The Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race, also known as the Climb to the Clouds, is a timed hillclimb

auto race Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

up the

Mount Washington Auto Road The Mount Washington Auto Road—originally the Mount Washington Carriage Road—is a toll road in southern Coos County, New Hampshire that extends from New Hampshire Route 16 in Green's Grant, just north of Pinkham Notch, westward across Pink ...

to the summit of

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

. It is one of the oldest auto races in the country, first run on July 11 and 12, 1904, predating the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

and the

Pikes Peak Hill Climb The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures and has over 156 turns, climbing from the sta ...

. The event was revived in 2011 and was held again in 2014 and 2017.

History

The Mount Washington Hill Climb Auto Race was held off and on from 1904 to 1961, then not again until 1990, when Howie Wemyss, manager of the Auto Road, Robert Brotherus, a Finnish rally driver, and 11-time Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) ProRally champion, John Buffum, brought the race back. Originally created by early auto manufacturers to showcase their vehicles, the Auto Road was chosen to prove the ability of these "horseless carriages". The inaugural "Climb to the Clouds" featured many makes of cars including

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, Mercedes,

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...

Stanley Steamer The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was an American manufacturer of steam cars; it operated from 1902 to 1924. The cars made by the company were colloquially called Stanley Steamers, although several different models were produced. Early history ...

Pierce Pierce may refer to: Places Canada * Pierce Range, a mountain range on Vancouver Island, British Columbia United States * Pierce, Colorado * Pierce, Idaho * Pierce, Illinois * Pierce, Kentucky * Pierce, Nebraska * Pierce, Texas * Pierce, We ...

, and a single Daimler, which were placed in categories based on their price. Although the Daimler and the Stanley Steamer driven by F. E. Stanley were favored, Harry Harkness drove to victory in a Mercedes, which ascended the course in 24 minutes, 37 seconds. This was quite impressive compared to the 2 hours, 10 minutes it took the first automobile to climb the Auto Road in 1899, a Stanley Locomobile. The course runs from an altitude of at Glen House to at the summit, for an average gradient of 11.8%. The event was won by

Erwin "Cannonball" Baker Erwin George "Cannon Ball" Baker (March 12, 1882 – May 10, 1960) was an American motorcycle and automobile racing driver and organizer in the first half of the 20th century. Baker began his public career as a vaudeville performer, but turned to ...

in 1928 with a time of 14 minutes, 49.6 seconds, driving a

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Ab Jenkins David Abbott "Ab" Jenkins (January 25, 1883 – August 9, 1956) was the 24th mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah between 1940 to 1944. He was a professional race car driver. Jenkins' interest in motorsports began with racing motorcycles on dirt track ...

won in 1930. Baker won again in 1932.

Carroll Shelby Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified dur ...

drove a specially prepared Ferrari roadster to a record run of 10 minutes 21.8 seconds on his way to victory in 1956. In 1961, Bill Rutan drove a

Porsche Carrera Carrera (''Spanish'' for "race" and "career") is a brand of Porsche automobile. The name commemorates the company's success in the Carrera Panamericana race. The following vehicles have been called ''Carrera'': * Porsche 356 * Porsche 904 * Por ...

-powered

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

to set a record time of 9:13.0, which stood until the race returned in 1990. Upon the race's return, Tim O'Neil set a time of 7:45, driving a

VW Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...

rally car Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

. The current record is 5 minutes, 28.67 seconds, set in 2021 by Travis Pastrana driving a Subaru WRX STI; this broke his previous record of 5 minutes, 44.72 seconds set in 2017. The prior record holder was David Higgins of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, also driving a WRX STI, with a time of 6 minutes, 9.09 seconds set in 2014. The fastest speed ever clocked was by 6-time New England Hillclimb Champion Jerry Driscoll of

East Randolph, Vermont Randolph is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,774 at the 2020 census, making Randolph the largest town in Orange County. The town is a commercial center for many of the smaller, rural farming communities that ...

, driving a 600 hp "Hillclimb Special" in 1999. This record held until 2011 while driving the same car, he broke his own record clocking 2 days before his 69th birthday. Travis Pastrana reached speeds of 130mph. In 2004 the event was restarted as a historic event, with emphasis placed on vintage cars. Prior to the event's return in 2011, the last fullblown hillclimb race was in 2001, won by

Paul Choiniere Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

with a time of 4:59.73 on a weather-shortened course in his 500 hp methanol-fueled,

all wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...

Hyundai Tiburon The Hyundai Tiburon ( ko, 현대 티뷰론) known in Europe as the Hyundai Coupé (현대 쿠페) is a sports coupe that was produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai from 1996 to 2008. The name "Tiburon", a slight variation of "tiburón ...

. The 2014 running of Climb to the Clouds included the first electric race car to compete in the history of this event. EVSR, the fully electric racecar created by Entropy Racing, was piloted by Tim O'Neil, former overall hill record holder, to a time of 7:28. O'Neil bested his previous overall hill record by 16 seconds and put his mark onto Mt. Washington once more by setting the fastest electric record. Key: R = Course record

References

External links

New England Hillclimb Association
{{coord, 44, 17, 17, N, 71, 16, 45, W, display=title Hillclimbs Auto races in the United States Hillclimb Auto Race Recurring sporting events established in 1904 Tourist attractions in Coös County, New Hampshire Motorsport in New Hampshire 1904 establishments in New Hampshire

History

See also

References

External links