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The road is located on the crest of the Cascades approximately 14 miles east of Ashland, Oregon. The pavement is in good shape and the course offers a mix of tight challenges and fast straights. The climb is two miles long, starting at 4,400 feet and ending at 4,900 feet. There are 12 turns, two cone chicanes, and a 1/3 mile straight.
Cascade Lakes Hillclimb is run by my local auto-x club, Siskiyou Sports Car Club (SSCC). It is the first hillclimb I attended, and after I ran in it I was pretty much hooked on doing some of the others. I use the term local loosely because our track is about 60 miles away from my house, which is 40 miles from the Oregon border. I live about as far North as you can get in California, it is a land that doesn't even exist to most Californians. When people talk about Nor-Cal they are usually referring to San Fran or maybe some city called Sacramento, not Siskiyou county. Sure maybe they have heard of Mt Shasta or the town of Weed, but Grenada? Anyway, the people who live here, at 3000 feet, with it's dry landscape of ranch lands, cattle grazing in wide open spaces, rivers, canyons, rolling hills, cattle guards, and mountains, know that it has some of the best roads around - well, if they are interested in that kind of thing. Almost any road off from the highway (if it remains paved) is a delight to drive in both sights and curves. The traffic is quite sparse and these roads seem made for top down spirited driving in the S2000.
The road out of Ashland that takes you to the course is called Dead Indian Memorial and it is exemplar of all the qualities I just mentioned. It is 20 miles of twisting, cliff-side drop offs, switch-backs, steep inclines and pine forests, and that is just getting to the pit area. In 2013 when I first ran Cascade Lakes my tires were fresher and I was in BS. On my second run on Sat. I ran my best time of 2:08.410, on my third and final run of that day I went sideways on turn 9 and stopped with just my front end off the pavement hanging over the ditch. Nothing was damaged and two corner workers were able to push me back on the road. DNF. On Sunday I ran back to back 2:11's and one of them I had a two second penalty for coning in one of the chicanes. The record in OSPU was a 2:11.055 and I was aiming to break it if I could at least equal my performance from last year. But....I am getting ahead of myself, first I have to cover the:
Roll bar Drama
The Tuesday after Freezeout I received a call from Shea, the chairman of that race, he was calling to inform me that I had won a prize for best time in my class (I was the only one in it), but unfortunately several drivers had protested me running in the hillclimb. He wanted me to be aware of this before I ended up driving to the other events and possibly not being allowed to run. He said that these protesters said I shouldn't have gotten past tech with no roll bar. I told him that I thought it was legal because I had a hard top on and that my own club had let me run Cascade Lakes. At first I also didn't think I could run in the hillclimbs because of this issue, but was assured by the SSCC president, that I could because I had a hard top and was running DOT slicks. Shea admitted that he wasn't quite sure of this aspect of the rules himself, but thought I should play it safe and check with the other clubs. I thanked him for his concern and time and hung up with worried thoughts already filling my mind. I went back and re-read the NHA rules and found no mention of the hard top scenario, I then called Dick who is the president of SSCC. He assured me that he was correct in his line of thinking, and that I would definitely be allowed to run Cascade Lakes. Next I called Bonnie who is the chairperson of Larison Rock, she said it was pretty dangerous, just having some aluminum for a top, she wanted to make sure that I did at least have roll hoops, and (I could hear her husband in the background asking) if my top was OEM. She said she would call me back with a decision. Next I called Doug, who is the chairman of Hoopa and who I am acquainted with from auto-x. At first Doug thought I was someone else with a S2K or Miata that was wondering about the roll bar/hard top rule, I told him I was the guy with the blue S2K from the SSCC auto-x. After he realized who I was he said 'well, you can run, I just got an answer from the president of the NHA about this issue.' I thanked him and asked him if he could forward me a copy of the e-mail.
So that is how I was able to compete with no roll bar in these hill climbs, a ruling from the president of the NHA himself. Not because I was related to somebody or had some other form of 'in' with NHA officials. Because I had set a goal to run in all of the hill climbs and I got involved. The drama was not quite over yet but I was satisfied with where I found myself at this point. Bonnie did call me back and gave me the go ahead, and in a little bit I will tell of another incident that cemented the fact that I could run, but first I do have to get on a soapbox.
I do know that even though S2000s are allowed to run with a hard top and the stock roll-over protection, I am taking a big risk, there is no doubt about that, it is a decision I made for myself. But, I am not posting my experience to the S2KI community to show what I got away with or how I got to participate in a form of racing by breaking the rules. I am posting this stuff because I had a blast, I want to share it, and I would like to see more S2ks at these events! Get involved if you would like to try the hillclimbs, it is only $10 bucks to join the NHA. The people who protested me at Freezeout never approached me, and later at Bogus Basin I heard that they were bitching about my presence once again. If you want to run your S2000 at the hill climbs and you don't have a hard top then you need to have a roll bar, period (then you could also race top down). At all of the hill climb's drivers meetings it was voiced that the events need new/fresh chairpersons, participants and volunteers so that they can keep having them. This year I am co-chairing Cascade Lakes, because I enjoy these events and I want to see them continue, and I want to continue running in them.
