Bicycling Mount Lemmon, Winter 2016

Our winter home in Tucson has a view of Mount Lemmon, the high point of the Santa Catalina Mountains to our north. Mount Lemmon has an elevation of 9157 feet, has 5157 feet of prominence, and rises about 6300 feet above our home. The General Hitchcock Highway (aka Catalina Highway) climbs from near its base in Tucson to Summerhaven. Near Summerhaven a side road climbs through Ski Valley and past a gate to the gated and fenced Sky Center. The General Hitchcock highway is a very popular bicycling route for local and visiting bicyclists. It is a great bicycling resource providing good workouts, fun descents, and excellent views of the Tucson Basin and surrounding mountains to the south.

Linda and I have bicycled up and down the highway to various destinations many times over recent years. We decided we should see how high we could ride this winter season as well and perhaps make it an annual winter project for us.

Seven Cataracts Vista

We began on New Year’s day of 2016 by starting from Le Buzz Cafe on Tanque Verde Road at about 2560 feet and climbing the Catalina Highway to the Seven Cataracts Vista. The Seven Cataracts Vista is at about 5330 feet. The day was ideal for bicycling and we enjoyed the climb and especially the descent back to the cafe. It was a good start for our project.

Windy Point

We resumed our project on January 13. Snow had accumulated on the Santa Catalina Range the previous week but the weather was again ideal. This time we started from our home. We descended north on Houghton Road and crossed the Agua Caliente Wash, then climbed to the General Hitchcock Highway and followed it as it climbed to Windy Point. As we climbed the long stretch above the last switchback leading to Windy Point the roadside snow melt flowed across the road in some areas, but otherwise the road was dry.

We arrived at Windy Point and enjoyed the views and our day’s accomplishment. Windy Point is at about 6600 feet and has excellent views of the Tucson Basin. As usual, the descent down the highway was much fun. In spite of the roadside snow we only needed light wind jackets and once past the wet sections above the first switchback the road was in good shape.

Palisade Visitor Center

On January 28 Linda and I headed up Mount Lemmon on our bikes from our Tucson home. I reached the Palisade Visitor Center at about 7950 feet elevation. It was a beautiful day. Snow remained on north-facing slopes from below 6000 ft and in the forest above 7000 ft. There were so many remarkable views I often stopped to take them in. I gained about 5900 feet of elevation that day.

Linda was not feeling well and decided to stop at Windy Point. She reached the Palisade Visitor Center on her next try.

Ski Valley

On February 10 Linda and I headed up the Catalina Highway on our bikes from our Tucson home. The day started windy and we had some headwinds as we climbed to about 4000 feet. The winds diminished above there. The day was beautiful and we had many remarkable views as we climbed. Snow remained in the forest above 7000 feet and temperatures there were cool. Linda reached the Palisades Visitor Center at 7950 feet. I reached Ski Valley, six miles further, at 8300 feet elevation.

Ski Valley is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the ski season. The security guard at Ski Valley had locked down the parking areas and was turning cars and bicyclists back. She waited impatiently as I took a few photos. The descent was fun and traffic was light.

It was a strenuous day for me, with a total elevation gain of 7500 feet and 68 miles round trip. My Garmin indicated I had burned 4900 calories. The Palisades Visitor Center is also closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and the water pump at the Bigelow Trailhead near Palisades was not yet in operation. I had enough water with me, but I had to ration it out. Getting to the summit was going to require an earlier start, plenty of fluids, and considerable desire.

On February 27 Linda returned to climb the Catalina Highway to Ski Valley. I drove support for her and gave our dogs Maya, Joey, and Chico another visit to the pine forest high on the mountain. I enjoyed viewing Bassett Peak and the Galiuro Mountains to the northeast from high on Mount Lemmon. Linda thought that reaching Ski Valley from the base of the route was enough challenge for her this season, but she was not finished with mountain yet.

Sky Center

On March 10 Alan Rutherford and I rode from our Tucson home up the General Hitchcock Highway to the closed gate at the Sky Center at 9130 feet, virtually the summit of Mount Lemmon. I had cached some water at the General Hitchcock Campground and the water pump at the Bigelow Trailhead near Palisades was operating so water was not an issue for us today. It was a sunny day with great scenery. Congratulations to Alan for reaching the summit on his first try.

On my suggestion Linda decided to at least ride the last leg of the climb to the Mount Lemmon summit. On March 25 we drove to the Bigelow Trailhead near Palisades. From there Linda rode the rolling and sometimes steep climb to the closed gate at the Sky Center. It was another pretty day and a fine way to finish our climbs on Mount Lemmon this season.