# Alta Alpina Challenge: Riding the Wild Sierra



## TahoeBC (Mar 11, 2008)

The new event put on by Alta Alpina, they used to be involved with the Death Ride and will make that ride seem like a walk in the park.

The double century with 20300 of climbing will occur on June 13, 2009. Below is information from the test ride that occurred this year, I assume the course is basically the same and sounds very very painful:thumbsup: 


Here are more details:
- Start/Finish is at Diamond Valley School just off Hwy 89 between Woodfords and Markleeville. For directions to the school use your favorite mapping website and go to "Diamond Valley Rd and Hawkside Drive, Markleeville, CA 96120".
- The closest motel to the start is The Woodfords Inn (530)694-2410
- Nearest Camping is at Turtle Rock Park for $15/night
- Check in will start at 4:30am
- Course will open at 5:01am (Twilight)
- Eight pass (double century) riders should start no later than 5:30am
- The first four passes represent approximately 103 miles with 10,000 feet of climbing
- The full eight pass course is approximately 196 miles with an estimated 20,000 feet of climbing
- As a club ride the rest stops will be primitive. Toilet facilities will be listed on the route sheet. If you have any special food requirements please bring what you need.
- Lunch will be at the start/finish location approximately 103 miles into the ride
- We expect great weather, but this ride covers a lot of remote, high altitude terrain. Everyone should be prepared for any kind of weather at any time.
- Please bring an altimeter, we'd like as many measurements of the total climb as possible
- As always, please wear your helmet and carry two water bottles
- Eight pass riders should bring lights--we hope that some riders will finish before dark but we plan to keep the course open till 1:00am. This is a test ride for a reason.

Here's a description of the full eight pass course:
- Riders start on Diamond Valley Road. This is a beautiful rolling road with great views of the foothills. Riders descend into the Carson Valley and take Foothill Road along its perimeter to the base of the first pass: Kingsbury grade. This stretch is family friendly and gives everyone a good warm up before the climbing begins. Kingsbury grade is the perfect pass to begin the ride because it offers very wide shoulders, a steady easy grade all the way to the top, and very little wind in the morning. It's broad sweeping turns give riders an awesome view of the Carson Valley and the Pinenut Mountains and a fun descent.
- After refueling at the rest stop on the summit and enjoying a well-earned descent back down Kingsbury grade, riders return along Foothill and turn right on Emigrant Trail. This short and easy climb doesn't count as a pass, but it's a good warmup for the pass to come and there is a rest stop at the top.
- Continuing from Emigrant trail, riders pass through the historic town of Woodfords and up scenic Woodfords Canyon following the route of the Pony Express trail. Turning right at Picketts Junction, riders will completer their climb to the summit of Luther pass where they will be rewarded with another rest stop.
- Descending Luther pass back into Hope Valley, riders will turn right again and begin their ascent of Carson pass taking in views of Red Lake and high alpine terrain.
- After checking in at the Carson Pass rest stop, riders will enjoy the fun descent back down into Hope Valley, turning right onto Blue Lakes Rd.--one of the best kept secrets in all of Alpine County. Blue Lakes Road will take riders over a series of climbs and through valleys with breathtaking scenery to the next rest stop at the end of the road.
- A little bit of climbing and a rolling descent takes riders back out to Hope Valley and then down Woodfords canyon. Turning right towards Markleeville brings riders back to the start where lunch awaits.
- The course continues down to the town of Markleeville and out to the intersection of Highways 89 and 4. Eight pass riders will stay right to begin the beautiful climb of the heavily forested Ebbetts pass.
- Eight pass riders will find a rest stop at the summit of Ebbetts pass and will then descend the back side to Hermit Valley where yet another rest stop is located at the turn-around. Riders then climb the backside of Ebbetts and return to the base of Monitor after a fun descent.
- Climbing the front side of Monitor offers riders a few challenging steep grades and sweeping views of alpine meadows and Lake Heenan. A rest stop at the top of the pass marks completion of the second-to-last pass of the day.
- The descent to Topaz on the east side of Monitor is a thrill. The road surface is excellent, the grade is sweet, and the turns are fun. 
Most importantly, this is safe hill to descend at night with little car traffic, great visibility, and few shadows.
- Refuel at the Topaz rest stop for the last pass of the day. The climb is long but the grade is steady and this climb is a pleasure even after sundown. Like the backside of Monitor, the descent on the frontside is a good one for night time. From the base of Monitor riders return to the start through the Carson River Canyon on Hwy 89.

