How to Get Started in Hillclimbing

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story by john webber
action photos by clark mcInnis
headshots by john webber

Legend has it that a couple of thrill-seekers named Jack and Jill started …

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The New England Hill climb assoc.   Is less restrictive for street driven cars.

You can drive your car to the hill and run.

 They do have a rather odd classification system.

Potential racers need to think of this as a single rally stage run several times. There are lots of things to hit that won't move.

I would love to do hillclimbs again.  I started off hillclimbing in the UK where you could driver your road car (Opel Manta GTE), but over here in Michigan there haven't been any hillclimbs for most of the time I've been here.  There is now the Empire Hillclimb that's been sanctioned by both NASA and now SCCA, but you need a full cage to run that.  

Last year, I got the chance to hillclimb through an amazing program with the PA Hillclimb Assoc and long-time racer Mike Ancas.  They provided the car, gear and entry fees.  It was a bucket-list item for sure and as soon as I can, I want to get a car and go climbing!  

Any Texas hillclimbs?

In reply to yupididit :

Step One is to dig a really, really deep hole...  :)

In reply to yupididit :

First you have to find a hill.

Would absolutely love to do a hillclimb someday. Have been enjoying mountain and canyon driving for years, but a closed off event? Heck yeah!

Hmm, Pikes Peak is only about 7 hours away... Goal for when I can confidently say that the Supra is absolutely sorted.

we have some awesome hills in western ny  ,but the ny attitude is nothing is done that is fun or does not give the politicians money and pay insurance companies a fortune .So no one does much with moving events here .darn blue state funsuckers . Their idea of risk management is go do it somewhere else where we can't ever get sued or called out for dangerous activities . 

pinchvalve, that sounds awesome! Is there any information regarding that? I'd love to try a hill climb or two :)

I've always thought the road from The Village up to Main Lodge at Mammoth Mountain (CA) would make for an awesome hill climb venue.  Always have to temper my enthusiasm when driving the family Expedition (loaded with family) up the hill for a ski day.

In reply to te72 :

pike's pike is basically invite only to enter (as is mt. washington) pretty much have to have results from other hillclimbs, stage rallies etc. in order to get your application accepted. 

In reply to captdownshift :

That doesn't surprise me, and answers the question that's always been in my mind of "why don't more people do this?" so thanks for crushing my dreams man... nah, just kidding.

I think it'd be fun to just attend someday. I will drive to the peak, perhaps not on race day (if it happens, it happens, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for that invite...), but I'll see the top someday.

Now, another question... why don't they do downhill racing at all? My Miata is so much more fun when gravity is helping!

jdoc90 said:

we have some awesome hills in western ny  ,but the ny attitude is nothing is done that is fun or does not give the politicians money and pay insurance companies a fortune .So no one does much with moving events here .darn blue state funsuckers . Their idea of risk management is go do it somewhere else where we can't ever get sued or called out for dangerous activities . 

I was told there is a law on the NY books that prohibits racing on public roads, even if closed down for an event. This is why you never see stage rallies in NY but they have them just across the border in PA.

In reply to ddavidv :

Umm, there are several stage rallies in NY State. 

te72 said:

In reply to captdownshift :

 

 

Now, another question... why don't they do downhill racing at all? My Miata is so much more fun when gravity is helping!

Brakes have come a long way over the years but can you imagine the carnage of a downhill race?

British Columbia ofcourse has the Knox hill climb in Kelowna that’s been going for ever. For that event you need a full road race or rally license if I’m not mistaken.

KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:

te72 said:

In reply to captdownshift :

 

 

Now, another question... why don't they do downhill racing at all? My Miata is so much more fun when gravity is helping!

Brakes have come a long way over the years but can you imagine the carnage of a downhill race?

Absolutely can, it's a balance of tire wear, brake cooling, and bravado. Like I said, this is sort of my hobby, so I have a bit of experience with it. I generally run on the conservative side though, since traction loss easily could be catastrophic. When I was younger though? Wonder I'm alive to tell the tale!

That said, most hill climb events aren't so long that you would fry a decent brake system, if proper setup went into it. Would also be good incentive to keep weight down. I still love the idea. =)

Hillclimbs are fun and you can win or lose by fractions of a second.  Took my road racing TVR in a couple here in BC as I happened to have a 5.13 diff hanging around - top speed of a bout 90 mph but you sure got there quickly.  Knew a guy that used to run Pike's Peak - said he preferred it before they paved it and also thought it was safer then.

wspohn said:

Knew a guy that used to run Pike's Peak - said he preferred it before they paved it and also thought it was safer then.

Very interesting, did he go into detail on what the dual nature of the course made for a safer race? I can imagine a bit of restraint goes a long way to keeping the shiny side up...

Have been watching times fall at PPIHC for the last few years now, and it's like Nurburgring times in my book, mind boggling how fast modern cars have become!

Pikes Peak times have dropped astronomically since paving started. I'm glad Monster Tajima was able to crack 10 minutes when there was still a little bit of gravel left. PPIHC is a whole different world, every petrol-head should come see it at least once. The best viewing is up at Devils' Playground above treeline, but you have to get there early and do your cardio and acclimatization for the best experience.

In reply to iceracer :

Austin has 'em.  I'd love to bring my Miata there!  Not all of Texas is flat.