OK, I'm done up on this soap box.
This being my second time at Cascade Lakes I knew the course a little better and had more confidence in my driving. However, I just couldn't pull it off, I couldn't match my best time from the year before. My best time this year was my last run on Sunday and it was a 2:10.81, enough to break the OSPU record. But unfortunately for me a young fellow obliterated the record with his nicely prepped (I think)SR swapped '72 Datsun 510. He posted a 2:01.27, bravo.
You might have noticed that there is no thousands place in our times, that is because our timing equipment failed, so each run had 3 manually triggered stopwatches on it. This also meant that only one car could be on course at a time, which in turn meant only two runs per day for each driver.
I ran Saturday morning and worked road closure at the access point to the course in the afternoon. Most people that came by were interested in what was going on and I handed out flyers about the event. This work detail is not really popular because you have to deal with the public and some of them are not very thrilled that they have to wait for up to 20 minutes while some crazies are racing their cars. You also miss all the action you might see working a corner. I made the best of it and tried not to fall asleep in the hot summer sun.
After the racing was over on Sat, and I had put my street tires back on I drove down Dead Indian back to 66 and met my wife at Glenyan RV Park. She had our tent site all set up and dinner ready. We had someone watching our kids back at home and it was nice sitting around a campfire relaxing with an ice cold beer. Sunday I got up and made some camp-stove coffee and headed back up the hill, trying to mentally prepare myself for getting some better times. I bought some breakfast at the pit area after putting my race wheels back on the car, just in time for the drivers meeting where they give out the work assignments. I found out I would be working the second cone chicane area with the guy who had scolded me at Freezeout, the Bogus Basin Hillclimb Assoc. president. I decided to try and make the best of it, because obviously I did not make a very good impression on our initial meeting. Wilke, that's his name, turned out to be quite good company and had a wealth of information about hill climb racing and most importantly why S2Ks are allowed to run with a hard top and the stock roll hoops. He said that when they were setting up hill climb safety rules and regulations, he contacted NASA to see what they allowed. He also told me that Honda and BMW said their roll-over protection was acceptable for competition, whereas Porsche did not. He also told me about his racing career and history in motor sports, even some business and life philosophies. I've found in my limited racing career that you can always get a lot of good advice and pointers from seasoned racers when you show them some respect.
My wife showed up after the morning session and we had lunch with Bret and Buddy. Bret posted a new record (2:01.28)in his class, SMF, which was a nice follow up to winning his class at Freezeout. Bret has worked with Bilstein, has his own suspension tuning company, Yawsport, and was proving his credibility with his nicely set up TL. Speaking of winning I forgot to mention Jen, who is campaigning her orange turbo '83 VW GTI. She holds the SPO-L record at Cascade Lakes (1:56.738)which she achieved in a monster STI. Jen is a regular at the hillclimbs and along with many other characters, contributes to the excitement of competition and a sense of community.
That evening, my wife and I topped off a great race weekend dining at Callahan's Mountain Lodge nestled on the side of Mt Ashland. Having my wife at the event encouraging me to do better (which I did) and showing her support meant a lot, and I realized walking back to my dusty S2000 in the parking lot, this was shaping up to be a great endeavor.
Next up: Larison Rock, OR With early morning Horror!
Last edited by saving4one; 11-14-2020 at 06:38 PM.
Nice to read of your adventures after having moved from Upstate. Hill climbs are quite the tradition in the North East as well and I plan on running at least one of them next season for the experience.
With regard to the rollbar issue - I've heard from people that the rules here dictate a rollbar or the factory hardtop. Having both is a big plus though as the safety stewards will have no problem letting you participate.
As you seem to be heading down the path of being an avid hill climber, perhaps you will consider a roll bar. It is a safety thing and could very well be what ensures you get to see your wife and kids once the event has concluded.
I see the rules getting more stringent as time passes regarding convertibles like ours. So it's best to think about staying a step ahead in terms of safety or purchase another car for racing purposes.
Dang, I wish I would have known about the OEM hardtop exclusion. I talked to Shea and was informed 2 years ago that I needed a roll bar. If I would have known that I could have ran with my OEM hardtop I would have at least 4-5 hill climbs under my belt. Maybe I will see you out there next year ! Thanks for the great information!
Dude that was awesome thanks for sharing! I really enjoy watching rally and hill climb videos, and hill climbing is something I would like to try. You looked pretty quick out there, you seem comfortable with the track width. A lot guys get nervous putting their tire on the edge of the track.
Originally Posted by Bullwings
I love hill climbs. They're very popular in Europe. That said, I think they're also much riskier than track days and W2W racing.
Nice to read of your adventures after having moved from Upstate. Hill climbs are quite the tradition in the North East as well and I plan on running at least one of them next season for the experience. With regard to the rollbar issue - I've heard from people that the rules here dictate a rollbar or the factory hardtop. Having both is a big plus though as the safety stewards will have no problem letting you participate. As you seem to be heading down the path of being an avid hill climber, perhaps you will consider a roll bar. It is a safety thing and could very well be what ensures you get to see your wife and kids once the event has concluded. I see the rules getting more stringent as time passes regarding convertibles like ours. So it's best to think about staying a step ahead in terms of safety or purchase another car for racing purposes.
