Comments on: San Francisco Bay Area Cycling – Santa Cruz Mountains – Hicks Road North/Mt. Umunhum Climbing

By: Dion Rides Bikes

Dion Rides Bikes — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 21:45:10 +0000

Hey Ryan,

I cross linked your site because you do a good account of this climb. I live out here in Almaden, and although I’m mostly a Cyclocross/MTB rider, I’ll do this climb every once in awhile just to check myself. I did it the other day with my compact crankset.

Here’s my cross post: http://www.dionridesbikes.com/2011/09/road-riding-is-hard.html

Even though I have a “bail out” cog in the back (34T), the 1:1 gearing was very tough compared to the triple crankset I had on my bike before.

Folks, I’ve done Hamilton, Sierra, Jamison Creek, etc. and Hicks to Umunhum is by far the hardest climb around.

Good write up on this! Advice to all – go out and do this climb… it’s a test of will.

By: rallison

rallison — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:29:02 +0000

Umunhum has quite a history and reputation..the property owners up there really seem to dislike those who want to summit. The road itself has a No Trespassing line that is apparently followed up by security cameras and a motion sensor that activates warning lights. Possibly slightly ridiculous.

26 miles hiking only to get shut down at the very top? Ouch.

By: zor

zor — Mon, 30 May 2011 23:32:20 +0000

me and a couple friends hiked up this from the start of quicksilver in almaden (so about 26 miles in all). took all day. we wanted to get to the summit and passed the no trespassing signs but some dude who owned private property shut our efforts down while we were almost at the top. bummer.

By: First Ride On the Urban Replacement Frame « cheapbmxparts

First Ride On the Urban Replacement Frame « cheapbmxparts — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 19:26:21 +0000

[...] I took off for Hicks Rd. on a very, very cold morning. I don’t care what some of the East Coast folks have to say about California weather – 30 degrees is still 30 degrees. If I felt strong at the top, I was going to go all the way up to Mt. Umunhum, which is 3000+ ft up. I can go into details of this extremely tough climb, but toughascent.com does a fantastic report of it HERE. [...]

By: First Ride On the Urban Replacement Frame | Extreme BMX

First Ride On the Urban Replacement Frame | Extreme BMX — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 09:30:41 +0000

By: rallison

rallison — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 06:33:42 +0000

I was tempted…however, I had heard too many stories of residents threatening those continuing on and park rangers writing tickets that I actually decided to play it safe this once. On this topic, it does sound like the state is looking to clean up the site and fully open it up for public use in the next couple of years.

By: Will

Will — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:22:40 +0000

Stopping at the White Line of Death is for wimps! Risk a ticket, continue to the crest, and it is 5 miles, 10% grade, the third steepest 5 miles in America, and this side of Mount Washington.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32761653

By: rallison

rallison — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:28:52 +0000

While I have never climbed Mt Hamilton East or Sierra (they are on my list for some future visit), based on stats, this climb is likely tougher than either of those. Hamilton climbs 1992 ft, but at only 5.5%. Hicks/Umunhum gains even more elevation (2199 ft) at almost double the grade (10.2%). Needless to say, there is no contest there. Sierra, however, is closer. At 9.8% for 1816 ft of elevation gain, the stats are more comparable. Based on stats alone, Hicks/Umunhum is probably still tougher (steeper, more elevation gain…plus that mile stretch at a ridiculous 13.9%). Sierra, though, sounds like a pretty solid climb. I’ll report back when I do climb it (but still, I doubt that it will prove to be as tough or tougher than Hicks/Umunhum).

It sounds like you have climbed Hamilton and Sierra – when you get a chance to conquer Hicks/Umunhum, I’d love to hear what you thought of it in relation to Hamilton and Sierra!

-Ryan

By: Harold B

Harold B — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:56:13 +0000

How does this climb compare with Sierra Road or the back side of Mt. Hamilton?