Bush Pass

Bush Pass cycling climb profile

Bush Pass is not a long climb by distance, but its difficulty comes from how much vertical gain is packed into a compact effort. The climb is 5.9 km long and averages 9.21%, starting at 1330 m and topping out at 1869 m. That makes it a sustained, high-torque ascent rather than a climb where momentum or rolling terrain can do much of the work.

The key number is the average gradient. At 9.21%, Bush Pass sits in the zone where pacing errors become expensive quickly. A rider who starts as if this is a punchy five-minute hill will find the second half turning into a grind, because the climb gains 539 m from bottom to summit and gives very little room for recovery if the road holds close to that average.

How the gradient feels

The available profile data does not give a corner-by-corner or kilometre-by-kilometre breakdown, so the safest way to read Bush Pass is as a consistently steep climb with harder ramps layered on top. The maximum gradient is 13.92%, which is steep enough to force most riders out of their preferred cadence if they are over-geared or already riding too close to threshold.

That matters tactically. On a climb averaging more than 9%, the difference between riding controlled and riding slightly over limit is not subtle. If a steeper pitch arrives when you are already above sustainable power, the climb stops being a steady aerobic effort and becomes repeated damage control.

Pacing and gearing notes

Treat Bush Pass as a threshold-to-above-threshold climb, but do not pace it like a short attack. The best execution is controlled from the base, firm through the middle, and only opened up near the summit once the remaining distance is manageable.

Practical approach:

• Start below your target climbing power for the opening minutes, especially if the road immediately feels steep.
• Use gearing that lets you stay seated through gradients near the average, not just survive the steepest ramps.
• Expect the 13.92% maximum gradient to punish low cadence and over-threshold surges.
• If riding by power, anchor the effort around /glossary/ftp rather than chasing speed.
• If unsure of your sustainable number, estimate it before the ride with /tools/ftp-estimator and be conservative early.

Because Bush Pass is a category 1 climb, the difficulty is not just the headline gradient. It is the combination of short distance, large net gain, and sustained steepness. The rider who respects that combination will climb faster than the rider who tries to win the first kilometre.