Teton Pass from Jackson

[mattdwyerva]

I see the 4 mi climb from the Snake River to the top of Teton Pass is fairly steep for that length.

If you've ridden it, how did it compare to other TA climbs.  It appears to be steeper than most, or maybe even all, other very long climbs (excluding hills here).

Since I have questioned grades in another thread, if you have ridden it and recorded your ride, I'd be curious to know how it went. 
 

[DonKahn1]

I rode it fully loaded last summer from Jackson as part of a longer tour.  I thought it was pretty tough, and had to push my bike about 1/4 of the way up.  It is a bike path (actually parts of the old highway converted to a bike path) so it is pretty easy to get on and off the bike.  This was part of a cross country ride, and I thought it was the toughest climb of the trip, although not the longest or highest.  This was the only pass in the west in which I had to push my bike.  Luckily it is relatively short, maybe a little over 2,000 vertical feet of climb from Jackson

[mattdwyerva]

Ok thanks. 

RWGPS says just under 4 miles long and 8.5% grade average.  Sounds like you agree with that assessment, more or less

[Ty0604]

Have ridden it twice on a fully loaded touring bike and didn’t have any issues with it and never needed to stop. The only pass I’ve ever had to stop and push my bike up was the Vail eastbound.

[jamawani]

Biked it on one X-USA ride east-to-west.
Then I lived in Jackson for three years.

Certainly it's doable - steep - but doable.
But the real issue is summer traffic.
The AADT at the National Forest boundary is 10,000.
Summer AADTs can exceed 20,000.

For comparison - I-80 in southern Wyoming has an AADT of 7500 at the continental divide
And it is one of the most heavily used rural Interstates.
20,000 vehicles per day is higher than many states' highest rural Interstate total.

Often I say ride super early to escape the traffic.
But Jackson is so expensive that many service workers commute over the pass early in the morning.
Fortunately, if you are westbound, the early traffic is eastbound.
Early Sunday morning is usually best.
And - - there are shoulders, but they are narrow at times.

[mattdwyerva]

Thanks for all the details

[BikeliciousBabe]

RWGPS says just under 4 miles long and 8.5% grade average.

Ouch.

I have done Thompson Pass from ID into MT twice.  IIRC, the hard part heading east from Murray is the final 4 miles at an average of 7.4%, with the second two miles of that averaging 7.8%.  That was quite taxing, especially when you I realized that I had started out in my middle chainring. 

[mattdwyerva]

Ha ha, at least you had another couple gears available.

More than once, I have looked back and found with dismay that I was already in first gear.   Oy.  Thankfully, I prefer standing on steep grades, for the most part.  Not for one hour though...

[BikeliciousBabe]

Ha ha, at least you had another couple gears available.

More than once, I have looked back and found with dismay that I was already in first gear.   Oy.  Thankfully, I prefer standing on steep grades, for the most part.  Not for one hour though...

Having done the climb two years earlier, I became worried that there was something physically wrong with me, or at least the bike.  Something has to be holding me back.  Then I thought "Please don't let me look down and see that I forgot to shift into the small ring." Sure enough....That gives you an idea of how easy the first half of the climb is compared to the second half.

Here is the profile from Murray:


https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30438119

Some double-digit sections in there.  The first time I climbed it, it was warm and humid.  A river of sweat poured down from my face.  The second time, a thunderstorm moved in halfway up the steep part.  I had to pull off into the woods and out on my rain clothes.

And yeas...Hoping for, but not finding, one more low gear is saddening.