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Joker Lips

Big Sky

A steep flow line with a few optional big hits.

Mountain Biking Difficult

Distance
2.3 km
Ascent
0 m
Descent
347 m
Duration
0-1 hrs
Low Point
2.3 km
High Point
2.6 km
Gradient
10˚
Joker Lips Map

Joker Lips serves as the advanced-level flow line at Big Sky Resort. It's an interesting rendition of a flow trail in a style that won't find at most other resorts.

Description

Joker Lips is essentially a steeply-routed pack of back-to-back berms all the way down the mountain, with an odd jump or two thrown in here or there. Where other resorts might build a massive jump line with huge tabletops for their black diamond flow trail, Big Sky built Joker Lips on a steep grade with plenty of fallaway bermed turns and steep, fast lines. While this is one of the newest trails at the resort, it feels like an old school design coupled with modern trail building. Most modern trail builders have moved away from grades this steep, as they eventually prove to be unsustainable, especially with the amount of traffic that bike park trails receive.

While there aren't nearly as many jumps on Joker Lips as you might expect, there are a few big features, including a road gap that feels quite out of place compared to the rest of the trail. It's relatively short for a road gap, though, and you can easily bypass around this one big drop and enjoy the rest of Joker Lips just fine.

All of these interesting features combine to make Joker Lips a unique flow trail that you won't encounter at most other resorts and a favorite of local Big Sky mountain bikers.

Difficulty

Difficult

Mostly stable trail tread with some variability featuring larger and more unavoidable obstacles that may include, but not be limited to: bigger stones, roots, steps, and narrow curves. Compared to lower intermediate, technical difficulty is more advanced and grades of slopes are steeper. Ideal for upper intermediate 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 October

Features

  • Flow
  • Singletrack
  • In the forest
  • Drops
  • Jumps
  • Tabletops
  • Wooden Feature

Similar routes nearby

Guidebooks in this area