Pikes Peak a Peerless and Perilous Racing Venue

One of America’s oldest and most daunting auto races takes place Sunday, June 27, in what is certainly the most spectacular setting on this continent for a motorsports event.

Only the Indianapolis 500 has more history than the “Race to the Clouds,” the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb which dates to 1916. And yet, for the most part few people who consider themselves die-hard auto racing fans know much about this annual event.

Racing up a mountain road that goes from pavement to gravel, and that twists with 156 turns while the thinning air makes it increasingly more difficult for the driver and the vehicle to breathe might seem challenging enough. But consider, too, that while it may be hot and sunny at the starting line, it can be raining on the way up and then freezing with blowing snow at the summit.

That summit is 14,110 feet above sea level and thousands of feet above prairies immortalized in 1893 by Katharine Lee Bates, who traveled by train across the Midwest, through Kansas and eastern Colorado, and then rode a carriage most of the way up before finally switching onto a mule to reach the mountain’s summit. Bates was so inspired by what she saw that she wrote the words we sing as "America the Beautiful".

Those racing up the hill can’t afford even a moment to enjoy their view of “purple mountain majesties” or “fruited plain.” There are no SAFER barriers or catch fences around this track, where sections of the roadway have been named “Ragged Edge” and “Devil’s Playground” and – gulp – “Bottomless Pit” for good reason.

But despite such dangers, racers in everything from motorcycles to semi tractors come to complete in one of the event’s 11 categories.

The race is unique on several levels. Because it is contested on a public road, practice and qualifying are held between 5:30 and 8:30 a.m. on the Thursday and Friday before the race. There are no race cars on the road on Saturday. Spectators can drive to viewing perches along the route starting at 4 a.m. on Sunday, with the Race to the Clouds beginning at 9 a.m.

Photo Credit: Brian Steggeman

Read more from Larry Edsall at iZoom.