I don't know how fast you are but have you tried 40x11? I have.
It forces me to tuck on big hills and leaves me a little light with a big tail wind. I climb with 40x42 and have never wanted more (less) on gravel. On mountain bike terrain, I would use lower gears if I had them. I have 700x38 tires. This gearing would be pretty useless on 650.
Colorado rider here, I have always considered the Rockies sufficiently steep.
If I went 1x on a big budget bike, I'd fit a 10t into the mix. A 10-46 1x12 with a 42 chainring would give me a better low end and high end than I have now with very similar gaps (current bike is 10sp).
I suppose this all changes if you're very fast or ride with a lot of baggage.