They don't call it the Death Ride for nothing!

PJAMM 2015 - Carson Pass - 5 for 5 - YEAH!

The Death Ride is an extremely challenging yet fun event.  It is extremely well organized and in our 3 times participating have never had any form of bad experience - it’s all good . . . well, except for 127 miles and 15,000’ of climbing in one day - OUCH!

HERE ARE YOUR OPTIONS

START

The ride begins at Turtle Rock - early!

Nice pancake and egg breakfast.

Bring your lights and a windvest/jacket.

MONITOR WEST

This will be the easiest of the day because it is first and fairly mild and consistent 6% average grade.

Start

Monitor Pass

MONITOR PASS EAST

This is the hardest climb of them all and a Top 100 US bike climb.  It is a grueling 9.5 miles at 6.7% average grade.  You will be ascending in the early morning so the temperatures, which can be stifling in the afternoon in the summer, will be mild and manageable.

Bottom of Monitor East - Start of Climb #2.

Monitor Pass . . . again . . .

EBBETTS PASS EAST

It’s starting to hurt now.  This is the longest climb and while only 5.2% has some steep segments to it (e.g. ½ mile at 9.9%).

The steepest segment (¼ mile at 10.9%)

Ebbetts Pass

EBBETTS PASS WEST

The fourth leg of the Death Ride is blessedly short at 5.2 miles (6% average grade).

Bottom of Ebbetts Pass West

CARSON PASS

First, there is the 10 mile grinder from the bottom of Ebbetts Pass East, past Markleeville, past Turtle Rock to the Woodfords Rest Stop (our favorite - although they are truly all great).  Then the brutal grinder begins.  Carson Pass is the longest (14.7 miles) and least scenic of the 5 Death Ride climbs, although it is only 3.7%.  However, that 3.7% seems more like 7 to 8 because of fatigue and the wind.  This is also the only climb of the 5 that has highway traffic on it (Monitor and Ebbetts are actually closed to vehicular traffic during the Death Ride which is a very nice feature).

Ice cream at the top!