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Animal Crackers

Aspen

A ripping black diamond trail harkening back to the old days of DH riding.

Mountain Biking Severe

Distance
2 km
Ascent
0 m
Descent
351 m
Duration
0-1 hrs
Low Point
3 km
High Point
3.4 km
Gradient
11˚
Animal Crackers Map

With the recent proliferation of machine-built flow trails, its rare to find an old school DH line that offers fast fall line sections, drops, rock gardens, sketchy off camber roots, and all the death-defying gnar that used to characterize downhill riding in the 90s and early 2000s. Animal Crackers is a rare gem of a tech line that offers a wide variety of challenging chunder from top to bottom.

Description

The most visually-stunning portions of Animal Crackers run straight down the open ski runs, with stunning views of the valley below. But keep your eye on the trail! These sections offer high speed ripping down exposed bedrock, gnarly rock gardens, sender jumps, drops, and some exposed sections of trail. With some practice, you’ll find yourself flying down the steep fall line singletrack, thanks to the long sight lines allowing you to plan your moves far in advance. Ripping along the exposed bedrock is an absolutely flow-inducing experience, with a ride quality that’s not often found in Colorado.

Lower down in the trees, the gnar ratchets up even higher with steep fall line rock gardens, tight hairpin turns, and off camber root webs that are ultra-slick when wet. Multiple lines open up through the root webs, but remember to stay high whenever possible.

Toward the bottom, keep an eye out for the optional road gap—a must if you’re racing this trail and are trying to speed through as quick as possible, but a challenging feature for most riders!

Difficulty

Severe

Widely variable, narrow trail tread with steeper grades and unavoidable obstacles of 15in/38cm tall or less. Obstacles may include unavoidable bridges 24in/61cm wide or less, large rocks, gravel, difficult root sections, and more. Ideal for advanced-level riders.

High Exposure

3 out of 4

Some trail sections have exposed ledges or steep ascents/descents where falling could cause serious injury.

Remoteness

1 out of 4

Close to help in case of emergency.

Best time to visit

between June and September

Features

  • Technical
  • Picturesque
  • Shuttle-run
  • Singletrack
  • Drops
  • Jumps
  • Roots
  • Gap Jumps
  • Rock Slabs
  • Rock Gardens

Similar routes nearby

Guidebooks in this area