Mount Evans descent
Distance: 22.95 km
Elevation Gain: 45 m
Elevation Loss: 1088 m
Difficulty:
82 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 0.00 FIETS
Avg Grade: -4.55 %
Max cat climb: 5
Min elevation: 3263 m
Max elevation: 4306 m
Ride Category:
Flat
Colorado State Highway 5 climbs Mount Evans, in Colorado, USA, and near the summit it reaches 4,310 m, which makes it the highest paved road in North America. Denver Mountain Parks built it, on a route set by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. The road reached Echo Lake in 1921. Higher up, the thin air left the steam shovels working at about half their usual power, and the last 180 m of road were built by hand, in 1930. Riders have raced up the mountain in a hill climb since 1962; in 1984 the race was won by Alexi Grewal, who that summer became the first American man to win Olympic gold in road cycling.
This ride starts at the summit car park, beside the Meyer-Womble Observatory; from 1972 to 1999 the site held the highest optical observatory in the world. The road drops 1,088 m in 23 km, past Summit Lake, which is part of Denver’s mountain parks, and on past the Mount Goliath natural area. The ride ends at the Echo Lake junction, where the road from Denver arrived in 1921.
