Snow pack ups ante for Hood’s Mt. Adams stage

May 5, 2010 by editor

HOOD RIVER — Normally when the snow pack threatens routes for June’s Mt. Hood Cycling Classic, abundance is the problem. But it’s the lack of snow this year that has caused a route change for the Stage 2 Mt. Adams Road Race on June 3.

And that’s actually a blessing in disguise, says Race Director Chad Sperry, because that same light snow pack that could cause heavier-than-normal truck traffic on the original course will free up an even better 54-mile loop on Forest Service roads that lie due west of the mountain. Sperry says the new route is usually under a couple feet of snow when his six-day race rolls through Portland and the Gorge in June, leaving it off limits.

“It’s a wicked course,” Sperry said. “It’s awesome. The only reason that we didn’t choose to use this course originally is that we thought there would be no way in the world it would be snow-free in time. Generally that course doesn’t open up until mid-to-late June at the earliest. It’s up there in the mountains between Adams and St. Helens and it gets walloped with a ton of snow.”

The original Glenwood/Troutlake route for the Thursday stage, which had been planned for a 46.5-mile loop on roads south of Mt. Adams in Washington, will have to change because less snow this year means logging companies will have earlier-than-normal access to the forests. That means there will be logging trucks on roads used for the course, and county permit granters are worried there will be interactions between logging trucks and bicycles. Unlike the OBRA State Championships scheduled for the same course in August, the Mt. Hood stage takes place during the week when trucks will be out.

That won’t be a problem on the new route, which uses scenic roads that trek deep into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest sandwiched between Mt. Adams and nearby Mt. St. Helens. Sperry said the course resembles the Three Summits Road Race that the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic used several times but had to abandon a few years ago after a bridge washed out and the Forest Service lacked the funds to make repairs.

“You’re just literally rolling over the western shoulders of Mt. Adams,” Sperry said. “You are in the boondocks on this course. It is as pure a national forest as you can get.  These roads are just amazing, and there are some amazing views and vistas of Mt. Adams.”

The new Stage 2 Mt. Adams Road Race will feature two laps of a 54 mile loop for the Pro/1 men, and one lap for all other categories. Each lap has about 4,000 feet of climbing, which Sperry said comes from two gradual big-ring climbs. The course has less climbing than the Cooper Spur Circuit Race it’s replacing from 2009, and it could give the sprinters a chance for a bunch finish as it winds up with a 10-12 mile flat-to-downhill roll into the start/finish at Trout Lake.

“It has a heck of a lot less climbing than Cooper Spur, and it’s much cooler than Cooper Spur,” Sperry said. “I think a strong sprinter will have a chance. The climbs aren’t steep. They’re big-ring, gradual climbs. Even though there’s some elevation gain. It’s definitely easier than Stage 2 of the Cherry Blossom.”

The course starts at Trout Lake School and heads north on Mt. Adams Road then veers off the beaten path up Forest Service Road 23 heading toward Council Lake. Before it reaches the lake, the route takes a left onto Forest Service Road 90 heading southwest. It turns again due south onto Forest Service Road 88 for the run back to the start/finish in Trout Lake.

The first of the two climbs per lap starts in earnest just a few miles into the route and gains 2,000 feet over the next 12 miles. The descent is long and winding, with a few brief uphill interruptions. The downhill delivers riders to the the foot of the next significant climb about 29 miles into the loop. This time riders climb about 1,200 feet over six miles before tackling a section of rollers and then the final descent and flattish roll into the start/finish.

The course contains three short gravel bits, about 200-400 meters long on slightly uphill sections. Sperry said he doesn’t believe those sections will play much of a role, although riders will have to wait a short bit to check it out for themselves.

“We’re waiting on the last few drifts to melt out,” Sperry said. “But right now we’re way ahead of schedule. When that happens in the next week or two the course should be open. We’ll continue to post updated information on the website, so as soon as that is snow-free and riders can go and recon and access the course, we’ll let them know.”

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