Baden Powell (Fromme Section)

This trail is more of a connector not to be ridden in its entirety west to east (□ quite difficult) or east to west (◇ impossible climb with many hike-a-bike sections). I would break up the BP trail into 5 sections as follows from West to East (Fromme Parking Lot):

Section 1 - ◇ Executioner BP Exit to □ Skid Road Ascent. It will be an 80m elevation change for about 900m. If exiting from ◇ Executioner BP Exit it will be a □ blue climb eastward or it will be □ blue downhill westward if you are climbing from □ Skid Road Ascent to reach the top of □ Dreamweaver. This section of Baden-Powell can be ridden both directions without issues.

Section 2 - □ Skid Road Ascent to ◇ Grannies / ◇ Lower Oilcan. It will be 50m elevation change for about 400m. If riding from top of □ Skid Road Ascent eastward to bottom of ◇ Grannies / ◇ Lower Oilcan it will be a □ blue downhill or a ◇ black climb westward with some hike-a-bike section.

Section 3 - ◇ Grannies / ◇ Lower Oilcan to ◇ Expresso. The first 150m of this 400m section to the bottom of ◇ Upper Cripper is a ◇ black rated steep techical trail with slabs, roots, and rock gardens for a 20m descent eastward or likely a ◇◇ double black climb westward (hike-a-bike) unless you're a professional bike trials competitor. The rest of the trail between ◇ Upper Cripper to ◇ Expresso is a □ blue rated XC traverse with only a 10m elevation change.

Section 4 - ◇ Expresso to ◇ Big Stupid. This 700m section is a □ blue XC trail with only 10m elevation change and can be easily ridden both directions with some walk-a-bike sections if you're not a great climber.

Section 5 - ◇ Big Stupid to Mountain Highway (Fromme Parking Lot). This part of Baden-Powell is only rideable eastward and impossible to climb westward. The 1.2km section with close to 100m elevation change is a very challenging ◇ black rated trail with steep descents, tight switchbacks over rock gardens. It begins from ◇ Big Stupid with a punchy ◇ black rated climb which is difficult to clean then you have a □ blue ride around option or continue to climb to a ◇◇ black feature (I call.it "Gates of Hell" where you ride up over a rock garden into a narrow gap between 2 tress then roll down into multiple large step-downs before rolling into a slick and narrow woodwork with an exposed cliff on the right hand side. Once you navigate more □ blue XC section you will reach "Stairs of Despair" which is a steep rockgarden with a series of tight turns and gnarly stepdowns. After more □ blue XC section the final descent into Mountain Highway is a 200m long rock garden with tight turns at off camber angles that will require commitment to ride in one shot as it will be difficult to stop due to how slippery and narrow it is.

If you end up om Baden-Powell and wanting to head back to the Fromme Parking Lot it would be easier to go down □ Lower Expresso and □ Pennzoil or □ Dempsey then ride down Braemar Road and up Mountain Highway. If you want to head west to ride more trails or climb back up through the "No Quarters" trail system then take St. Mary's and Skid Road Ascent instead.

Most riders will have to walk a few sections going up from either direction. Likewise, the down is Black going East to West from Ladies Only and many will prefer to walk sections. However it remains the best way to get to the Mtn Highway parking lot from Expresso

Don't let the previous comments impact your decision to ride. As an outsider, from Calgary, riding many of these trails blind and mostly at night due to work commitments, this is a pretty good multi-directional trail with some good challenging technical areas that will requires some good lung strength, skills, willpower and determination to ride both ways. If you don't have the skills to ride it up or down, it's ok to walk an area for your safety.

I could only imagine what this trail looked like 2+ years ago, but hats off to making it the trail that I rode Feb 2 2024 at 6pm.
Be sure to give back to the local trail association so they can make the efforts to keep us chasing our joy and happiness.