Pakhuis Pass

Overview

Pakhuis Pass is a Category 4 climb in South Africa. It runs 9.1 km from a start elevation of 419 m to a summit of 697 m, delivering a net elevation gain of 278 m. On paper this is a short, moderate ascent — the kind of climb you can ride at tempo without needing to ration your effort across a long alpine haul.

The number that reshapes that picture is total ascent. While the net gain is 278 m, the total ascent is 370 m — meaning the road gives back roughly 92 m of descent along the way. That gap between net gain and total ascent is undulation: the climb is not a single smooth ramp but a sequence of rises and dips. Every metre you descend is a metre you have to reclaim, so the actual climbing workload is higher than the net figure suggests, and your rhythm gets broken repeatedly.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The average gradient of 3.04% is an average of everything — the climbs, the flats, and the descents. It tells you almost nothing about the hard sections, because the descents drag the mean down. The real work lives in the steep pitches, the steepest of which kicks up to 14.79%. That is a genuine ramp that will spike your effort well above whatever the 3% average implies.

Expect the following across the profile:

• Flatter and downhill recovery sections that pull the average down and let you spin
• Repeated short rises rather than one continuous gradient
• A steepest ramp of 14.79% that demands a real gear change and a hard push

Pacing Notes

On an undulating climb like this, even-speed pacing is a trap: holding a constant speed means hammering the rises and coasting the dips, which burns matches you cannot get back. Aim instead for even effort. Ease off slightly on the steep ramps rather than trying to defend your pace, and use the descents and flat sections to genuinely recover.

Pace to your sustainable power output rather than to a target speed. Ride the rises just under threshold and let the flats bring your average back up. If you do not know your threshold yet, run the FTP estimator before you go, so your effort ceiling on the 14.79% pitch is a number, not a guess.

Gearing

Gearing is governed by the steepest gradient, not the average — and 14.79% is steep enough to matter. Run a compact (34-tooth inner) or sub-compact chainset paired with a wide-range cassette. A 34×32 will get most riders up the ramp; if you carry weight or prefer to stay seated and spin, go 34×34. Check your chainring and cassette setup before the ride, not at the base of the steep pitch.

Summary

• Length: 9.1 km
• Average gradient: 3.04%
• Maximum gradient: 14.79%
• Net elevation gain: 278 m
• Total ascent: 370 m
• Category: 4

Pakhuis Pass rewards riders who read past the 3.04% average. Pace to effort, respect the 14.79% ramp, and carry the gearing to spin it — and the 92 m of hidden re-climbing becomes manageable rather than surprising.