can't brake on it. As a beginner rider, it takes awhile to build up your confidence in this type of terrain, but once you get comfortable with the looseness, you'll find that just holding on and going straight you can roll down pretty much anything. What will really screw you, especially in Mammoth, is getting on your brakes (especially your front brake). That pretty much ends all control you have, so just come into sections with your speed under control, let go of your front brake and ride it out.

Just keep riding, you'll figure it out. The great thing about downhilling is there is always something harder than you've done before to challenge yourself.


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

I get down bullet OK now (it does have 2 hard sections though), and also down upper shock OK+ now.

upper velocity i could not find, but it looks really hard on videos

if chain smoke is the long ramp onto rocks that passes near entrance to twilight, that ends in jills jumps, then I fly down that.

if chain smoke is the one with the massive drop onto the wooden ramp (looks like about 12+ feet by the time you will hit the steep wooden ramp), then no I have not even considered doing it.

as a total beginner upper shock treatment was literally impossible. Narrow, loose sand (tons), sharp corners, roots, rocks....... I walked down the whole thing last year. I also couldn't understand how anyone could ride the big root / rock drop in it, or go down those 4 ladder bridges in a row.

the other harder trails in mammoth you mentioned I could at least ride sections as a beginner, and then walk the rest. Upper Shock treatment was just a complete walk as a beginner.


yeah I learned the brake thing pretty quick, in fact on all obstacles i try my best to use no brakes at all, roll the whole thing, but certainly no front brake at all.


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## StuLax18 (Sep 27, 2011)

schristie11 said:


> WOW, I'm very *underwhelmed*, we ride stuff like that and call it intermediate level in Texas.
> You should see the hard stuff that we walk down.
> Seriously the parks around the mountains in some states can be seriously terrifying, but the locals ride em cause they know the trails so well.


Ummmm, I've seen stuff way easier referred to as double black diamond. I'd love to know where you ride in TX. You sound like those El Paso folk though.


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## DHgnaR (Feb 20, 2008)

JefedelosJefes said:


> I'm surprised you picked out Shock Treatment as the difficult trail to ride. Chain smoke, Upper Velocity, DC-10, and the rock garden on Bullet are much more difficult that that trail in my opinion.


Chain Smoke and DC-10 are closed still. Is upper Velocity only accessible via that bench cut flat trail at the end of Skid Marks? I wanted to check it out but pushing/pedaling that trail looks beyond no-fun.


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## Trail_Blazer (May 30, 2012)

schristie11 said:


> Ok Ok, let me have some humble pie please.
> 
> I'm not saying its all easy as pie, but I am keeping in perspective what "hard" courses are like in comparison.
> 
> Not so much in San Antonio, but there are some gnarly trails around Texas and especially the rocky mountain states I have visited.


since many people have not read my follow up reply here it is again.



StuLax18 said:


> Ummmm, I've seen stuff way easier referred to as double black diamond. I'd love to know where you ride in TX. You sound like those El Paso folk though.


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## StuLax18 (Sep 27, 2011)

Yes I saw your reply, so where do you ride in TX that is like that?


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## Trail_Blazer (May 30, 2012)

StuLax18 said:


> Yes I saw your reply, so where do you ride in TX that is like that?


I won't get into a debate about it, it's fruitless.
if you can't accept my retraction-apology then it's your problem, not mine.


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## 11053 (Sep 19, 2009)

DHgnaR said:


> Chain Smoke and DC-10 are closed still. Is upper Velocity only accessible via that bench cut flat trail at the end of Skid Marks? I wanted to check it out but pushing/pedaling that trail looks beyond no-fun.


What you describe is the best way to access it, however if you just follow that trail you can miss the start.
You can start high up on Facelift Express-leave the trail and access the road where the trail enters the valley-you go right over it in the gondola.
Or, you can continue on the trail and start lower on the rocky ridge below Facelift.


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## Gemini2k05 (Apr 19, 2005)

DHgnaR said:


> Is upper Velocity only accessible via that bench cut flat trail at the end of Skid Marks? I wanted to check it out but pushing/pedaling that trail looks beyond no-fun.


Yes you have to traverse that flat-ish loose section (which is nearly impossible in some parts to pedal because its so loose). Then you have to hike up to the top of the Face lift on that steep fireroad. Then a few more feet above that. If you look from the gondola, at the rock face behind the top of the face lift, there's this little wood fence right at the edge of the cliff. That is the beginning of UV.


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## Ithnu (Feb 16, 2007)

Largextracheese said:


> Hard to say. That trail looks pretty mellow compared to most of the "tough" trails we ride in the PNW.


An old quote I know but being able to ride steep stuff also depends on traction. CA looks like loose dirt everywhere. Here in CO it can vary a lot depending on north/south facing, trees, recent rain, etc. I rode down a trial at Vail that I thought was relatively steep nothing to get nervous about. Then I rode it when it hadn't rained in over a week. It felt completely different, like I was riding slicks it was so loose. Scared me a bit.

So the steep-to-difficult scale is affected by dirt traction too. Although that trail didn't look too bad, short rocky sections that need more speed. Looks fun.


