White Mountain Avec Bike
I occasionally do things because they seem like they ought to be done, and this adventure certainly fits that category: biking to the top of White Mountain Peak, California, elevation 14,252'.
Yes, you read that number correctly: White Mountain is California's third-highest peak, making this (apparently) the highest legal mountain bike ride in the contiguous United States.
Is this really a legal ride?
So it seems. It does take place within the boundaries of the White Mountain Wilderness, so perhaps as far as official policy is concerned, bicycles are tolerated rather than welcomed.
Either way, it would not surprise me if one day a "no bikes" sign appeared at the parking lot.
In any case, lazy UCLA Barcroft scientists drive their pickups up White Mountain Road to the peak's summit on an at-least semi regular basis for "research" purposes, so there is certainly no moral case to made against bicycling here.
Is this doable? Yes indeed! Totally.
Okay, yes, there are a few minor concerns we should talk about—hardly worth mentioning, really—but my overriding message to you is this is the kind of thing you should do if you are capable of doing it. Most definitely, this ride is something unique and special.
Notice I title this post "White Mountain With Bike" rather than, for example, "Biking White Mountain." Since we're being unusually honest with each other here, let me just note that significant portions of the "ride" are essentially unrideable on ascent.
But not all! Just portions. Significant portions, to be sure, but that word could mean anything. Just "X" it out of your memory.
This combination of steep, loose, blocky ground at ridiculously high altitudes will surely challenge even heroic attempts to stay in the saddle all the way up. You might be able to do it, on fat tires, if you are an Olympic god who happens to have been born in the Himalaya.
Probably not even then. But don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do. The human spirit is boundless. Good thing too—you'll need that spirit to help you push your bicycle up the mountain.
Push, push, push. If it helps, the hardest part is definitely the last thousand vertical feet.
You'll really feel the altitude here. For my White Mountain bicycle adventure, I totally cheated by spending the past two months in Flagstaff. That made a huge difference—I've never felt so comfortable at 14,000 feet. Nevertheless I did engage in a perhaps record amount of shameful walking and pushing.
If you really want to get murdered, drive up here from sea level with no preparation and start biking (er, pushing) your way up. Actually, please don't do that. Put some kind of acclimatization regime in place before you go. It will make a huge difference.
You can begin as high as 11,690' (the parking lot/gate to Barcroft), which is seven miles from White Mountain's summit. Much longer rides in this area are possible, including starting from the Ancient Bristlecone Forest visitor center, or even from Bishop (elevation 4150') or Nevada.
If/when you reach the summit and start biking down, expect a surprisingly technical descent.
This is particularly true of the road's upper thousand feet, which amounts to one big talus field.
Tire pressure is critical here—you don't want your wheels too hard. The combination of the terrain plus the steepness plus the altitude (which messed with my sense of balance) makes ascending and descending very challenging.
I think it's an expert-level ride—at least on a hardtail.
Being a fourteener, White Mountain Peak is exactly the sort of place you don't want to be in bad weather. Plan your visit with weather in mind. Stay away if it's cold or windy and don't even think about it if there's any threat of thunderstorms. This is an exposed high-alpine environment—bring extra clothes even if temperatures seem friendly at the parking lot.
Despite these few quibbles, riding down I soon found myself thinking I'd never want to do this as just a hike again. It's a fabulous ride in an unparalleled setting.
The range has a distinct and austere beauty. Since the White Mountains are in the wind shadow of the mighty Sierra, the region is exceptionally arid. The air is piercingly clear, and the verticality is tremendous, with ten-thousand-foot drops both east and west.
Zinging on 29" wheels effortlessly down that normally long, grinding flat between the peak and the Barcroft station, I felt not just delighted but privileged to be there on a bicycle.
A mountain bike descent of a California fourteener!
It's extraordinary. It is, as you would expect, not without its challenges. But if you've built the fitness and skills base to do something like this, I really think you should give it a try. Don't let this one pass you by.
— August 31, 2024
Andy Lewicky is the author and creator of SierraDescents
Dan Conger August 31, 2024 at 7:45 pm
My Dad and I stood on that summit together. At the time I imagined what an amazing and difficult bike ride it would be. Want to take my Tundra up Silver Canyon road. Great post!
Andy September 1, 2024 at 8:08 am
It looks like there is also seasonal access to highway 168 in Nevada--either would be an amazing 4x4 adventure!
Brad Brown September 12, 2024 at 5:13 pm
2 years ago Bob and I saw -well-saw everything there. Hunters going after Big Horn sheep, mountain bikers, insane fitness level ultra runners, flip flops (poetic license allowance please-let’s say tennis shoes), interesting packs, etc. I abandoned at 13.1k at the last hill before the drop and re-ascent to summit due to radiation related fatigue, while Reliable Bob summitted easily. I missed last summer mostly, only a couple of 10,11k routes. But I’m currently parked at the last cell signal area before a
sleep-over at the Portal. Yup Whitney #3 at 73 (yo), actually Muir is my real goal for my 3rd 14’r but as long as I’m here I could get lucky. I did a solo scramble up 11,605 Trail Pk then New Army Pass on back to back days in early August for 24 miles and 4500’ combined 2 days…keeping up with Bob on day 2. Add a night at 10k yesterday and portal tonight, 20+ pounds lighter than last year, so I should do reasonably well tomorrow. Thx again for the acclimation post you did several years ago-it has helped me developed a strategy that works for me. A glorious 2 days of high camping is such a bonus too!