501 crosses the border from Alaska into Canada. That’s the headline, right there. Apart from that, it’s a stage that gives the feel of having a lot of climbing in it, and that’s probably because it has, although in truth there’s only marginally more climbing than descending, talking of which the first couple of miles throw up one of the great descents of the whole journey to date.
So let’s deal with that descent first. The rollout is steep and downhill straight from the off, leading into a right hander that crosses Desper Creek as it sweeps by Border City Lodge (and the nearby RV park) after just a mile. By two miles the descent is done, giving way to two miles of lumpiness that includes the crossing of Scottie Creek at three miles. By four miles, where the Alaska Highway meets up (but doesn’t cross) Little Scottie Creek, the terrain throws up the first little climb of the day: short and sharp but a wake-up call.
The border is at the top of the climb at four miles and once over the Canadian side, the road dips initially before starting a steep lumpy climb through a bunch of small lakes to eleven miles. There’s respite at six miles and nine miles in the form of small descents, but the overall trend is upward and by the time the steepest part of the climb is out of the way approaching the left hander at eleven miles, Route 1 has attained the highest elevation of the stage at almost two thousand two hundred feet.
Over the top, the road clings on to the ridge to the north before flattening out to sixteen miles. The right/left combo between thirteen and fourteen miles takes the road around another hill before the double right hander at fifteen and sixteen miles sets up a southerly run on a meandering slog of a climb that keeps going all the way to the finish. There’s then a further water crossing – unnamed which is a surprise as the river is wide – at eighteen miles before the road enters an area of scrub that extends most of the way to the finish near to Beaver Creek Airport.
Distance: 22 miles / 35 kilometres
Ascent: 706 feet / 215 metres
RGT Magic Road: eoQ0YEAgr2cS
Max elevation: 2157 ft
Min elevation: 1855 ft
Total climbing: 706 ft
Total descent: -691 ft
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