biker3c086e24

I'm looking for recommendations on touring bikes, but with some unusual requirements.

I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and I do a lot of few-day tours with a lot of elevation gain. A typical day on these trips might have 7-9,000 feet of elevation gain over 80-100 miles. From what I can tell, "touring bikes" tend to be built for long but not particularly steep rides, where sturdiness matters more than weight. Because of the kind of riding I do, I'd really like something sturdy enough but also light so that it doesn't kill me on hills. I recently had to cut a trip short because my knee was acting up, and climbing thousands of feet on my clunky 25lb bike was definitely partly to blame.

Is there anything out there that is good for touring - comfortable to ride, sturdy enough to take a beating - but also light enough, sporty enough, and with nice enough parts to make it doable to do lots of hills? If it helps, my budget is in the $1-2,000 range and maybe a bit more if need be. Thanks for any advice!