Mt. Mitchell
 

I am hoping to climb Mt Mitchell at the end of March/beginning of April.
Any advice?
I would be met at the top to be driven back down, so, no descent.

It is on my list to do this year.

Where will you start?


-Tim-

Train on hills as much as you can. Find the longest and steepest hills you can repeat. (But the Mitchell climb isn't that steep) Repeat ad nauseum, until you're doing the equivalent of climbing for 20+ miles. Why no descent? That's just crazy talk.

Oh, and be ready for temperature swings with your clothing. For this time of year, I'd be concerned with temperature drops. It won't get hot that time of year but it could get pretty chilly.

The weather is what I am concerned about.
Could there be snow and ice close to the top?
This is why I am not descending.

In April anything is possible but if you pick your day you shouldn't have any trouble. Descending is no problem.

I can't speak for climbing just the five miles to the top. I have done the entire event, and the year I did it, the weather was great. However, it was a good 20 degrees cooler at the top than when we left Spartanburg. I've heard tales of riders starting out with temps in the 70s and by the time they reached the top, it was in the 40s with sleet or some other type of winter-like precipitation.

AOMM, in my opinion, is one of those events that you can only train for by going up and riding the actual roads. In my area (west central Georgia) there are plenty opportunities for climbing, but nothing that will prepare you for the 27 miles from Marion to the top of Mount Mitchell. With the exception of a mile stretch of downhill around the 95 mile mark, it's all climbing. I climbed for the better part of 3.5 hours in that 27 miles. It's not real steep, but there are some gradients that reach 6 or 7%.

As far as descending it, you are not allowed to during the actual event, but I bet it would be fun.

Well you might have done the ride by now so how did it go? I did it in 2009,I was only 68 back then and was feeling really good that year. I did it in late May and the weather was good but very misty near the top. I found the road quite slippery in a few spots coming down. It was a lot like some rides I did in Utah a few years before. I was going to give up at one point and a couple of pro riders came along and gave me new encouragement so I finished with them. I was riding my 97 Cannondale
Ed

Mt Mitchell
 

I did the climb about 2 weeks ago.
It was midweek which probably explains why I didn't see any more riders.
The weather was no problem, even at the top.
It is a great ride. I hope to come back and do it again someday
Thanks for all the advice

Thanks for the report, I've been wanting to do it as well. Just having a free block of time is my biggest hurdle.