# In Feet per Mile, What do you call a steep climb?



## donutboy (Jun 9, 2009)

I have about 415 feet per mile out of my garage for 5.5 miles. I think it's pretty steep, but curious on what others call steep.


Thanks,

Donut


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## Bummer (Jan 15, 2004)

There is an organised ride/race once a year that has a first section starting from sea level to the top of Penang Hill in West Malaysia which works out to about 772 ft/mile. The distance to reach 735m elevation is 5.1km. The ride continues on to other jungle single track and in some years covers most of the hills there. This is the steepest climb I've done.


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## darkslide18 (Dec 8, 2007)

2000 feet in 3 miles.


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## redmr2_man (Jun 10, 2008)

i'd say anything over 500ft puts any of us on alert.


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## sdf1968 (Mar 7, 2007)

redmr2_man said:


> i'd say anything over 500ft puts any of us on alert.


I know I am on alert way before 500ft/mile. :eekster:


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## LyNx (Oct 26, 2004)

I'd have to say anywhere from 700ft per mile on  We have an old warn out "tarmac" hill down here that gains about 750ft in 3/4 mile  Man does that send your HR through the roof, not only for the steepness, but also the fact that's it's in such bad shape and all washed away and loose now being basically a rock road. Have had plans for the longest while to get some pics of the really nasty parts. I'm waiting for some loud mouthed, hot shot to come down here with their "This flat island can't have any killer climbs" and take them on that


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Just eyeballing the map...
There's this slightly curving piece of dirt road I ride up with some regularity: only about 250 m or 0.155 mile on the map, and elevation gain is about 30 m or 100 ft. That makes 645 ft/mile ?

That is steep enough for me, thank you.


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## wookie (Jan 24, 2007)

9 miles @ 600ft/mile (12%)


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## verve825 (Mar 16, 2005)

My "everyday" ride is ~2200' over 3.1 miles of dirt/rocks/roots/etc. (710 feet/mile). It's all rideable and gets cleaned bottom-top fairly often, but it's always hard. 

jb


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## Uncle Six Pack (Aug 29, 2004)

donutboy said:


> I have about 415 feet per mile out of my garage for 5.5 miles. I think it's pretty steep, but curious on what others call steep.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Donut


I'd say 415 feet/mile is steep for an extended climb (a mile or more)... but I' gonna estimate that we have spots around here that gain 800 feet/mile for a half mile or so... so it depends on your terrain. 415 feet per mile for 5 miles sounds like "out west" so while it doesn't sound very steep to me, it does sound like it could be miserable. They say here in the east, the hills aren't very high, but there's a lot of them, so I think a lot of trails have tended to be steeper.


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## donutboy (Jun 9, 2009)

*Columbia Gorge,Washington side.*

I could go steeper if I wanted/could but for right now, just getting back into it, 415-450 kicks my butt, but feels great at the end. I know if I took 3 of the trails between my switchbacks that I could push 500ft/mile.

All in good time.

Donut


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

5,280' per mile is fairly steep


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

highdelll said:


> 5,280' per mile is fairly steep


ummm........:bluefrown: :nonod: thats like vertical......


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## AZ (Apr 14, 2009)

1,700 feet in 3 miles . This climb starts @ 7,300 ft.


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## Uruk-hai (Apr 22, 2004)

darkslide18 said:


> 2000 feet in 3 miles.


The climb of the beast.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

ae111black said:


> ummm........:bluefrown: :nonod: thats like vertical......


45*
-100%


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

highdelll said:


> 45*
> -100%


45*100=4500% wow thats really steep


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## [email protected] (Oct 17, 2009)

ae111black said:


> 45*100=4500% wow thats really steep


You gotta fly up it ...


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

Steepest I’ve ever calculated was approximately 800 feet in one mile. I would regularly use this hill on my road bike training rides with my lowest gear ratio being a 39 x 21.


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

donutboy said:


> I have about 415 feet per mile out of my garage for 5.5 miles. I think it's pretty steep, but curious on what others call steep.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Donut


That's pretty typical steepness for a lot of trails around here (CO front range), and they are pain in the @ss climbs. 1000 feet in 2 miles, 1500 feet in 3 miles etc. But the trails are often loose or technical, which really makes it tough. The same climb on smooth dirt or pavement would be significantly easier.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

AZ.MTNS said:


> 1,700 feet in 3 miles . This climb starts @ 7,300 ft.


Sounds like Bill Williams mountain, up the Benham trail. It's a pretty good climb, not crazy steep IMO, but sustained and never lets down until you get to the top. I just did it last weekend.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> You gotta fly up it ...


I'll be right there...


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## evasive (Feb 18, 2005)

Interesting thread. I've always been curious myself. 

For trails long enough that I can conveniently measure in feet/mile using GIS- most of our trails around town average a bit over 600 feet/mile, and none of those sections are longer than 2 miles. But I wouldn't say that anyone around here calls them steep, so much as grinders. I'd have to look at my GPS tracks for some of the steeper regional rides to see where they come in.


