Bar Height

I think it's also depend on your size, I'm 5'6 on a medium frame, so i don't ride with a Seatpost really long so it makes sense for me to run a fairly low cockpit to be balanced on the bike. on my DH bike I have a low rise bar and on my Enduro I have a flat bar so combined with a tall fork and a slack head angle I can still comfortably turns on steep uphill. Keep in mind, we don't ride insanely steep terrain in so cal, if I would ride steeper terrain, I would consider higher cockpit.
I was also mostly riding on really thin flat, I now spend more time on clip and my feet and whole body is now 1/2 inch higher, I may have to adjust my cockpit..
It looks like the guys riding higher cockpit are also tall. I think your handlebar has to be positioned in relation to your hip not based on trend.

I'm 5' 8-1/2" tall. Normally a medium size bike would be appropriate for me at this height. However, I have short legs, long torso, and short arms. My Stand Over is only 29" to 29-1/2" with the shoes that I normally wear. On a small frame bike, It usually feels sluggish with a long stem, and like I am falling over the front tire.

I usually end up putting these on all my medium frame bikes:
A. short 40mm stem
B. 2" riser bar, 10 degree sweep, that are a bit on the narrow side (660mm-ish)
C. Tall stack of spacers
D. Zero setback seat post

My seat post is usually low on a medium sized frame. These mods let me have my elbows bent, and my back not so hunched over. I ride both XC and singletracks (no DH) with all of my bikes.

It is all about adjusting the cockpit to your body type and your style of riding. Thank goodness that these things are inexpensive enough and easily available online to be able to make all the adjustments to your heart's desires.

I like the way you think, cuban B. I've actually thought of that and have had some discussions with some top bike-fit people in the industry. I'll have an article about it coming out pretty soon.

One of the issues why road fit (or xc, endurance) is so crucial, is because of the amount of time, pedal revolutions, etc, that a rider spends in one, fairly static position. We, as DH'ers, trail riders, have a very dynamic relationship between our core and the bike and have very different needs in terms of control, and, thus, position on the bike. So, it doesn't make any sense that a fit professional will give a person on a 160 mm travel trail bike the same fit as they would a road bike. Yet they do. Most pro-fit folks are from a road background and pretty unaware that a stem has a huge impact on the control of the bike and is not just about getting the proper angle between a rider's upper arm and torso. So the article and discussions are about some guidelines on trail-bike fit and educating fit professionals and shop employees who do fits on whats's up.

Unfortunately, even most MTB riders (even good ones) don't know squat about what good position is on the bike, so without spelling that out first, most of it will go in one ear and out the other.

Personally I don't understand the low wide set ups today... A few of my buddies run that way ( due to the hype) and when I sit on their bikes I feel sooo tall above the bike, it feels weird... Personally I ride a 2"' rise bar and a short stem... I do play with spacer position to get the feel just right... It's all about leverage for me...

@filthyanimal.
Fundamentally, the utility of a road-like fit would be a logical starting point because of orthogonal power transfer, leg extension while seated, etc., but I think for mountain bikers there should be a few more considerations because of the very dynamic relationship between our core and the bike, and the fact that we spend a lot of time standing in order to navigate challenging terrain. Like you said, stem length can move your center of gravity forward/backward. The main goal of a road bike fit is optimal power transfer while seated as comfortable as measurements will allow. Mountain bikers require most of their agility and athletic ability in the standing position, which is why we are talking about bar height to begin with. Things like inertia effects in different positions or riding situations (steeps, rocks, flowy singletrack), changing bb height and chainstay lengths, 3D geometry to incorporate bar width into the fit program. I could go on all day hah.

I guess what I'm saying is, to truly understand mt bike fit, one would have to really understand road bike fit as well as be an experienced mt biker in multiple disciplines to understand the dynamics and just know what it 'feels' like to change minute things. Like you said, there used to be xc, ds, dh overall winners! I remember those days where you'd ride one bike in all three events. Now that's TRUE enduro hah.

Link us to your article when it's published - would love to read it!

"So where's this (half push-up, half squat) put your bars? That's the proper height."

Thanks again guys! I'll be trying out adjustments based on the half push-up, half-squat position of the body.

Youre all wrong. The more rise the better. Im riding ten inch bars on my mtb and im never going any lower. Ill have a video out in a few days to show yall

i run a lower fork to keep the head tube steep but run 3 inch rise bars the keep my bar hight were i dont feel like i laying down, on my hard tail

Blundar brings up a good point. We've all got different ratios of arm/ torso/ leg lengths which must be considered along with just overall hight.