Description

If there's one trail that epitomizes classic North Shore mountain biking, it is Ladies Only.

Built by the venerable "Digger," the upper section was first completed in 1992 and the lower section in 1995.

Over the years, the entire trail required a rebuild, and modern trail maintenance and trail building is still ongoing to keep Ladies Only one of the best mountain bike trails in the world. The tale of this trail is a tale of the two sections.

Upper Ladies is a challenging yet generally achievable trail, while Lower Ladies is quite possibly one of the most difficult mountain bike trails on the North Shore and, by extension, the planet. Upper Ladies is now generally considered to be the heart of this classic line, and Digger's work on this trail has, in many ways, defined North Shore mountain biking.

This trail was home to the first wooden roller coaster feature and wooden teeter-totter built for mountain bikes.

Even today, the teeter-totter remains, and you'll enjoy some fantastic wooden roller coasters! However, the coasters have been rebuilt in recent years to be bigger and better than ever. A modern-day ride on Ladies Only will reveal that the trail is veritably filled with tons of roots, steep drops, steep chutes, and an endless array of manmade wooden features.

Above and beyond the aforementioned roller coasters and teeter-totter you'll find plenty of wooden rollers, skinnies, and drops.

Some of the rollers lead straight into skinnies of varying sizes and difficulties.

On your first ride down Ladies Only, you'll be amazed by the sheer variety and density of trail stunts! One mandatory sniper drop between a couple of tight trees and over a root is quite techy, but Upper Ladies is, overall, quite achievable for a North Shore double black.

Some of the alternate B lines help it still feel manageable, while the A lines still bring the heat.

Make no mistake: Ladies Only Exit and Lower Ladies Only are dramatically more difficult than Upper Ladies, to the point that only a few local mountain bikers ride these lower trail segments very often.

They're that terrifying.

Instead, for a slightly more reasonable route down this challenging mountainside, many riders choose to finish on Big Stupid instead. The marquee feature on Big Stupid is a massive rock face with multiple line options rolling down it, one of which is known as "Big Stupid." However, this trail is far from being the most difficult black diamond on Mount Fromme.

All of the jumps and technical sections feature ride-around options, and even the marquee rock slab features much easier lines down and around it.

After the technical challenge of Upper Ladies Only, this could be a nice relief. Follow the Baden Powell Trail to return to the trailhead for a mellow finish. Sources: [Digger: North Shore History X - Part I](https://nsmb.com/articles/4926-digger-north-shore-history-x-part-i/) [Digger: North Shore History X - Part II](https://nsmb.com/articles/4928-digger-north-shore-history-x-part-ii/) [IMBikeMag.com](https://www.imbikemag.com/mountain-bike-news/2021/09/the-history-of-vancouvers-north-shore/) [NSMBA.ca](https://nsmba.ca/history/) [NSMBA.ca](https://nsmba.ca/rolling-on-ladies-only/) [OutdoorProject.com](https://www.outdoorproject.com/canada/british-columbia/mount-fromme-trails-ladies-only-lower-ladies)