USA · Americas
Pikes Peak Highway
America's Mountain. The 156 turns to the 4,302m summit have hosted the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb since 1916.
- Length
- 31.0 km
- Avg gradient
- 6.4%
- Max gradient
- 10%
- Elevation gain
- 2,000 m
- Summit
- 4,302 m
- Hairpins
- 156
Versants
- From Cascade (toll gate) — 31.0 km at 6.4% (max 10%)
History
Pikes Peak has hosted a motor race since 1916 — the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, originally called the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. The 156 numbered turns climb from Cascade at 2,302 m to the 4,302 m summit, gaining 2,000 m over 31 km. For decades the race was contested by cars and motorcycles only, but in recent years cycling has claimed a place on the mountain as well.
The road itself is paved up to an elevation around 3,900 m, after which it turns to gravel; it's a toll road and rarely crowded with cyclists, which suits its remote Colorado location. The altitude is the defining challenge — by the 3,500 m mark, oxygen is substantially thinner, and riders climbing it are working at high altitude where normal sea-level training doesn't translate.
The mountain's name comes from Zebulon Pike, an Army officer who explored Colorado in 1806, but local Ute peoples had been traveling the slopes long before any European knew of the peak. The modern toll road opened in 1888, and it's been a landmark American climb ever since.