Chaukhi Pass

Chaukhi Pass cycling climb profile

Chaukhi Pass is an HC climb built around one very simple problem: it is long, steep, and finishes high. The road climbs 15.3 km from 1319 m to 2723 m, gaining 1404 m from bottom to summit. That puts the average gradient at 9.16%, which is already severe before accounting for the maximum gradient of 24.39%.

The key point is that this is not a climb where the headline average can be treated as a comfortable reference. An average of 9.16% across 15.3 km means the baseline workload is already high. The presence of a 24.39% maximum gradient tells you the effort will not feel like a smooth, metronomic ramp. There are sections that bite well above the average, and those are the moments that decide whether the upper part of the climb is controlled or simply survived.

How the gradient rides

From the start elevation of 1319 m, the climb immediately asks for discipline. On a pass with this much net gain, the early mistake is usually emotional pacing: riding the first sustained ramps as if they are the hard part, rather than the entry fee.

The average gradient tells you the road rarely gives much away. Even if individual sections vary, the climb’s overall shape is defined by sustained resistance. The 24.39% maximum matters because it changes the pacing model. You need enough reserve to handle sharp ramps without turning them into repeated threshold spikes. If those steep sections are attacked too hard, the cost compounds quickly across the remaining distance.

By the time the road approaches 2723 m, fatigue is doing more damage than the gradient alone. The summit is high enough that the final kilometres should be paced with a margin, especially if the climb comes after prior workload.

Pacing and gearing notes

Treat Chaukhi Pass as a long threshold-management climb, not a short power test. If using power, anchor the effort below your true limit and avoid chasing speed when the gradient steepens. A steady output that feels almost conservative early is the correct choice on a climb with 1404 m of net elevation gain. For context on setting that ceiling, use your /glossary/ftp rather than feel alone.

Gearing should be chosen for the steepest ramps, not the average. A setup that is comfortable at 9.16% may still be overgeared when the road reaches 24.39%. The practical target is simple: keep a cadence you can control without standing for every steep pitch. Once cadence collapses, power becomes harder to regulate, traction gets worse, and the climb turns into a sequence of recoveries rather than one sustained effort.

The best ride here is patient. Let the lower slopes settle, protect your legs for the ramps above the average, and arrive near the summit with enough control to keep pedalling smoothly rather than fighting the gear.