No matter how you cut it, the Marmot Basin hill climb is a slog. Yet, cyclists pump their way up it all the time.
They cram into their spandex, clip into their pedals and give ‘er, pedalling with all of their might to the top, before triumphantly coasting down.
From the highway it’s about a 13 km climb, while from the Portal Creek turnoff it’s closer to 10 km. But no matter how you cut it, it’s a relentless hill.
And this September, it will test the endurance of the world’s best cyclists as they compete in the third annual Tour of Alberta—a race that attracts the same athletes who compete in the Tour de France.
“That stage will be won on that hill,” said Brian Rode, Marmot Basin’s VP of marketing and one of Jasper’s festival directors for the Tour of Alberta. “Hill climbing is the worst—trying to relax your body and trying to stay fast on the hill, because you never get the pressure out of your legs; that’s why everyone’s so amped about the hill climb because they’re all the world’s best riders, but you’ll start to see them sting out.
“This is where you separate the boys from the men.”
This year’s tour is the first to include mountaintop finishes, with one taking place at Miette Hot Springs, Sept. 4, and the other taking place at Marmot Basin the following day.
To mark the occasion and the historic climb, Parks Canada will soon place new signage along the Marmot Basin Road, marking each kilometre, its elevation gain and the grade.
“It’s kind of a legacy of the Tour of Alberta coming here,” explained Matt Decore, co-chair of Jasper’s local organizing committee. “It’s a legacy of that historic climb.”
The signage will be specific to cyclists, said Decore, noting that they’ll begin at the 10 km mark, telling riders that there are 10 kms left to ride.
The signs will then go in descending order until they reach zero at the Marmot Basin gates.
Each sign will also include the elevation gain that took place between each kilometre, as well as the grade going forward, allowing cyclists to prepare for the next stretch of their ride.
“To cyclists that’s pretty significant information,” said Decore.
The plan is to have the signs in place about a week before the Tour of Alberta arrives in town.
Similar signage is common along famous cycling routes, especially in Europe, allowing riders to compare their efforts each time they ride the route, as well as providing first time riders encouragement to keep pedalling.
“It makes it far more interesting for cyclists,” said Rode, noting that he’s ridden Marmot Basin Road numerous times and is always tracking his effort.
“If I can shave a minute off my time going up there, I’m like, I did an awesome ride today!
“Then I could be going up there one day and feeling that I put out a really, really hard effort only to find out I was two minutes slower than the previous time.
“If you’ve done it a bunch, one or two minutes on either side, faster or slower, is a huge difference to you.”
Having the signage will make tracking that time and effort even easier, said Rode, noting that riders will be able to break the ride up into 10 parts, gauging their performance on each kilometre of the hill.
After the tour rolls through town, Rode said he hopes Marmot Basin Road will attract visitors to town who want to ride the same route.
“They’ll want to ride what the pros rode and they’ll be able to test themselves as they’re going up, measuring—only four more to go—and then when they get to the top they have a great spot to take a picture.”
Cyclists can also track their time against their peers by using Strava, an app that maps a cyclist’s performance during their ride. On the app, the Marmot Basin hill climb is tracked from the bottom of the road, for the full 12.9 kms, with the fastest time clocked in at 38:16.
Spencer Smitheman of Edmonton is credited with that speedy ascent and holds the title of King of the Mountain.
As well as leaving a legacy, Jasper’s local organizing committee is hoping the new signage will also act as a fundraiser to help finance the festivals taking place in town and at Marmot Basin Sept. 4 and 5.
There is an opportunity for 20 sponsors to pitch in $1,500 and have their logos on the sign at the top of the climb.
“The zero kilometre sign will be the photo op and that’s where the sponsors will be listed,” said Decore. “So that’s an opportunity for people to get on board the legacy.”
Businesses or organizations interested in sponsoring the legacy climb are encouraged to contact Rich Potter at [email protected].
Jasperites interested in volunteering during the Tour of Alberta can find the registration form at www.jasper.travel/tourofalberta.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
