The hardest gravel climb in SoCal.

Mt. Baldy to the Notch (From Lytle Creek)

What is the surface like?

This is a great gravel-bike road. Unlike many climbs in the area, where the road gets really chunky towards the top, the surface stays gravel-bike friendly at high elevations. There are a couple sections where the gravel gets bigger, but never too big that suspension or walking is necessary.

Mile 3.5

Mile 8.3

Mile 10.8

Climb summary by PJAMM’s Sam Lyons @sam.lionman

I’m going to be honest here. I love climbing on my bike. On any surface - tarmac, gravel, dirt, it’s what I live for. But the first part of this climb was a real slog.

A buddy and I started out at 7am out of Heritage Park near the bottom of Mount Baldy Road. Our goal was to document this climb as a part of a full loop: 50 miles starting in Rancho Cucamonga, riding east to Lytle Creek, up to the notch, then descending the front side of the Notch down Mt Baldy Road back to the car. 7am ended up being too late, because by the time we got up into Lytle Creek canyon it was HOT, and it was a race to get up to altitude where hopefully it’d be breezier and cooler.

After suffering up the paved section (Lytle Creek Road climb) which seems to never end, we reach the shooting range where the gravel starts. It was already above 90 degrees and for some reason I thought that when we reached the dirt, everything would feel better and be easier.

Not so.

The first 3 miles of gravel are a straight slog with no turns at 8% climbing nearly 1200 ft. There is almost no shade, which means that when we passed by Lytle Creek, taking off our shoes and wading in was a no brainer!

You won't have to worry about passing this creek without seeing it since for a short section, it becomes the road!

Eventually we made a tight left around a cliff and reached Stockton Flats Campground, where a few groups of hikers had set up their camps. Comforting to know that while remote, there are still enough people around that you’re never further than a few miles away from help.

Shortly after that we crossed under a gate to keep the Jeeps from accessing the ski resort. At this point you have less than 4 miles left but still 1700 feet to climb…

This is also when the views start to make this ride worth it. If you started from the bottom, which we expect most of you probably will, you will have climbed a minimum of 4,000 feet by this point without seeing anything strictly speaking “spectacular”. But from here on out, it’s an incredible ride:

Towards the top you come across a pair of long hairpins. The top is visible when climbing the last 1000 feet

If you’re not acclimated, this is when the ride will get really tough. Because I’m at elevation quite often, I’m usually not bothered too much by anything under 9 or 10,000 feet. However, when I rode this, it was the first time I’d been above 3,000 ft in about 6 months, and the altitude nearly destroyed me. As the air got thinner nearing 7800 ft summit, every pedal stroke was tough with my eyes glued to my wahoo counting down the feet to go.

At the top is Mt. Baldy Ski Resort - one of the best places to ski in Southern California. Set on the slopes of the 10,000ft Mt. San Antonio, it’s about a 90 minute drive from the ocean, allowing you to snowboard and surf in the same day.  During the summer the lifts operate as a hiker and tourist attraction, bringing people up to the Notch Restaurant where they hold events and live music on the weekends.

6300’ straight uphill with almost 0’ descent definitely earns a cheeseburger and beer!

It’s a wrap!

Links:

Learn about PJAMM’s Surface Index

Learn about PDI (PJAMM Difficulty Index)