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

incidentally, i saw a lot of good riders the 4 days i was at mammoth but only 2 "great" riders

one was wearing a bright orange head to toe outfit, riding everything at mach 1 and jumping huge

the other was a kid who just rode straight down the mountain past skidmarks without touching brakes. jumping rocks, ledges, etc etc. no idea how he did it or found any grip. as in route below.


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## Gemini2k05 (Apr 19, 2005)

jasonjm said:


> incidentally, i saw a lot of good riders the 4 days i was at mammoth but only 2 "great" riders


That's usually about right. I only see 1-2 people a weekend who can ride/huck everything big.


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## kazlx (Jun 13, 2005)

The trail that passes the entrance to Twilight is Lower Velocity. The rock drop to ladder you can see from the gondola is Techno Rock. The only other all wood ladder drop is on Flow.

The more you ride the better you get...well for most people anyway. I have ridden with guys that never seem to get any faster because they don't push themselves. I hit stuff now I never thought I would ride when I started 5ish years ago.


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

kazlx said:


> The trail that passes the entrance to Twilight is Lower Velocity. The rock drop to ladder you can see from the gondola is Techno Rock. The only other all wood ladder drop is on Flow.
> 
> The more you ride the better you get...well for most people anyway. I have ridden with guys that never seem to get any faster because they don't push themselves. I hit stuff now I never thought I would ride when I started 5ish years ago.


the drop on flow i actually managed

but the drop on techno rock is bigger, and also it has rocks you gotta roll down before the drop (unlike flow).

took one look and decided no thanks.


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## 11053 (Sep 19, 2009)

Flow Drop is technically easy/simple. It can be intimidating as a first "big" drop though.
Lots of room to set up after you come out of the rocks and before you reach the drop.
Flow Drop can feel bigger than it looks because you can launch it and end up a long way down the landing.
The Techno Rock drop really isn't much bigger than Flow(from where your wheels leave the rock if you roll it to when you hit the ramp), but you are committed to the drop long before the edge.
The Techno Drop looks bigger than it feels to me.If you are looking at the whole rock face above the ramp, then the drop looks big, but you don't have to leave the rock till about halfway down
You are committed once you start the roll in several feet above the drop. Where you need to leave the rock can be speed dependent. The actual distance from the slightly upturned rock lip(lowest point you can ride to) to the ramp isn't very high, but the ramp looks like it's a ways out there because the transition doesn't start right below the drop like it does on Flow.
A good speed for the Flow Drop is also a good speed for the wood Techno Drop if you are just rolling in.


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

yeah i was still pretty nervous doing the drop on flow. The drops I get to practice on locally are all drops onto FLAT ground, which is different, really gotta whip the bike forward so you don't endo over the bars on landing.

these drops at mammoth are all angled landings, which creates way less impact on landing, but I still not sure if i just ride off them, and let nose drop, or do I have to flick bike forward, and if so how much.

one of my favorite jumps is off that wooden ramp over log before flow, 1m56 in my video.


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## bloodninja (Jul 11, 2012)

jasonjm said:


> so I been mountain biking for 3 months now, quick learner.
> 
> I just spent weekend at mammoth.
> 
> ...


Sick brag bro! :thumbsup:

Seriously though, you can't expect to ride like him after 3 months. I'd say it takes at least 4-5, so give it a few more months.


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

Lol

biking is one of those sports where anyone can claim they are anything they can imagine, but the final judge is the mountain, and if you pretending, you are going to get a serious ass whooping 

Btw this thread is a year after my first post, and I went back to mammoth much more humble this time, even though I can myself now ride the parts I thought impossible


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## bloodninja (Jul 11, 2012)

jasonjm said:


> Lol
> 
> biking is one of those sports where anyone can claim they are anything they can imagine, but the final judge is the mountain, and if you pretending, you are going to get a serious ass whooping
> 
> Btw this thread is a year after my first post, and I went back to mammoth much more humble this time, even though I can myself now ride the parts I thought impossible


That's awesome!


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## StuLax18 (Sep 27, 2011)

schristie11 said:


> I won't get into a debate about it, it's fruitless.
> if you can't accept my retraction-apology then it's your problem, not mine.


I'm always looking for new DH to ride in TX. Guess it is not meant to be.


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## StuLax18 (Sep 27, 2011)

jasonjm said:


> *yeah i was still pretty nervous doing the drop on flow. The drops I get to practice on locally are all drops onto FLAT ground, which is different, really gotta whip the bike forward so you don't endo over the bars on landin*g.
> 
> these drops at mammoth are all angled landings, which creates way less impact on landing, but I still not sure if i just ride off them, and let nose drop, or do I have to flick bike forward, and if so how much.
> 
> one of my favorite jumps is off that wooden ramp over log before flow, 1m56 in my video.


I know that feel, bro.


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## lunna (Mar 12, 2008)

If Only Every Mountain Biking Video Was Shot Like This - Afrojacks.flv - YouTube


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

just keep on rolling...big hole that would send you over the bars on third ramp so you couldn't straitline between 3 and 4

VIDEO0017 - YouTube


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## jasonjm (May 4, 2011)

lunna said:


> If Only Every Mountain Biking Video Was Shot Like This - Afrojacks.flv - YouTube


I really like 2.01 to 2.04

never seen that before


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