Well I rented a 2012 Slayer 50 from Different Bikes today, they only had a ExtraLarge left which was very big. But I LOVED it, rode the whole day on Burke and the climb up burke is not easy, but with this bike I had no problem. And on the decent we did some steep trails with gap jumps, drops and woodwork, the bike felt great through it all, even being XL.
Now its my first time riding any all-mountain bike so I'm not sure how much of it was the fact it was an all-mountain bike or that it was a Slayer. I think for the ascent the slayer was a big part and being a larger frame. I tried someone else's 2011 Slayer in medium and it was WAY larder to climb.
Someone had a Range 2 at Burke I tried, but it was a small so couldn't really compare.
I also tested out the 2012 Specialized Enduro Comp finally, just around the pavement, but I really liked it. My first though is it might not climb as well as the Slayer but might descend better.
I also looked at some Scott and Pitch's bikes today, but they didn't really stand out. And the one Yeti I've seen in a local bike shop actually weights more than msot of these and is WAY more expensive at $5200, same with the Ibis bikes.
I think I'm narrowing in on the Rocky Mountain Slayer or the Specialized Enduro.