Baseline Mountain, in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, is known for its steep, gnarly trails. The mountain rises to 6,000 feet above sea level and maintains a fairly steep grade the entire way down — many of the trails at Baseline drop over 1,000 feet or more in roughly a mile. Along with the steep grade, the terrain is rough and rocky, with tight singletrack squeezing riders through trees as they descend. Baseline Mountain wasn't, and still isn't, for the faint of heart. The majority of trails, then and now, lean heavily toward advanced.
The recently rebuilt Canada Cup trail is broken into two sections. Canada Cup Upper is decidedly shorter but makes up for it in spiciness. The trail is chunky before encountering a smallish rock drop, which is followed by more chunk, off-camber turns, and just generally steep descending. The trail traverses another technical, ledgey section that is fairly off-camber before crossing the shuttle road where Canada Cup Lower begins. This upper section is rated a black diamond trail, though locals make a distinction between this and a "Baseline black" — which is typically a touch spicier. Regardless, Canada Cup Upper drops by more than 200 vertical feet over just 800 linear feet.
Canada Cup Lower was widened during the rebuild and caters more toward a dedicated flow trail. The beginning is still relatively narrow as it cuts through the trees, but once it leaves the trees, the trail becomes noticeably wider and begins to feature typical flow trail features — berms, bumps, and jumps. While Canada Cup Lower enters wooded areas a few more times during the descent, the trail stays wider and maintains high speeds throughout. The trail becomes blue and descends nearly 1,000 feet over a mile and a half. Trail maps show Baseline Mountain's bent toward advanced trails, with nine black and three double-black trails, plus a pro-line. This means the trail system consists of nearly 50% advanced (or greater) trails, and even many of the intermediate trails lean closer to dark blue.