Planned rest stop opening and closing times are as follows (subject to change, final times will be on route sheets and sent to participants just before the ride):
Kingsbury (6:30am - 11:00am)
Emigrant (7:30am - noon)
Luther (8:00am - 1:00pm)
Carson (9:00am - 2:30pm)
Blue Lakes (10:00am - 4:00pm)
Lunch/Dinner (11:00am - 2:00am)
Ebbetts Top (noon - 8:00pm)
Hermit Valley (noon - 7:00pm)
Monitor Top (1:00pm - 1:00am)
Topaz Lake (1:00pm - 11:00pm)


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## rollin nolan (Jun 22, 2007)

I logged on tonight to ask what everyone thought the toughest ride in CA is. I think I found it. I did Climb to Kaiser this year which was very difficult. I'm looking for another challenge of that caliber or beyond. How steep are these climbs? The Death Ride climbs sound steep, but not extreme. Are the additional passes steeper?


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

*Ah, I don't know...*

It's kind of a pissing contest: My ride is tougher than your ride (i.e, the Death Ride)!

Are Kingsbury and Luther even worth riding?

I think Alta Alpina did a great job running the Death Ride, and this probably will be a great event.


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## norcalscot (Jul 2, 2003)

I replied on your other thread, but I'll elaborate a little here, since I've done DMD, TT, C2K, and the test ride of Alta Alpina's new "Riding the Wild Sierra" double, so I have some personal experience in doing all of those rides.

You can compare rides by using many different metrics - the most obvious being distance, and total climbing. Whilst these allow you to do a direct comparison they don't tell you the whole story. Other important measures include how many climbs there are, what their gradient is, and where they appear in the ride - I find courses which are "back loaded" with steep climbs near the end to be much more difficult than those where the majority of the climbing is in the first half.

To me C2K is an example of a course which is "front loaded" with climbing - almost all of the climbing is between miles 25 and 80 (the highest point of the ride), after that you are pretty much finished with the climbing, even though the ride is over 150 miles long. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it is an easy ride, but I personally consider it to be much easier than say DMD or the TT. Both of those rides have considerably more climbing in their second half than does C2K.

On paper Riding the Wild Sierra woud appear to be more difficult than both DMD and the TT, but my personal experience was that I found both of those rides to be tougher. I attribute that to the steepness of the climbs, and the hotter temps I've experienced on the TT and DMD.

FYI, I'm 6 feet 1 inch, and weigh in at 185 pounds, so climbing is not my speciality.

If I were to compare them on the basis of how long they took, then Riding the Wild Sierra would win, as it took me 14 and half hours, compared with a personal best of around 12 and half for DMD and just under 12 for the TT. However when I finished Riding the Wild Sierra I didn't feel anywhere near as tired as I typically do on DMD or the TT. Perhaps I took it a little easier, since this was my first time doing this course and I was suffering from a niggling quad problem in the weeks leading up to the ride.

I consider the climbs on Riding the Wild Sierra to be somewhat easier than those of the DMD and the TT - in terms of steepness, not length. I've done the Death Ride 6 times, and I find climbing the Sierra Mountain passes to be much more pleasant than toiling up something like the back side of Mount Hamilton or Sierra Road on DMD, or the Geysers, Skaggs, or Rancheria on the TT.

Of course all of this is highly subjective, but it wouldn't be any fun to discuss if it wasn't !!!



rollin nolan said:


> I logged on tonight to ask what everyone thought the toughest ride in CA is. I think I found it. I did Climb to Kaiser this year which was very difficult. I'm looking for another challenge of that caliber or beyond. How steep are these climbs? The Death Ride climbs sound steep, but not extreme. Are the additional passes steeper?


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## norcalscot (Jul 2, 2003)

Kingsbury is worth climbing - I saw a Black Bear as I was descending it in June, but Luther is extremely short and very forgettable...



robwh9 said:


> It's kind of a pissing contest: My ride is tougher than your ride (i.e, the Death Ride)!
> 
> Are Kingsbury and Luther even worth riding?
> 
> I think Alta Alpina did a great job running the Death Ride, and this probably will be a great event.


