A confluence of ideal circumstances make Saturday of this Memorial weekend perfect for a fun and educational opportunity for a climbing and descending clinic at Mt. Rainier National Park's Sunrise Park Road. There are no local races, the weather is supposed to be excellent, and the park road is closed to motorized traffic! I rode from the park entrance (still free entry) at 3,400' almost to the lodge at 6,000'. The grade is a steady 4% for 20K and of course the views are absolutely stunning. The road is clear and there are no cars, affording an excellent opportunity to climb and practice descending in different aero positions and cornering on the curvy switchbacks near the bottom.
The plan is to meet at the park entrance at 11AM where they have restrooms, water, and deer. We'll dawn our sunscreen, light jacket, and the rest of our gear and warm up the gentle slope to Fryingpan Creek. There we'll stretch and I'll talk about different climbing techniques and workouts to get the most of your workout and think less about the pain. I'll also talk about descending in groups, "closing the cup," obstacles, gravel, fall lines, weight distribution, etc. The focus of this clinic will be hands-on so the talk will be brief. We'll then go under the gate and start climbing. I'll stay near the back or loop around so no one is left behind and everyone can ask questions going up. We'll buddy up and rendezvous briefly at the three major switchbacks going up, the top, and once again before hitting the final curvy section near the end. All stops will be brief so no one gets cold. There won't be any traffic so we can keep looping safely.
Here's what the road looks like. We start just east of Shaw Creek on Sunrise Park Rd and go west.
Once we reach the gate near the end at FryingPan Creek we can climb back up and do the fun, curvy section again or people can go their own ways. Great rides abound. The profile below starts at the park entrance, goes up to Sunrise Lodge (snow currently blocks the last kilo to the lodge), back down passed the park entrance and down 410 to the Crystal Mtn cutoff, up to Crystal Mtn Lodge, back down to 410, up to Chinook Pass, and back to the park entrance.
The directions are easy. Just follow Hwy 410 east from Enumclaw. Go passed the Crystal Mtn turnoff and continue up 410.
About 5 miles on your right there'll be a sign for Sunrise. The entrance to the national park is a couple miles in. There's parking just passed the entrance. Let's plan to be on our bikes ready to go at 11AM. It is possible they will charge a fee to get in to the park, but they weren't charging yesterday and don't intend to open Sunrise Lodge for another month so we should be OK.
Remember, I need an RSVP if you want to go and don't plan on seeing me there unless you get a confirmation. Have a Memorial weekend!