# Mary's Peak



## gray8110 (Dec 11, 2001)

Can anyone provide some insight into the difficulty of the climb up Mary's Peak? I'm thinking about taking the drive up from the Rogue Valley for the Mary's Peak Hill Climb on 8/19 but it looks like it might be a bit too steep for my limited climbing skills... not that that'll stop me, but I can be competitive on sustained climbs up to about 5-6% but much above that and I get slow fast. I guess I'm curious how slow i'm really going to be 

http://www.eugenecyclingteam.com/marys_peak_files/Marys_HC_flier_2006.pdf

The flyer above overstates the steepness - Some pretty simple math makes that obvious. It claims the first 3.8 miles are 11% and the last 4.7 are at 10%. If that were true, it would climb 2,280 feet in the first segment and 2,482 in the last segment. If the elevation profile is accurate, it looks like both segments REALLY climb about 1,500 feet. Still, that means most of the climbing is probably around 7-8% which isn't a cakewalk.

Does anyone have experience with the mountain? Is it fairly steady or is it spiky? I understand that hillclimbs have been run in the past - what's a benchmark time on the climb?


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## wasfast (Feb 3, 2004)

I lived in the area for years but never rode it other than the section up to the turn off at Hwy 34. I have driven it plenty of times and the lower section is rather steep. The downhill section in the middle would be downright demoralizing after all that climbing. 

Cliimbs like Dead Indian and Hwy 66 from Ashland aren't as steep but I suspect that since you ride there regularily, you'll be fine. From memory, Mary's Peak is steeper overall than, say the climb to Mt Ashland Ski area. 

Sorry, all the info I have.


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## undies (Oct 13, 2005)

Their elevation chart shows ~2400 ft. of net elevation gain; how much actual climbing that is I don't know, but it's obviously more than that. From Mary's Summit on OR-34 to the parking area near the top of Mary's Peak there is actually over 3000 ft. of net gain (from 750 ft. to ~3900 ft.).


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## gray8110 (Dec 11, 2001)

undies said:


> Their elevation chart shows ~2400 ft. of net elevation gain; how much actual climbing that is I don't know, but it's obviously more than that. From Mary's Summit on OR-34 to the parking area near the top of Mary's Peak there is actually over 3000 ft. of net gain (from 750 ft. to ~3900 ft.).


What I was saying is that there is actually about 1,500 feet per segment meaning about 3,000 feet+ not 4,700+ like their grade estimates would indicate.

I looked at it in Google Earth. The base of the climb is at about 1,200 Feet, the first summit is about 2,700.. that's exactly what the flyer says. 

Meh. The climb appears to be plenty hard. More than anything, I'm curious to hear what people who've climbed it think.


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## TWD (Feb 9, 2004)

gray8110 said:


> I'm curious to hear what people who've climbed it think.


I've climbed Mary's quite a few times and it is a tough climb, though I've never started it fresh (it's a 25 mile ride to the start of the climb from my house) and I've always started the climb from the bottom on Hwy 34 which is 3 miles and 700' lower.

The race flyer is not accurate. Based on the USGS topo maps of the area and the distances shown on the race flyer (which look pretty close), the lower half of the climb gains about 1400 ft (just over 1200 ft to just over 2600 ft) ft at an average grade of ~7%. There are some steeper pitches in the 10% range at the beginning which are tough, but once you get past those you can settle into a rythym.

At 3.8 miles you drop down a quick descente of about 250' vertical and then cruise through a very short false flat before climbing again. The upper part climbs another 1400 ft vertical (approximately 2360 ft to the finishing elevation of 3760 ft at the parking lot) at an average grade of just under 6%. 

Actually, most of the upper half is 6%+, but about a mile from the summit it levels out and you drop down a quick descent (maybe 50 ft vertical in less than a 1/4 mile) and then it climbs again gently to the finish. You can big ring this last stretch to the finish if you carry your speed and have anything left in the tank.

All in all, it is a steady climb. You have to establish a rythim and stick to it. The hardest parts are the steeper pitches in first mile or two, and then trying to re-establish your rythim after the descent in the middle. That first pitch after the false flat will hurt your legs guaranteed. Actually, the hardest part is having to do that short steep climb on the way back down the mountain after your legs have locked up.

As far as the benchmark times, the only info I can find is that the Men's record is 40 minutes 8 seconds and the Women's record is 49 minutes both set in '96. I'm not sure if these are still accurate, but as far as I know the race hasn't been held since '98. 

The '96 results will give you a ballpark idea for your category.

http://cliffhanger76.tripod.com/c2sea/mary96/index.html


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## gray8110 (Dec 11, 2001)

Wow.. Cool.. Perfect!! 

That was exactly what I was hoping to get. Thanks for taking the time - I appreciate it.


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## gray8110 (Dec 11, 2001)

Your description of the climb was spot on. I expected the first 3.8 mile section to be harder and the closing 5 mile section to be easier but it was a great climb.

If that 40 minute time from '96 was a record.. that record was destroyed today. Alex Newport-Berra did 37:31 and Doug Ollerenshaw did a 38:08. Jenny Slawta (a quasi teammate) would have broken the women's record as well with a 48:24... she got me by 8 seconds.. but 48:32 seems so paltry after seeing what Alex did. Early last year, we were both 4's and I thought I was riding competitively against him. We both got upgraded mid-season. I became pack-fill in the 3's, he took off taking second at Mt Hood and 8th at Elkhorn and getting moved to 2 before the year ended and joining Broadmark's Elite squad. He hasn't raced much this year, but he's definitely shown that his climbing is going to take him places.


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