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Big Mamba -> Hank's Hideaway -> Son of Simba

Mountain Biking Trail

Moderate
4.81 mi
322 ft
A flowy intermediate line all the way down the mountain.

Big Mamba leads naturally into Hank's Hideaway and Son of Simba but technically, Big Mamba is the only directional downhill trail. While Hank's and Son of Simba both ride great downhill, they're technically open to two-way traffic.

Vail characterizes Big Mamba as "an exhilarating combination of flowing rollers and smooth switchbacks that will take you across open meadows, into dense pine forests, and through sunny aspen groves," and while early intermediate riders may find it entertaining, upper intermediate and advanced riders will realize that this trail is overly flat for what the flow that it tries to achieve. There isn't enough gradient to keep and maintain speed to fully hit the jumps and rail the berms as they're built.

In addition, since this trail is so visible and easily-accessible, it often gets blown out due to significant traffic. But if you're a beginner rider looking for your first experience on a flow trail, Big Mamba could be just the ticket!

Hank's Hideaway winds through some beautiful aspen groves that are drop-dead-gorgeous in the fall. Bring your camera!

Son of Simba feels like a natural intermediate extension of Hank's but if you decide that you want to up the technical difficulty, at the junction, opt for the black diamond portion of Hank's.

Sources: Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes

Route and Elevation

Segments

NameDistanceElev. Diff.Avg. Grade
Hank Mamba4.26 mi-1,864 ft-8.3%
Big Mamba Downhill2.77 mi-1,165 ft-7.7%
2017 Big Mamba (Excluding Lower Big Mamba)2.23 mi-876 ft-7.4%
Big Mamba 2nd Section0.68 mi-259 ft-7.2%
Open Air0.40 mi-157 ft-7.4%
Last Chance0.68 mi-236 ft-6.1%
Vail Outlier Final Descent2.99 mi-1,289 ft-8.1%
Mamba and Hanks3.46 mi-1,447 ft-7.9%
Lower Big Mamba0.49 mi-240 ft-9.1%
GoPro Descent 20231.71 mi-810 ft-8.9%
teva '12 downhill1.72 mi-722 ft-7.9%
Hank's Redux Hideaway1.29 mi-564 ft-8.3%
Hank's Hideaway1.45 mi-591 ft-7.7%
Hank's Hideaway - Full1.92 mi-679 ft-6.5%
Son of Simba (No Switchbacks)0.40 mi-72 ft-3.2%
Son of Simba0.58 mi-190 ft-5.7%