There's a saying that the best skiers all come from back East, where the treacherous snow conditions of resorts like Sugarbush, Killington and Mad River Glen teach fundamentals like how to hold an edge with a wicked learning curve and dire consequences for lazy technique. The same could be said for mountain biking. The reason is that eastern trails are among the most technically demanding on the planet, and those who've mastered the terrain are, like their glisse counterparts, among the most technically proficient riders on any terrain. While Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, is further north than what is considered East Coast by most Americans, the trails that dot the Canadian ski resort and surrounding terrain share many characteristics with their more southerly kin.

Westerners like myself tend to deride eastern"mountains" as we look with pride on our steep, tall and rugged Rocky Mountain and Sierra Nevada ranges, but the Appalachians, for all their tame appearance from an airplane, are old and steeped in the wicked treachery of rain, roots, and slanted glacier-scoured slabs of Canadian Shield granite; the oldest exposed rock in the world at more than three billion years old. The trails at Mont Sainte-Anne throw lots of tricks at riders. Exposed tree roots slick with rain threaten to throw a front wheel sideways. Rocks hide under screens of fallen leaves from the surrounding forest, which at these lower elevations are typically deciduous. Short dropoffs loom quickly after sharp turns, requiring good control and strong brakes. These mountains know how to fight dirty.

Mont Sainte-Anne isn't like most mountain bike destinations. Moab, Utah, for example, is a natural trail wonder that has existed for thousands of years, waiting to be discovered and developed as mountain bike terrain. But Mont Sainte-Anne is a ski resort  a purposefully built playground with managed trails for winter and summer users alike. Gondola lift service in the summer brings riders to the true summit of the mountain, where mountain bikers access an extensive 200-kilometer network of trails that lead far off into the hills behind the resort. A trio of great descents on the front side test a rider's skill and nerve with short steep drops, massive mud bogs that threaten to swallow a wheel, and twisty roller-coaster singletrack that wend through a playground of natural berms and jumps.

Purists will scoff at the notion of lift-served terrain. While it's entirely possible to ride the resort without ever setting foot on a lift (it'll still cost you $5 Canadian), I grew to enjoy the prospect of a no-pain elevation gain of 2,050 vertical feet. Far from being just a series of downhill bombing runs, the riding at Mont Sainte-Anne is plenty challenging for even the fittest of riders. For the most part, the trails don't lead straight down the hill like their ski-run counterparts. Neither are the trails merely converted catwalk access runs used to service the resort in winter.

Instead the offerings are true singletrack and double-track routes that wind all around the mountain. There are grinding climbs in power-sapping muck, short steep rises you stand and power up, and technical climbs that require you to negotiate rocky slabs, hop up "steps" of rocks and roots, and hold your balance on slippery, angled terrain. The forest that covers the resort and surrounding hills offers not only cover from wind, but gives the trails an almost intimate feel. Hemmed in by endless trees and out of sight of any of the resort trappings, the terrain feels like wilderness riding rather than cruising developed trails on a managed resort park.

It also offers, in the fall, a deceptive cover of leaves hiding technical sections of trail. Between all the tricks the trail throws at you and the undulating terrain, the riding is a challenge both technically and physically; the lift merely offered us more terrain at our disposal in a quick fashion. Stepping off the lift the first morning, we ride for over two hours before finally head to the mountain's base. As we ride back to the front of the resort and descend towards the lift, I'm struck by the variety of terrain and excellent trailbuilding that the resort offers. Trails are well marked (some of them are one-way to prevent mishaps), maps are available and the riding is simply superb, enough to challenge even Andrew, a former professional downhill racer, and more than enough for me to handle. A short 15-minute gondola ride and we're again at the top of the mountain, ready for more trails.

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