Tom's been holding out on us. I say we ban him! 
On to the action:
On the way up....
Rider Rider about to flow East Forest cork screw feature
First run I had down was Milky Way -> High Speed Dirt -> Jam Rock -> Mosquito Coast -> Helter / Skelter. Wow, what a ride! I think this is my favorite ride on the mountain because it has so much variety, steeps, drops, jumps, roots, step-ups, steep switchbacks, forests in the trees, fast DH, rocky ledges and bridges, did I say it has a little of everything?
Came down Milky Way and through the roots and doubles, dropped the steep ledge step down in the forest which sends you into a right hand berm out into the open ski area winding left back into the forest for some more doubles and drops you into a 30 yard DH fall–line open area with 3 major lines to take down.
The line I normally take is on the right which heads down the fall line (fairly steep with rock armor underneath dirt to avoid erosion) and turns left across the steeper other major lines. Well the Thursday before I rode this trail I was eyeing these other two lines down the falls. The first line is straight ahead down a rocky traverse which is steeper and more sketch than the farthest right hand line, steep. The Middle Line looked to be the most sketch and most difficult which is of course the one I wanted to ride. I passed on Thursday, reminding myself I will lose much of my self respect if I don’t head back before Keystone closes on Sept 1st and conquer that Middle Line.
So, here it is Monday Sept 1st, as I roll up to the rocky fall. I got off my bike and eyed the Middle Line. This particular line drops you down some steep rocks with ENDO written all over it (how much endo potential I really didn’t know since I’ve never witnessed anyone take this line) and then down into some dirt, down a portion of the trail at which point you have to huck a 6 foot drop to complete the line; if you don’t get your wheel up before the ledge you are definitely going over and fall 8 feet to the ground below and maybe farther if you don’t stop on the flat ledge below (the place where the right line crosses the other two). As I said, I’ve never witnessed anybody take this line and true to that statement there were no tire tracks in the dirt heading to that Middle Line. I was kind of waiting for some riders to come by and stop so (1) I could have some witnesses and (2) If something went wrong they’d be able to get help. Well 3 riders came by and blazed on past down the most traversed right line. I just didn’t have the heart to yell out for them to stop and monitor me if something went wrong so I decided I’m on my own.
I
I said my prayer, placed my feet on my flats, checked my proprioception, (.02 cent word meaning body language awareness) and dropped in. Well, the description takes a lot longer than the actual ride which is over in a matter of seconds. The first few rocks were fine leading into the real Endo portion which kicks the tire back into your butt, where for a moment the only thing touching the ground is your front tire, best not to get stuck here. The rear tire jumping up into my behind I had to keep way behind the seat to settle the rear down as I came in fast to the huck. Got to hit the brakes here a bit, slow things down, and get the front up, which I did with perfection and much trepidation, and huck down, make the left turn on the flat and with a hearty YEA! I manage to tackle and conquer a new line at Keystone. I did this same line 2 more times after to prove to myself it wasn’t a fluke. I also did the first line straight ahead which is a steep line down rocks with no hucks, very fun too. My self-respect intact and quite pleased with myself I continue on.
Things continued down the trail to Jam Rock with some nice kickers in the forest and a few drops to the side of Jam Rock. Prior to entering the wood feature on Jam Rock it is best to shift down into a low gear because the technical up onto the wood feature is hard to manage if you have to mash the gears. Up the wood feature, front brake down and into the steep rocky lines.
There are multiple lines to be found on the Rock all of which drop down into the pointy rock launch to transition into a fast left hand berm, throuch rocks and roots, down to a double onto Mosquito Coast. I hit the pointy rock launch fast, and landed past the bridge into the transition, which is a super smooth landing, down the left hand berm, stopped to knuckle bump a dude watching and continued to send down Mosquito Coast.
Point Rock Launch to left hand berm at bottom
Mosquito Coast is a fun and fast flowy trail with drops and jumps. This leads you into Helter / Skelter, with its first step up jump, and then down into a steep left switchback. This switchback is an armored switch that the trail care crew at Keystone obviously put a lot of time into, they did a real good job all the way down.
I really like this section of the trail because of its winding steep nature through the forest. This leads you into an open section that drops you into a rock roll off a 3 foot drop in the trees into some doubles and a ledge launch to the open. Wow, what a ride. There is a large wall ride at Skelter’s exit before a bridge that I like to climb. I don’t think it’s meant to be a wall ride but it’s a good 25 feet high; it’s a man made cement retaining wall with undulations and bumps that is easy to climb and fun to descend. Cool.
The next lift up I then managed to flow down Cowboy Up with its drops and roots and rock gardens. This is a fast winding trail that was my first trail at Keystone 4 years ago. This leads to Motorhead with its table-tops and fast forestry DH which then descends into Paid in Full with its Drop Zone.
The Drop Zone has multiple drops and one heinous rock garden leading to a small ladder drop called VooDoo. I’ve never managed to clean VooDoo because you’ve got to have a lot of speed through the garden and not care too much about your stanchions. The Drop Zone consists of Piranha, a 5 foot or more drop, Barracuda, a 7 foot or more drop, the aforementioned VooDoo with a 3 foot drop, there’s another 6 foot or more drop to a wood transition, and Witch Doctor a 6 foot or more drop from a steep winding bridge to a natural steep transition with a giant G-out. The 14 foot or more drop, Jaws, has been dismantled for the season, not sure why.
Jaws:
I can't figure out how to embed the video of me hitting Jaws from two years ago, so if you're interested in seeing the video click the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abNw5nZ0_LU
Paranoid:
A
A bit nosey on Paranoid last year:
VooDoo:
I’ve managed to ride every single drop since I’ve been coming to Keystone, with the exception of Witch Doctor. Not sure why I’ve managed to bypass the Witch, I just have. So this time I wanted to ride Witch Doctor. I checked out the steep, winding ladder into the drop, and decided it’s all front brake prior to the drop. If you aren’t heavy on the front, you’ll slide off the bride very quickly. So with my technique in mind, I dropped in, rode the bridge, butt way behind my seat, came up to the drop and launched myself into the left berm with a G-out. Wow! How did I miss this one?? This is by far my favorite drop in the Drop Zone, maybe all of Keystone. I love the steep winding ladder set-up into the launch which you can extend far beyond the 6 foot minimum due to the steep transition. Lots of fun.
Witch Doctor:
Yippee!
To Be Continued.....
“…an economy where clients are cutting back and they're sleeping with their wives again. THEIR WIVES!!!” - Eugene “Gemini” Spellman