New Hillclimb in the PNW

[eejay56]

Willamette Motor Club and Northwest Autosports Association are holding their first annual Maryhill Hillclimb on Maryhill Road in the Columbia Gorge, about 30 minutes east of The Dalles, Oregon. The Maryhill Hillclimb is sanctioned by the Northwest Hillclimb Association (NHA) and is an official round of their annual championship series.

 

[dougie]

Hey eejay I hate to burst your bubble, but we at SOVREN have been holding an annual hillclimb event at Maryhill in the Columbia Gorge for the last 10 years......
Ya, I know I hate to be the last to the party to.
https://www.sovren.org/events/events-6/

Video from last years event with the Sunbeam Tiger as the feature Marque.
https://youtu.be/icSvgVgieKY

 

[eejay56]

I know that Dougie, but this is the the first time WMC and NHA has held one there. This event is open to non-SOVREN members and non vintage racers. We at WMC hold the Bible Creek Hillclimb annually but this our first time doing 2 hillclimbs in a year and our first time at this venue. Here is a video from 2009 at Bible Creek .

 

[dougie]

Eric -

I think WMC also used to hold a hillclimb at Larison Rock. Here's fellow big Healey racer Don Chapman who had a small "off" there in the early 90's.

 

[eejay56]

The Larrison Rock Hillclimb is held by the Eugene club EESCC. They still have it every year. The WMC used to have one at Mary's Peak in Corvallis but that was before my time. I've only done Bible Creek and I'm really looking forward to Maryhill because the course looks so much more open without all the scary trees and cliffs.

 

[AngliaGT]

Mary's Peak was a great hillclimb!I ran it in my Lotus 61 -
it was like a Disneyland "E" ticket ride.
I'd love to run another,but I need the proper car.

- Doug

 

[dougie]

We used to run an "outlaw" hillclimb at Mary's Peak when I was a student at OSU. The US Forest Service wasn't too happy when they caught wind of it. If I recall, it ended with a lot of community service............

 

[Hap Waldrop]

On the subject of hillclimbs, many of you probably remember the Chimney Rock hillclimb in NC, this was put the Central Carolina region of the SCCA, after the hillclimb was no longer ran Chimney Rock Park, it moved to a few different places like Beach Mountain and Sparta, NC, but I don't think it ever had the popularuty of the Chimney Rock events. Well now the CCR has new venue for a hillclimb, that I think will attract the masses again, a little place many of you may have heard of, by the name of "the Tail of the Dragon", the Chasing the Dragon Hillclimb is the new CCR hillclimb and this is probably one of the most famous curvy road areas in the US, maybe the world, so it should catch on pretty well. They had the their first event there a few weeks ago and only had about 60 days to make it come together, the actual hillclimb is on side road off the Dragon, and it was little bumpy, coming from reports from some of the racers, but the local town of Robbinsville was so thrilled at having the event there, they said, " no problem, we'll repave the road for your guys" now that a motivated town and they are truely excited about the hillclimb being there.
Tentivaly they are planning a fall date for another hillclimb at the Dragon.