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## etuck (Feb 9, 2007)

I just checked the GPS for one of the toughest "consistently cleanable" climbs around here and it was 654 feet in .9 miles. That's the climb in the center of camp tamarancho for norcal folks and I can usually make it but not always. 

So 700 feet per mile is around my breaking point for a decent length climb.


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## Monte (Dec 20, 2003)

we have several climbs in WA that'll hit 1000'/mile. That's 20/34 land. Thing is, it's steep down too, always on the brakes.


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## brentos (May 19, 2006)

I consider anything over 750' / mile steep.

The steepest we have access to locally is 2,000' in 2 miles. Only time I EVER need a 22/34, and the only reason I'm not totally on board with the 2x10 thing.


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## hotfeat1227 (May 15, 2007)

35 feet per mile... welcome to Illinoisss


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## sdf1968 (Mar 7, 2007)

smilinsteve said:


> That's pretty typical steepness for a lot of trails around here (CO front range), and they are pain in the @ss climbs. 1000 feet in 2 miles, 1500 feet in 3 miles etc. But the trails are often loose or technical, which really makes it tough. The same climb on smooth dirt or pavement would be significantly easier.


That is what I was thinking as far as average climbs in CO go. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around 600,700,800 feet per mile. The hardest hill I think I have rode locally is like 1700 feet in 3.5 miles. I have made it once without stopping. Stops are usually losing traction, spin out and you are done. There is a good section of 22 to 26 percent grade and when you get back to a 10 percent grade it feels like flat ground. :thumbsup: 
Props to those doing any hill over 600 feet per mile. If I ride there I will be walking that hill.


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## evasive (Feb 18, 2005)

After pulling up GPS profiles of some of our longer rides outside town, I was a little surprised to see they run in the 500 feet/mile range. They seem tougher than that, but when they go on for ~5 miles, it wears at you.


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## kristian (Jan 20, 2004)

Steep is 2,011 feet over 1.02 miles (the Manitou Incline). Obviously it's not rideable, but hiking it is the closest thing my heart and lungs have ever had to XC racing off the bike. Pro runners can do it in the 18 minute range. The biking version of that (Barr trail) takes about 3 miles to do those same 2,000 feet so it's pretty darned steep too. Picture credit to the Incline Club.


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

Yeah that's steep!
I was going to say, even though I mentioned 500 feet per mile is a typical front range steep climb, there are plenty of them that are steeper than that. But then you start crossing the line from biking trail to hiking trail.


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## jummo (Sep 8, 2005)

My experience has been that 600' per mile is near the limit of sustainable riding.

You can ride steeper pitches for shorter distances, but not for several miles.

This of course assumes mtb terrain, rocks, dirt, etc.

jummo


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## mmanuel09 (Nov 26, 2008)

Is 598ft in .75 mile steep?

http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/37258412


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## mmanuel09 (Nov 26, 2008)

Click on view details and should be able to see the elevation chart. Miles 5-6 is a killer to me. Interested in what you guys think.


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## rockman (Jun 18, 2004)

Jayem said:


> Sounds like Bill Williams mountain, up the Benham trail. It's a pretty good climb, not crazy steep IMO, but sustained and never lets down until you get to the top. I just did it last weekend.


The last two miles of that climb is 650'/mile.

Boundary Creek outside of Stanley Idaho and opposite Redfish Lake is a pretty steep climb at 800'/mile. That's some hike-a-bike for me but it's all rideable.


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## lidarman (Jan 12, 2004)

Moab Rim is pretty steep. Nearly 1000 ft in one mile.

I can ride 100% grade (5280 ft/mile), ....as long as it's only 6 feet long and I get a running start.


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## RacingFan120 (Nov 28, 2009)

I live in Oklahoma so I would say about 32 feet. ha!


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## davemk (Jan 20, 2009)

smilinsteve said:


> That's pretty typical steepness for a lot of trails around here (CO front range), and they are pain in the @ss climbs. 1000 feet in 2 miles, 1500 feet in 3 miles etc. But the trails are often loose or technical, which really makes it tough. The same climb on smooth dirt or pavement would be significantly easier.


+1 - I just looked at the Deer Creek climb up Plymouth Creek trail up to the high point on Red Mesa loop is 1335 ft in 2.55 miles or 524ft/mile (that is not cumulative just high point vs. low). The climbing is tough but you have to get over "The Wall" and plenty of other obstacles as well.


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## ATBScott (Jun 4, 2006)

Anything that approaches 10% or more for any sustained distance is steep to me these days. Sustained distance being only a couple miles or so... When I was younger, we used to do lots of "wallclimbs" - shorter, but uber-steep hills just to see if we could make it. Riding SS the last few years, that gradient has come down quite a bit for me!

