Pikes Peak Hill Climb

The route

The Pikes Peak hill climb has run since 1916, which makes it the second-oldest motor race in the United States. The current course starts at the Mile 7 marker on the Pikes Peak Highway, at 9,390 ft, and finishes at the summit, 14,115 ft. That is 12.42 miles, 156 turns and 4,720 ft of climbing at an average grade of 7.2 percent. The road was fully paved by the 2012 race.

Drivers break the course into sections everyone knows: the lower forest up to Glen Cove, the tight switchbacks of the W's above treeline, the long open stretch past Devil's Playground, and the last exposed miles to the summit house. Thin air costs engines up to 30 percent of their sea-level power by the top, and weather can swing from sun to snow in the same run.

The race is held in late June, one car at a time against the clock. Practice is split into thirds over the preceding week, so race day is the only time competitors drive the full course bottom to top in one go.

What the sculpture shows

The sculpture shows the east face of Pikes Peak with the highway as one continuous line climbing from the Mile 7 start to the summit. The W's switchbacks and the big traverse past Devil's Playground are easy to pick out. At 12.4 miles the terrain is compact enough that the mountain shows real relief rather than reading as a range.