"The shore is becoming an old-folks retirement home of trail riding."
Not sure I'd agree with that…
Seems to be plenty of woodwork still on the shore. Maybe not too many skinnies (thankfully), but I've seen plenty of new (and fun) woodwork on Expresso and some not so new on Crinkum/Kirkford.
I can totally understand that some people might be getting a little upset if some of their favorite trails are becoming more accessible, but there are still a lot of very difficult trails on the shore. I personally LOVE the new trail work. I'm really enjoying the trails that have been worked on. And guess what? Now that I've gained confidence on these trails, I'm starting to have a go on the more difficult trails.
Do you think Whistler would thrive if it only had black diamond runs? No way. Look at the new Symphony area - mainly blue runs. You need to have a mix of trails if the sport is to thrive and not be "exclusive" to advanced riders. You also need to offer a progression from green to blue to black. Before, it used to be "ok I'll throw myself down this trail and hopefully not get hurt, and one day I might be able to ride it properly"