After climbing Pet-e-Kes and Tabeguache to reach Lunch Line, the ridgetop traverse serves up technical climbing and stunning views the entire way! The section of trail past Free Lunch to the top of the Eagle’s Wing descent is no exception, with narrow bench cut singletrack and gorgeous views of Colorado National Monument, the Ribbon, and more.

Once it’s time to descend, the trail gets burly real quick, dropping over ledges and boulders along an airy, exposed ridgeline. After twisting down the ridge for a few minutes, you’ll soon reach the crux move of the entire trail: a series of boulders, slabs, and switchbacks on an exposed knife-edge ridge with formidable fall danger! Despite the intimidating nature of this ridge, there’s a rollable line through all of the chunk… and there are a few big senders for the more aggressive riders.

After safely negotiating the knife-edge ridge, the trail turns away from the rim, and the exposure diminishes substantially. However, the trail gets—if anything—more technical, with several awkward notches that threaten to tear off your derailleur, plenty of ledge drop options, and chunder for days.

About halfway down the mountain, you have an option: either continue riding Eagle Tail all the way down or, if you so desire, you could also cut across on High Noon and Tabeguache and descend the perennial crowd-pleaser: Holy Cross. The choice is yours!