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## TahoeBC (Mar 11, 2008)

Bump cause you can sign up now.

Not sure I'll be up for this one this year or not, sure would like to since it's the first official year.

http://www.altaalpina.org/challenge/


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## Sagebum (Dec 9, 2001)

I would rather stay away from descriptions such as "Worlds Toughest this or that ......as mentioned above it becomes a pissing match. I'd say if 8 passes and 20,300 feet aren't enough, just add Pacific Grade to it all when you are down in Hermit Valley. PG is no Sierra Rd but it is 1000 feet over 2.25 miles with some 20+% in there. 

We are working really hard to make it a great ride...cool jerseys too.


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## Sagebum (Dec 9, 2001)

*Wild Sierra Updates*

A lot of excellent info on TahoeBC's original post but after looking closely I could see it pretains to the initial test ride we did last year and needs some updating. Mail registration is now open for the Alta Alpina Challenge: Riding the Wild Sierra presented by the <a href="http://www.altaalpina.org" target="_blank">Alta Alpina Cycling Club</a>. Website registration will be up and running soon. The start location is Turtle Rock Park, Markleeville CA instead of Diamond Valley School.

Rest stops were primitive for the test ride but will be full service for this year's inaugural event.


<center><img src=http://www.sagebum.com/Alta%20Route%20Pics/HopeSteven.JPG width=550></center>
The <a href="http://www.altaalpina.org/challenge/" target="_blank">Wild Sierra</a> is actually 3 events on one day in Alpine County California and Carson Valley Nevada.

The <a href="http://www.altaalpina.org/challenge/8pass/index.html" target="_blank">8 Pass Challenge</a> is a California <a href="http://www.caltriplecrown.com/" target="_blank">Triple Crown</a> ride and just may be the "Worlds Toughest Double Century" at 198 miles and 20,300 ft of climbing including the famous summits such as Kingsbury, Carson, Luther, Blue Lakes, Monitor and Ebbetts. The 8 Pass Jersey is designed by a southern Sierra graphic artist. <a href="http://www.sagebum.com/Jersey%20Pics/8%20Pass%20Finisher%20Jersey%202009.jpg" target="_blank">8 Pass Jersey</a>. 

The <a href="http://www.altaalpina.org/challenge/6pass/index.html" target="_blank">Build Your Own Challenge</a> allows you to be "As Wild as You Dare" by choosing to ride 1-6 passes, 30-160 miles. It is possible to do a 5 pass ride similar to the Death Ride without having to ride up Hwy 88 to Carson Pass! The <a href="http://www.sagebum.com/Jersey%20Pics/AltaAlpina_March29_FINAL.png" target="_blank">Event Jersey</a> is by local artist Sandy Baenan of Artwerks.

The <a href="http://www.altaalpina.org/challenge/kidcarson/index.html" target="_blank">Kid Carson Challenge</a> is 7 to 29 miles of "Fun in the Foothills" for families and kids.

There is something for just about every rider!

We have had a big response already and are processing the registrations for those who reserved a spot earlier. We are limited to 900 riders the first year. This ride will fill.

Any of the blue links above will get you to the official ride registration site.

If you are not familiar with this area, I regularly post pics on my blog of our local rides <a href="http://www.bikejournal.com/blog.asp?rname=Sagebuml" target="_blank">Here</a>

I'll do my best to answer any questions!


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## TahoeBC (Mar 11, 2008)

Sagebum said:


> I just add Pacific Grade to it all when you are down in Hermit Valley. PG is no Sierra Rd but it is 1000 feet over 2.25 miles with some 20+% in there.



Ouch, no thank you  

Here is a shot from pacific grade today










Rumor had it Ebbits pass would open Saturday, so like most years I took opportunity to ride it car free today. Beautiful day, peeled the arm warmers off 5 minutes into the ride and never needed them again.

Great time to get up here to train for this or the death ride!

More pics from todays ride
http://home.comcast.net/~tahoebackcountry/EbbitsandPacficGrade5_8_09/index.html


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

I believe they are still short of riders. Definitely a perfect way to start out the summer for those who are interested.


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## Sagebum (Dec 9, 2001)

*Going to the Snow*

Nice pics of Pac Grade TahoeBC. I was up on Ebbetts Thursday with no traffic...it was a nice day too.