There is one short, .3 mile paved stretch that climbs up to a Nike tower in the area, that rises about 330 feet (roughly 100 meters in 500 meters) for a 20% grade. I can get up that on the SS, but I'm an anaerobic wreck at the top. The last hundred feet or so (rolling feet) are more a test of will than anything else. Being off the bike as much as I've been the last 8 months, doubt that I could make it today... So - what is the PURPOSE of that Manitou Springs route anyway? Crazy!


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

ATBScott said:


> Riding SS the last few years, that gradient has come down quite a bit for me!


That's the beauty of single speed. It allows you to do less! 

Sorry. Couldn't resist.


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## Yeti_Rider (Dec 26, 2003)

donutboy said:


> I have about 415 feet per mile out of my garage for 5.5 miles. I think it's pretty steep, but curious on what others call steep.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Donut


totally depends on the terrain. a steep but smooth hill versus a less steep but technical and loose climb are totally different beasts. you may be able to grind out a steep and smooth hill but really work a ton harder if you have to try to maintain traction, negotiate obstacles, etc.

having said that, I have no idea. when my vision starts to blur I know i'm working too hard!


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## rippling over canyons (Jun 11, 2004)

rockman said:


> The last two miles of that climb is 650'/mile.
> 
> Boundary Creek outside of Stanley and opposite Redfish Lake is a pretty steep climb at 800'/mile. That's some hike-a-bike for me but it's all rideable.


Yep, Boundary Creek is a monster climb! Little Casino is no walk in the park either.


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## 40hills (Apr 24, 2006)

This ride has a steep part...
http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/36843416


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## icegeek (Feb 16, 2004)

anything > 0 is too steep to climb and should be shuttled.


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## lidarman (Jan 12, 2004)

icegeek said:


> anything > 0 is too steep to climb and should be shuttled.


I heard I missed a good shuttle last W.E.


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## rollinrob (Feb 22, 2004)

Uruk-hai said:


> The climb of the beast.


Otherwise known as Sierra Rd featured in the tour of California


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## joshman108 (Jul 6, 2009)

how do you calculate elevation gain?


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

joshman108 said:


> how do you calculate elevation gain?


I don't think most people are referring to cumulative here, just elevation (max) minus elevation (min).


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## ThornPatch (Jan 21, 2004)

verve825 said:


> My "everyday" ride is ~2200' over 3.1 miles of dirt/rocks/roots/etc. (710 feet/mile). It's all rideable and gets cleaned bottom-top fairly often, but it's always hard.
> 
> jb


I know that climb! :thumbsup:

Were those your tracks I was chasing this past weekend?

It's getting harder to keep traction as it gets looser and drier over the summer months.

-Greg


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## donutboy (Jun 9, 2009)

*I was curious about feet per mile for my calculation*

there is more than one way to skin a cat, but feet per mile in this case is what I was wondering (avg of course)


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## bikingisawesome (Aug 26, 2008)

miles 101-103 of the coconino 250 race
~1000ft/mile average

steep enough for ya?


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## charging_rhinos (Jul 29, 2008)

icegeek said:


> anything > 0 is too steep to climb and should be shuttled.


Amen!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

100% is steep.

So is 30% actually.

But if the incline is only a traveled distance of a few ft, who cares? A hard climb has multiple factors, in addition to the grade.


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## paco664 (Sep 18, 2010)

here in south florida we have some that go 60ft elevation over ~100 liner feet..... not giant stuff like you guys have... but it is damn tuff to climb... seeing as its coral rock, sugar sand, and tree roots.....

lol... then at the top there is a ~160deg hair pin then a bunch of root/rock filled drops till you get back to flat ground again.....


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Steepest part is ~50ft/mi for 1/2mi and THAT is actually quite steep for around here.


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## captainjoon (Aug 11, 2009)

LOL.

Everyone's always trying to one up on each other.

I do a climb that equals 25,344 ft/mile everyday...

I win.


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## chiva (Oct 13, 2010)

Here in AZ about 45 minutes from Phoenix at my "secret" training ground I ride an old abandonded FS road that is rocky and washed-out in some areas that goes from 3,100-7,100 in 7.5 miles. That's 4,000 vert. in 7.5 miles. Not too shabby. The whole thing is rideable. Plus, I'm always the only one on the entire mountain.


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## zrm (Oct 11, 2006)

Humbug hill, the old Breckenridge Fall Classic time trial hill rises 860' in .8 miles. Today, it is used a lot by dirt bikes, ATVs, and jeeps and is chewed up to the point of not really being rideable, but back in the day before it was so beat up it was rocky, but rideable if you had the legs, lungs and had good skills. Guys like me who could clean it but just barely, would do it in the 12-13 min range. Rishi Grewal holds the record of 9:42.


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## cbrossman (Mar 23, 2004)

AZ.MTNS said:


> 1,700 feet in 3 miles . This climb starts @ 7,300 ft.


This guy/gal has it right, even if the starting altitude is minimal  
100'/mile can be a son-of-a-gun at 12,000 feet altitude.


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