We took the cog railway up Pikes Peak and drove Mount Evans. Which is higher? Which is your favorite?
Evans is slightly higher.
Also, the road to Mt. Evans has a very short season. It is already closed for the winter!
Quote from: chays on September 07, 2016, 03:40:09 PM
Also, the road to Mt. Evans has a very short season. It is already closed for the winter!
Right. I believe the Pikes Peak road doesn't really have a winter closure; it just closes sometimes during the winter.
I prefer Pikes Peak since the mountain is a much higher peak above the surrounding mountains versus Mount Evans. I also prefer the drive more on Pikes since it's a lot more scenic views, it requires some actually skill with the car (namely knowing how to shift and engine brake), and because it's a historic race track. Pikes is slightly shorter than Evans but you wouldn't know it for the reason I just described.
I've driven both several times. They're both good experiences, but I prefer the Mt. Evans road, where there's no assaults on your wallet once you've paid your toll and the only gift shop is at the bottom of the mountain, while the Pikes Peak road has souvenir shops both at the summit and along the ridde up or down.
I took my 2008 Prius up the fairly even grade to the Pikes Peak summit. I've heard the grade up Mt. Evans includes some steep stretches that, together with the very high altitude, will stall out a Prius. Also, a herd of mountain goats might briefly block your way on the Mt. Evans road (offsetting the lack of a brake check station, like there is halfway down the Pikes Peak descent).
Pikes is 6.7% average grade with a 10.5% peak grade:
http://www.springsgov.com/units/pikespeak/PPHighway2009map.pdf
Mount Evans apparently is only 2-6% grade:
http://www.mountevans.com/
I never found Mount Evans to be anywhere close to the challenge Pikes Peak presents. It always seemed like that was a much better designed road in regards to ease of access than Pikes Peak ever was...paved or not. Now when Pikes wasn't paved...yeah that was even more so of an experience than it is today. Too bad the environmental brigade got to it since it made things even more unique compared to Mount Evans.