<img src=https://www.sagebum.com/BikeJ09/May/SilverPeak571.JPG width=550>

Sunday we did both sides of Sonora Pass. Another great day. Last ramp before the top on the east side.

<img src=https://www.sagebum.com/BikeJ09/May/SonoraWest%205102.JPG width=550>

It was a low snow year but still fun to be up there w/o cars. West side just below 9000 ft sign.

<img src=https://www.sagebum.com/BikeJ09/May/SonoraEast%205103.JPG width=550>

The rest is on my Cycling blog at: https://www.bikejournal.com/blog.asp?rname=Sagebum

The sign ups for the 8 Pass Triple Crown ride are OK but yes, more riders are needed for the Build Your Own ride. The nice thing about the <a href="https://www.altaalpina.org/challenge/" target="_blank">Wild Sierra</a> is that you can do a 5 pass ride without ever going up Hwy 88 as in the DR and there are plenty of easier options, even a family ride.

<img src=https://www.sagebum.com/BikeJ09/May/Wild%20Sierra%20Jersey.JPG width=550>


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Wow, I really want to get up there right now. I love it when there is snow all over. My health hasn't been good enough this spring for me to get in shape. I did Sonora last year in the late summer and it just about killed me. Coming back up out Dardenelles was crazy. Thanks for the pics!


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## Sagebum (Dec 9, 2001)

Sonora was really nice w/o the traffic. Hope to do Tioga Pass Saturday...Le Vining to Olmsted Point and back and then Ebbetts/Pacific Grade on Sunday. Hope to get some pics up.

Meanwhile....www.altaalpina.org/challenge We are trying really hard to start a great new ride.


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## mangotreat0808 (Sep 4, 2006)

Any pictures, thoughts on the ride? I heard it was just held yesterday June 13, 09.


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## alamere (Jun 23, 2008)

It was a very nice event. The area is very picturesque and it was very pretty on the slower speed of a bike - mountains, creeks, a little snow, a variety of wildlife. I signed up for the make your own challenge version where I picked Luther, Carson, & Blue Lakes, and Monitor (west). This totaled to 107 miles and about 10kft which was more than enough for me. But it was impressive to be passed while climbing Monitor by cyclists who were doing all 8 passes. They easily passed me even though they had already done about 8k more feet than I had.

The event was very well put on. They had more than enough rest stops which were well stocked with a large variety of food. They had powder for drinks in little cups to allow one to mix their own, choosing from Cytomax, Heed, and Perpetum. The canvas chairs at the top of Monitor were so welcome & right next to a propane heater.

The weather was overcast with the sun peaking through just a few times. I got hit by two short thunderstorms but that was preferable to blazing heat which the area is sometimes know for. And it wasn't crowded. There were enough people that you knew you were part of the event but not so many that they got in your way or limited you on the thin-air descents. I hit 46 mph on Blue Lakes. I was going to try to beat that on Monitor west but the pavement was a little wet and my legs were wasted by then.

I am really glad I did it and will be back next year.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Another vote for a great experience . . .to a point. We attempted eight passes but dropped out after getting pretty darn wet (about 40 miles of rain/hail/snow) and rode Kingsbury, Luther, Carson, and Blue Lakes before returning to Turtle Rock. The only complaint we had was that Kingsbury was pretty much a waste of time. Having to ride 20 miles out to do it and then ride back is rather boring and I really wish we had skipped that one to do Monitor and Ebbitts. 

Everything Alamere said about the support is true. I thought it was done better than the Deathride. The food was better, the stops far friendlier (except for the USGS guys on Ebbitts who are always a blast), and the homemade cookies were great. 

We got hit by rain on Kingsbury, snow on Carson Pass (pellet snow), and pretty much nonstop rain on most of Blue Lakes and all the way back to Turtle Rock Park. We were completely ready for it with good gear but after eating miles and miles of dirty water (no fenders) I was getting a little tired of it. At mile 111.7 we were passing Turtle Rock on on our way to Monitor when I remembered we had ice cold beer in our vehicle. I never made it to Monitor. There's always next year.

A ride report with pics will be posted tonight in the Commuting forum. I'll post a link here when it's ready to go.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this ride but would skip Kingsbury unless you are a 8-pass animal.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

*Ride Report and Pictures from 1/2 the Ride*

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=176261

Sorry I bummed out before hitting the funner stuff on the South end of the ride.


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