Climb to the Clouds

Climb to the Clouds The Mt. Washington Hillclimb, one of the oldest motorsports events in North America. Washington Auto Rd.

Washington Hillclimb, known as the Climb to the Clouds, is considered one of the oldest motorsports events in the United States. It was first run in 1904, seven years before the first Indy 500 and twelve years prior to the inaugural Pikes Peak Hillclimb. The 2021 Subaru Mt Washington Hillclimb presented by Yokohama is August 13-15 at New Hampshire’s Mt. The 7.6 mile Auto Road is one of the ultimat

e challenges for driver and automobile, the serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees and dramatic drop-offs as it winds its way to the 6,288 foot summit of the Northeast’s tallest peak. Washington Auto Road’s history goes well beyond just the Hillclimb as it celebrates over 155 years in business.

Next up is High Performance Showroom Stock (HPSS), a class for both 2WD and 4WD vehicles that had more than 500 units pr...
08/20/2026

Next up is High Performance Showroom Stock (HPSS), a class for both 2WD and 4WD vehicles that had more than 500 units produced by a recognized manufacturer. It also requires the vehicles remain visually stock, although there is some freedom in engine and suspension modifications.

This year we had two entries in HPSS. Fastest up the hill was Brian Goss in his 2002 Mini Cooper S with a 7:53.39. One of two supercharged Minis on the mountain, Brian laid down some very consistent times in practice before putting together that sub-8min time to the top on race day.

Closing out HPSS in second was John Ricker in his 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo with an 8:17.50. This was actually this cars’ competition debut; John has been campaigning a 951 (aka 944 turbo) for years in the series, but after that one became acquainted with some large rocks in 2025, John has been building this car as a replacement.

Congratulations Brian and John for some awesome times up the mountain!

Thanks Romulo Chagas and Jaden B for the action shots!

Over in the Vintage Exhibition class, we had two very cool, unique, yet different entries for 2026. This class is limite...
08/18/2026

Over in the Vintage Exhibition class, we had two very cool, unique, yet different entries for 2026. This class is limited to cars produced before 1986 and is scored on consistency of run times, not flat-out speed. With the shortened course Sunday morning the class win was determined by how close the drivers’ time on the bottom half split times during afternoon runs were to their morning runs on just the bottom.

Coming out on top in this battle of uniformity was Alan Moody in his supremely reliable 1978 Datsun. One of a couple cars that got a pre-CTTC ‘freshening up,’ this car is regularly campaigned by Kathy Moody in the series, previously in orange paint. Thankfully they retained its’ signature hood ornament; a skeleton unicorn.

Finishing 2nd and rounding out the class was Frank Oscai, in the Audi S1. As the owner of Rayteam Automotive, a premier European service shop, Frank and his team not only sponsored Climb to the Clouds, but brought not one, not two, but three epic vintage Audis. The S1 driven by Frank, a Rothman liveried LWB quattro, and a fire breathing S2. Frank is not only a sponsor and driver, but a champion of motorsports and one of the nicest people you’ll meet in the community!

Congratulations to the our VE class drivers on achieving some incredibly consistent times!

08/18/2026

2026 in classic style! Nick 🐠 brought a real vintage VHS camcorder and recorded a bunch of Climb to the Clouds 2026 with it!

This vintage equipment did have its limitations with the battery limiting how much recording could be done, but the footage captured is beyond cool!

Have videos or other content you want to share? DM us!

Amazing shots from DaggerSLADE media!
08/15/2026

Amazing shots from DaggerSLADE media!

Age before beauty, as they say! Our Vintage Driver (VD) class is a new classification for CTTC 2026. The class requires ...
08/14/2026

Age before beauty, as they say! Our Vintage Driver (VD) class is a new classification for CTTC 2026. The class requires the driver be 69 years of age, competed in two Climb to the Clouds, and have 10yrs of experience in the New England Hillclimb Association (NEHA) series.

It’s a surprisingly large class, given the criteria, and hosted 4 entrants. Don Taylor, Chief Technical Inspector for CTTC, took the class victory with an impressive 7:36.26 in his Eclipse. Right behind him was CTTC Event Director Drew Young in his supercharged Mini. And Drew doesn’t read rules so we’re not even sure if he belongs in this class.

But the real story in VD was Doug Valliere in his 2007 Ford Mustang. A creative parking job on the rocks at the top of Signal Corps in practice yielded a broken windshield and dented body panels. But this class has experience. So the windshield was removed, a full face helmet procured, and Doug went on to post an amazing 07:41.18 on race day.

Closing out the class was Dave Patten in his beautiful, carbureted, 1971 Datsun 510 with an 8:01.25.

Thank you Vintage Drivers for the years of helping to create the event and community that made Climb to the Clouds such an incredible experience!

08/14/2026

Congratulations to the fastest woman on the mountain, your 2026 Queen of the Hill, MARGARET SHARRON of Frog Racing US!

We were honored to have such strong representation of Women in Motorsports at Climb to the Clouds. 5 women racers and 3 women co drivers in total took on the mountain, with Leanne Junnila taking codriver honors at 10th overall and fastest of all the rally classes in the silly seat of Dave Wallingford’s R5 Fiesta!

Honorable Driver mention to Ryan Cheek of 🙋🏼‍♀️ Ryan Cheek 🏁 for her 7:17.524 achieved during her first ever run at Mt Washington, putting her just 1.219s behind Margaret’s blistering pace!

So congratulations to Margaret and all the incredible women who joined us to break records and show the world what an incredible community Motorsports has!

Congratulations to those who got to take the podium Sunday, and also to every driver who stepped up to take on the road!
08/13/2026

Congratulations to those who got to take the podium Sunday, and also to every driver who stepped up to take on the road!

We have a NEW record! Congratulations to Scott Speed on an absolutely insane 5:11.89. This is a new record as the first ...
08/10/2026

We have a NEW record! Congratulations to Scott Speed on an absolutely insane 5:11.89. This is a new record as the first on a fully paved Mt Washington Auto Road, while Travis Pastrana’s 5:23 will remain as the fastest time ever recorded on the hill with dirt sections!

08/10/2026

Thank you EVERYONE for a beautiful day on the mountain! We are lucky to have such an incredible community of drivers, volunteers, crew members and spectators. This event is try a special thing and that’s because of all of you. THANK YOU and can’t wait to see you at the mountain again!

Address

1 Mount Washington Auto Road
Gorham, NH
03581

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