Local Climbs Rated
Here are some numbers for area climbs from my notes that may help you benchmark climb difficulty in relation to Mitchell. It is much easier to calculate a climb difficulty based on ft gained/miles instead of % grade. Always remember that on long climbs you can find an off the scale pitch in the total climb that defies the numbers which seems to make the total climb harder than the numbers indicate. Another thing to keep in mind is length of climb is a difficulty variable just like average % gradient. This year Mitchell should have more climb due to course change...so good luck! Submitted by Greg.

Local Area Climbs - Approximates

1) Howard Gap	780 ft/1 mile	780 ft/mile	14.8%
2) White Oak	1470 ft/2.9 miles	507 ft/mile	9.6%
3) Hogback	880 ft/2.6 miles	338 ft/mile	6.3%
4) Saluda Grade	1080 ft/3.7 miles	291 ft/mile	5.6%
5) Gville Wtr Shd	1200 ft/7.6 miles	158 ft/mile	<3.0%

Mitchell Climb Breakdown - Approximates

Mitchell Climb (Lst Yr) 4800 ft/20 miles 240 ft/mile 4.5%
(does not include initial hills outside of Marion)
(hardest subsegment)9.7 miles of the 20 = 5.8%

Hwy 80 on Mitchell 1505 ft/3.9 miles 385 ft/mile 7.3%

State Park on AOMM 1325 ft/4.35 miles 305 ft/mile 5.8%
(hardest subsegment)2.2 miles of the 4.35 = 7.8%
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Other Area Epic Climbs

Grandfather Mt/B2B 935 ft/2.2 miles 425 ft/mile 7.8%
last 1.5 miles 780 ft/1.5 miles 520 ft/mile 9.8%

Hwy 215 from South 2315 ft/6.5 miles 356 ft/mile 6.7%

Hwy 215 from North 2195 ft/8.35 miles 263 ft/mile 5.0%

World Class off the Scale Climbs

Mt Washington, USA 4727 ft/7.6 miles 621/mile 11.8%

Mount Evans, USA 6590 ft/28 miles 235/mile 4.5%

Mount Ventoux, Fr. 5010 ft/13 miles 385/mile 7.3%

Alpe d' Huez, Fr. 3320 ft/7.4 miles 448/mile 8.5%