Mt Lemmon
46.5294° N, 10.4532° E
Declared as one of the USA’s most spectacular climbs/roads we could not wait to go capture this legend for ourselves. Found in the Coronado National Forrest this climb is found near Tucson Arizona and was named after a famous botanist Sara Lemmon who first summited this mountain in 1881
This climb has an average gradient of 5%, a total climb of 2127m and often high temperatures making this a spectacular beast.
46.1
KM
| 2127m | 5% | 9.9% | CLIMBED | AVERAGE GRADIENT | MAX GRADIENT |
|---|
The start of the climb. A land covered in saguaro cacti and temperatures which can go above 35 degrees C /100 Farrenheit.
Be prepared for much cooler temperatures at the top.
The entirety of the climb is dramatic. This shot sharing some of the first 10KM
The road rises. The rock formations becoming more dramatic and with the temperatures cooling the cacti are disappearing.
The road snaking up a tight valley past Thimble peak vista before reaching Windy Point Vista.
Windy Vista Point, arguably the most famous part of Mt Lemmon, with the road going in-between rock statues and offering incredible views.
The road squeezing through the rock. The rider barely visible.
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With Mt Lemmon being over 9000ft or 2000m high be prepared for changeable weather.
MT LEMMON SUMMIT
Having wanting to climb Mt Lemmon for years, the pressure was on. For it to deliver what we had seen and also for Epic Cols to capture its glory. The interesting part of the climb is that as you get higher, unlike alpine climbs the vegetation gets thicker because of its cooler temperatures. Alpine trees enjoying the cooler air and shrowding the summit. The photo above shows the village just below the true summit. The toughest part of the climb was the part up East Ski Run Road where the gradient was the steapest of the entire climb and of course we had endured over 40Km of climbing. The finale? Reaching the observatories with spectacular views of the surrounding area.
Epic Cols favourite climb in the USA.
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MT LEMMON CYCLING CLIMB FAQ'S
Mt Lemmon does not officially close, however, it does receive snow so there will be times when it is impassable until cleared
The temperature at the summit of Mt Lemmon can be up to 30 degrees cooler. So be prepared for changeable weather.
Mt Lemmon is definitely one of the most scenic roads in the USA
At the top is Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter which is home to Steward Observatory's public astronomy outreach program
From the bottom of Mt Lemmon to the top is 26 miles and over 6000ft of climbing
During his racing, Lance Armstrong used to stay at the top of Mt Lemmon so he could undertake training.
