While some riders (especially beginners who haven't ridden much outside of manicured bike park trails) may think that Upper Shangri-La is challenging, in the grand scheme of things, Upper Shangri-La is an incredible beginner trail, offering beautifully maintained benchcut singletrack flowing through a towering pine forest. The upper reaches of this trail also provide some of the best views in the bike park, where it crosses the ski runs. You'll enjoy gorgeous vistas looking straight north toward Engineer Mountain and Grayrock Peak that you can't get on the front side of the mountain.

Perhaps one thing that catches riders unawares is that there are several pedally climbs on Upper Shangri-La. While none of these are long or tough, it's better to not think of this as a true downhill trail but rather an all-mountain trail that you happened to get a shuttle bump to the top of, thanks to the lift.

Granted, there are a few blind corners, blind rocks, and one fairly steep section on Upper Shangri-La that can catch beginners unawares. But if you can weather these sections, you'll get to enjoy a spectacular, meandering mountain bike trail.

Lower Shangri-La is dramatically easier than what came before it. Gone are the climbs, narrow track, and blind features, and in its place is a beautifully-built beginner flow trail. The corners are wide and sweeping, the trail is smooth, and there's much less traffic on this trail. However, it is possible to get some speed going on a few sections of this trail, as the lower slopes of the mountain are a bit steeper. But with wide-open sight lines, the speed is easy to handle, making Lower Shangri-La perfect for beginner riders.

In fact, for a true beginner day out on the mountain, you could choose to ride up the Twilight Chairlift with your bike and simply rip laps on Lower Shangri-La. While Twilight is much slower than the main high-speed quad (aka Purgatory Village Express), that is an option you can definitely explore.