United StatesCalifornia Monitor Pass West
Monitor Pass West Bike Climb - PJAMM Cycling

16.7
PDI
8.2 mi
DISTANCE
2,651 ft
GAINED
6.1 %
AVG. GRADE
FULL CLIMB STATS
MORE

INTRO

Cycling Monitor Pass West - this is the first leg of the annual Markleeville - Death Ride (15,000' / 120 miles). There are sweeping high sierra views once you climb out of the canyon at the start of the ascent. The road is closed for the Death Ride, but there are hundreds of cyclists around you at this point of the ride (and will be for both Monitor passes and Ebbetts East; things begin to thin on Pass Four, Ebbetts West).

Our PJAMM App preloaded Death Road trip page is accessed below. 

PLAN YOUR ROUTE

We've partnered with Sherpa-Map.com to bring you the best route planning tool. With a PRO Membership you can use this climb as a reference when creating your route.
6.1% average grade (6.5% if descent eliminated) - 35% of the climb is at 0-5% grade and 47% at 5-10%.  The steepest quarter-mile is 11.7% and steepest mile 9.8%. 

See more details and tools regarding this climb's grade via the “Profile Tool” button.
Roadway:  Excellent condition two lane highway with no shoulder.  

Traffic:  Mild.  Traffic travels at 45-50 mph generally and we feel safe on this climb. 

Parking:  At the start (Map; Street View) or Markleeville, five miles north (Map).
Provisions:  There are not provisions on the climb, although there is a market and restaurants in Markleeville five miles north. 
Before heading out on any cycling adventure check out our Things to Bring on a Cycling Trip and use our interactive check list to ensure you don't forget anything.
We have always stayed in Markleeville for the climbs in the area (PJAMM Climb page: Markleeville - Death Ride). The annual Death Ride is a wildly popular bike climbing event which you should consider trying if you enjoy climbing by bike - beware though, it is an extremely difficult event - Official Website. 

ROUTE MAP

MEMBER RATING

Not Yet Rated
-
Road
-
Traffic
-
Scenery

CURRENT WEATHER

PJAMM TRIPS ADVENTURE STARTER BUNDLES

Check out PJAMM Adventure's prepackaged (self-guided) cycling trips. They will help you plan, document and conquer your next adventure.
ALL TRIPS
Browse all of our prepackaged trips and find your next adventure!
Death Ride (Tour of the California Alps)
United States (CA)
7 ROUTES
19 POIs
ROUTE STATS (TOTAL)
104.2
mi
DISTANCE
14,111
ft
ELEV. GAIN
Lake Tahoe
United States (CA,NV)
18 ROUTES
32 POIs
ROUTE STATS (TOTAL)
245.7
mi
DISTANCE
35,240
ft
ELEV. GAIN

NEARBY CLIMBS (0) RADIAL PROXIMITY

FROM
No Climbs Found

MEMBER REVIEWS & COMMENTS

Let us know what you thought of this climb. Signup for our FREE membership to write a review or post a comment.
Already have an account?
LOG IN HERE
ROUTE MAP
PROFILE TOOL
Route Data
S.G. (%)
hide
Segment Data
hide

Use of the Profile Tool requires a PJAMM Cycling PRO Membership!

It takes less than a minute to sign up & with your PRO membership you can:
  • Rate climbs, post comments and share your experiences on any of our climb pages
  • Create bucket lists of climbs & mark the dates you complete them
  • Weather data for all climbs - Start & Finish
  • Upload photos to your member page to customize your PJAMM Cycling experience
  • Utilize all of our interactive tools - Profile & Routes in Area
  • Download climb route .gpx files
Take a video tour:

TRY PRO FREE FOR 7 DAYS

LEARN MORE
SIGN UP

Already have an account? LOG IN HERE

CLIMB SUMMARY

Cycling Monitor Pass East - aerial drone photo of long straight stretch of road looking west from the pass

Cycling Monitor Pass, home of the Death Ride - an epic Sierra Nevada bike climb.

Photo - Aerial view west from location directly above Monitor Pass markers.

California Top 10 Most Epic Climb 

Cycling Monitor Pass East and West - PJAMM cyclists at finish of Death Ride holding up 5 fingers for 5 passes - skeleton

Visit our Death Ride page for detailed information on each route and climb in this ride.

Cycling Monitor Pass East and West - PJAMM cyclists at finish of Death Ride holding up 5 fingers for 5 passes - skeleton  

Monitor Pass East and West are 2 of the Death Ride’s 5 climbs.

  This is the first of the five death ride passes and starts about 7.5 miles southeast of the start of the Death Ride (Turtle Rock County Park). The climb is challenging, particularly around the 1.5-3.5 mark (8.8% average grade) and miles 4.65-5.6 (7.9%).

Cycling Monitor Pass West - beginning of climb - Death Ride - cyclists and Monitor East and West road sign 

Start

Ride 8.2 miles gaining 2,729’ to elevation 8,335’ at 6.1% average grade. This is the traditional First Climb of the annual Markleeville, Alpine County Death Ride.

   

Biking up Monitor Pass West - Death Ride cyclists climbing lower section

Death Riders strung out going up Monitor West.

  There are sweeping high sierra views once you climb out of the canyon at the start of the ascent. The road is closed for the Death Ride, but there are hundreds of cyclists around you at this point of the ride (and will be for both Monitor passes and Ebbetts East (things begin to thin on Pass Four (Ebbetts West).

Climbing Monitor Pass West by bike - panorama view of mountains and forest

On our way up Monitor West during the 2015 Death Ride.  

 

Finishing Monitor West.

There are two summit signs at the top of the climb.

MARKLEEVILLE BIKE CLIMBS + DEATH RIDE

Photo - from upper left clockwise:

Ebbetts Pass East; Monitor Pass West; Ebbetts Pass West. and Monitor Pass East.

That’s a wrap!!