Carcajou Pass

Carcajou Pass cycling climb profile

Carcajou Pass is a compact but serious climbing effort: 7.4 km long, averaging 7.03%, and classified as Category 2. Starting at 1032 m and topping out at 1553 m, it gains 521 m net from bottom to summit, which puts it firmly in the range where pacing discipline matters more than early aggression.

The defining number is not just the average gradient. It is the spread between the 7.03% average and the 16.03% maximum. That tells you this is not a perfectly metronomic climb. Even if the overall profile is moderate enough to settle into rhythm, the steepest sections are sharp enough to punish anyone riding too close to threshold too early.

How the gradient rides

With 7.4 km to cover, Carcajou Pass sits in an awkward middle ground. It is too long to muscle over like a short wall, but not long enough to let a badly paced opening disappear into the background. The average of 7.03% suggests a climb that rewards sustained seated power, while the 16.03% maximum means there are moments where torque demand can spike quickly.

Because the supplied data does not break the climb into kilometre-by-kilometre splits, the safest way to read it from bottom to summit is as a steady Category 2 ascent with at least one notably steep pitch. The practical implication is simple: do not pace off the easiest early feeling. If the road is sitting near the average, it is already work. If it tilts toward the maximum, you need room to lift power without detonating.

The profile also lists 501 m of total ascent against 521 m of net elevation gain. Rather than over-reading micro-variations from that, treat the climb as essentially continuous vertical work of about five hundred metres. There is no useful reason to expect meaningful recovery if the objective is to ride it fast.

Pacing strategy

The best approach is controlled from the base. Ride the lower slopes just under your sustainable climbing effort, especially if you are using /glossary/ftp as your anchor. On a climb averaging 7.03%, small overreaches accumulate quickly, and the 16.03% maximum makes those mistakes more expensive because steep ramps force either a cadence drop or a power spike.

A smart pacing shape looks like this:

• Start conservatively enough that the first hard pitch does not force a surge above control.
• Keep cadence smooth on the average-gradient sections rather than chasing speed.
• Use the steepest gradients as short damage-limitation zones, not as places to prove strength.
• Lift the effort only once the summit feels realistically close, not simply because the road briefly eases.

Gearing notes

Carcajou Pass calls for climbing gearing, not heroic gearing. The average gradient is already enough to make cadence management important, and the 16.03% maximum means a low gear is not optional if you want to stay seated and avoid burning matches. A rider who arrives over-geared will turn the steepest section into a strength effort, which can work for a few seconds but tends to bleed into the rest of the climb.

For performance, the goal is not to use the smallest gear all the way up. It is to have it available when the gradient bites, so the climb remains aerobic and controlled instead of becoming a sequence of forced accelerations. On Carcajou Pass, the rider who saves their legs for the upper half will usually get more out of the climb than the rider who treats the opening kilometres like the decisive move.