Finally did some of the DH trails at Moose Mountain today. In case anyone's interested .. here's my trail report on the three runs I did (only had half a day to play).
Race of Spades - a nice long ride although one long uphill hike-a-bike section. If you're pushing a DH bike be ready to suck some wind. Structures are all of a "death is a plausible outcome" nature, however they are all bypassable. Trees are very narrow in and elbows and handlebars will likely bang into a few at speed. Great little trail, can't wait to do it again. Full body armor may not really be required depending on your skill level. The trail ends in Tom Snow which takes you back to the Station Flats parking lot and this is a typical XC/day hiking kind of trail. I did have a pretty epic wipeout right on Tom Snow, picked a bad line, flipped over the handlebars. Were I not wearing the armor I'd have hurt myself up pretty bad as I landed on a few rocks. But otherwise you shouldn't need the full body armor.
Tdub - a correctified name with homage to the original name, "T.W." for "That Whore." I was a little shocked at the name itself, and yeah, once you're on it, it's clear why it got that name. What a nasty trail. If you like the feeling of panic attacks and abject terror, this might be your trail. This would be a double-black, easily, at places like Whistler. I had no business being on this trail, and have no intentions to return anytime soon. I ended up walking quite a bit of it. It is unbelievably steep and loose and rocky in sections. In the middle it splits, if you go right you end up riding the ravine and I'm told it's all structures, not sure if bypassable or not, and rocks, lots and lots of rocks. If you stay left, it is a nice technical single track but still many drops and bumps. Rode by a 220lb black bear at the bottom of the trail. He was standing on his hind legs with one paw on a tree and watched me ride over the wooden table top (my one structure of the day, heh). He looked very casual in a "hey, how you doing" kind of way. Wish I could have snapped a picture of it because it was such a classic pose, but I didn't, BECAUSE THERE WAS A @#$()*!!!! BEAR 10 FEET AWAY FROM US!
Brakeless - a beauty of a singletrack that is over all too soon. Easily doable on a XC bike. At the bottom you have to pedal back to the parking lot along the highway. If I thought downhill biking could cause terror, it has nothing on highway riding. Road bikers are the real insane ones. Mountain biking - yeah, it can be scary but it's you, and your skill level, and the mountain. And the mountain doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is. On the other hand, every time someone passes, road bikers put an enormous amount of faith in complete strangers, those who would not even feel a thing as they drove over top of you, and are probably fiddling with an iPod, or makeup, or texting someone, or shouting at their kids or who knows. Yeah .. think I'll stick to mountain biking.
Had a pretty good revelation though. I do both XC and DH riding, it occurs to me that although you wouldn't think it, since it's downhill and usually you're using gravity to assist you, DH is easily way harder than XC. There were times I was so exhausted I had to get off the bike and sit at the side of the trail and wait to catch my breath. XC is all about the endorphins, DH is all about the adrenaline. Both are hugely rewarding IMO, as long as you don't get delusions of grandeur and stay within your skill level anyhow.
