this comes from Greg Kyzer of Spartanburg, SC ...

Local Climbs Rated

Here are some numbers for area climbs from my notes that may help you benchmark climb difficulty in relation to Mitchell.  It is much easier to calculate a climb difficulty based on ft gained/miles instead of % grade.  Always remember that on long climbs you can find an off the scale pitch in the total climb that defies the numbers which seems to make the total climb harder than the numbers indicate.  Another thing to keep in mind is length of climb is a difficulty variable just like average % gradient.

Local Area Climbs - Approximates
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1)  Howard Gap      780/1 mile       780 ft/mile   14.8%  
2)  White Oak       1470/2.9 miles  507 ft/mile    9.6%
3)  Hogback         880/2.6 miles    338 ft/mile   6.3%
4)  Saluda Grade    1080/3.7 miles  291 ft/mile   5.6%
5)  Gville Wtr Shd  1200/7.6 miles  158 ft/mile   <3.0%

Mitchell Climb Breakdown - Approximates
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Mitchell Climb      4800/20 miles   240 ft/mile    4.5%
(does not include initial hills outside of Marion)
(hardest subsegment)9.7 miles of the 20 =          5.8%

Hwy 80 on Mitchell  1505/3.9 miles  385 ft/mile   7.3%

State Park on AOMM  1325/4.35 miles 305 ft/mile   5.8%
(hardest subsegment)2.2 miles of the 4.35 =       7.8%
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Other Area Epic Climbs
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Grandfather Mt/B2B  935/2.2 miles   425 ft/mile   7.8%
   last 1.5 miles   780/1.5 miles   520 ft/mile    9.8%

Hwy 215 from South  2315/6.5 miles  356 ft/mile   6.7%

Hwy 215 from North  2195/8.35 miles 263 ft/mile   5.0%


World Class off the Scale Climbs
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Mt Washington, USA  4727 ft/7.6 miles 621/mile    11.8%

Mount Evans, USA    6590 ft/28 miles  235/mile    4.5%

Mount Ventoux, Fr.  5010 ft/13 miles  385/mile    7.3%

Alpe d' Huez, Fr.   3320 ft/7.4 miles 448/mile    8.5%