Bannock Pass

Overview

Bannock Pass is a Category 4 road climb in the United States, run at high altitude across 6.4 km. It gains 246 m of net elevation, starting at 2,087 m and topping out at a 2,333 m summit. At an average gradient of 3.83%, it sits firmly in the tempo range: long enough to matter, shallow enough that most riders will hold a steady rhythm from bottom to top rather than grinding survival gears.

The number worth watching is the gap between net elevation gain and total ascent. You climb 246 m on paper, but the road actually racks up 268 m of total ascent, meaning roughly 22 m of the route is spent giving elevation back before you reclaim it. That undulation is small, but it tells you the profile is not a clean, monotonic ramp. Expect brief dips and false flats that break your cadence and blunt the benefit of a single fixed effort.

How the Gradient Unfolds

A 3.83% average hides a livelier reality. With a maximum gradient of 6.88%, the steepest ramp is nearly double the mean, so the difficulty is not evenly spread. Some sections will feel almost pancake-flat while others bite.

• Flatter, near-recovery stretches where the road drops toward the low single digits or briefly descends
• Repeated short rises that stack up into the 268 m of total ascent
• One steepest ramp around 6.88% where you will need to shift down and hold power

Pacing Notes

On a clean, steady climb you can chase even speed. Here, the undulation makes even effort the smarter target. Anchor your ride to a consistent sustainable power output rather than a fixed pace, and let your speed rise on the flatter sections and fall on the 6.88% ramp. Fighting to hold the same km/h through the steep pitch will spike you over threshold for little gain; easing back on the false flats to protect an average speed wastes free momentum. If you do not know your numbers, run the FTP estimator first and set a ceiling you can hold for the full 6.4 km.

Gearing

Gearing is governed by the steepest gradient, not the average. At 6.88% the demand is moderate, but at 2,333 m your power will be down, so give yourself margin. A compact (50/34) or sub-compact chainset paired with a wide-range cassette such as 34×32 or 34×34 lets you keep a high, aerobic cadence through the steepest ramp without lurching into a mash. Check your actual chainring and cassette before the ride; do not assume the bike you rode last month still has the range you want here.

Summary

• Length: 6.4 km
• Average gradient: 3.83%
• Maximum gradient: 6.88%
• Net elevation gain: 246 m
• Total ascent: 268 m
• Category: 4

Bannock Pass rewards discipline over aggression: a Category 4 climb where holding even effort across the undulation, with gearing to spare for the 6.88% ramp, gets you to the 2,333 m summit fresher than chasing the clock ever would.