It is nice to hear from you Aashish, I have been lurking on the Upstate forums since I've moved west, and followed many of your conversations. I tried to find hill climb events back east but only came up with Chimney Rock, I would appreciate it if you could pm me any info on events held on the East Coast or post it up here. The roll bar issue is truly a 'drama' in that it did and still does weigh heavily on my mind. I would imagine many S2000 owners who get into racing come to this point of 'how far am I going to take this' and struggle with the notion of going 'all in' on safety preparedness for the track or how street-able they want to keep their car. I could become quite long winded on this topic (I will touch upon this issue throughout my posts) but for now I thank you for your looking out.
Originally Posted by pastoli
Dang, I wish I would have known about the OEM hardtop exclusion. I talked to Shea and was informed 2 years ago that I needed a roll bar. If I would have known that I could have ran with my OEM hardtop I would have at least 4-5 hill climbs under my belt. Maybe I will see you out there next year ! Thanks for the great information!
Shea is a really decent guy and to his credit I think the hardtop rule was quite murky, like I said there was no mention of it in the NHA rules. My local club requires a hard top on S2Ks just to run their auto-x even though the SCCA does not. Your welcome, and I hope you have a lot of fun.
Originally Posted by skatebrian624
Dude that was awesome thanks for sharing! I really enjoy watching rally and hill climb videos, and hill climbing is something I would like to try. You looked pretty quick out there, you seem comfortable with the track width. A lot guys get nervous putting their tire on the edge of the track.
Hey thanks, I've watched your track videos and read some of your posts and it's nice to receive a compliment from you, are you sure you are referring to my driving?
It is nice to hear from you Aashish, I have been lurking on the Upstate forums since I've moved west, and followed many of your conversations. I tried to find hill climb events back east but only came up with Chimney Rock, I would appreciate it if you could pm me any info on events held on the East Coast or post it up here. The roll bar issue is truly a 'drama' in that it did and still does weigh heavily on my mind. I would imagine many S2000 owners who get into racing come to this point of 'how far am I going to take this' and struggle with the notion of going 'all in' on safety preparedness for the track or how street-able they want to keep their car. I could become quite long winded on this topic (I will touch upon this issue throughout my posts) but for now I thank you for your looking out.
I had Friday the 4th off from work for the holiday, and Oakridge was not to far of a drive, so I got on the road at about 9am. It was a straight shot up I-5 to an exit just before Eugene, then East on 58 to Oakridge. I've been up this stretch of I-5 many times since I have lived out West but always in the kid haulers, not in the S2000. It's quite a fun highway, very pretty, and much greener than my section of California. I stopped for lunch at K & R Drive Inn, at the Rice Hill exit because I had always passed it by and I planned to check it out. Sure enough it was an awesome burger, not too huge but very flavorful and the bun and toppings were perfect. Back on the road, about an hour outside of Eugene I noticed this just in time to snap a picture:
Route 58 was a nice precursor to what Oakridge would be like, it became densely forested as it followed along Lookout Point Lake just before I reached the town. Oakridge itself is nestled in the Willamette National Forest and reminded me a lot of many small towns in upstate NY, lots of greenery, quaint neighborhoods, 2 or 3 traffic lights, maybe a fast food joint or two, a couple of hotels and gas stations, almost everybody knows each other, the kind of place you wouldn't mind settling down in if you could find a decent paying job there. Tech was to be held in the Best Western parking lot and my new hill climb friends from San Diego were staying there also. I pulled into the parking lot and went to find Bret and Buddy, who were enjoying the hotel pool. I chatted for a little bit finding out from them where the course was exactly and what it was like, the event mailings didn't give any detail of the course. Bret informed me that it was a very tight course with moss on the edges in spots, the pit area was on the road itself which had a pretty good incline, and he had no idea where he was going to pit his car trailer. I decided to go to the hill and find a good spot to set up my tent and see about changing over my wheels. I missed a turn on my way there because I was distracted by how much the forest resembled Letchworth State Park back in New York, and I missed the sign. Once there I met another Andrew who was setting up a tent to put his race supplies in, he had run Larison many times and gave me a lot of useful information. There was a nice little clearing on each side of the road just for campers and tents so I went about unloading the S and putting up my tent. I found my pit number and sure enough it was on a pretty good incline, I had no wheel chocks, so I decided to just change my race rubber over in the Best Western parking lot. I drove back into town, prepped the car, got teched and registered, and then ran into Jen and her husband Rob. Jen was also a regular at Larison because it is run by her auto-x club, Emerald Empire Sports Car Club (EESCC). Jen said I should definitely attend the driver’s school at the Oakridge fire station because I would find it very useful. I grabbed a quick dinner at the local McDonald's then sat in the fire department parking lot waiting for everyone to show up. I took the opportunity to call my wife because there was no cell signal at the hill. I let her know how I was doing and to find out how her and the kids' holiday was going. After the training session, which was very useful, (even Jen was there for a refresher) I headed up to my campsite to try and get a good night’s rest. I ended up hanging out with a couple of the other entrants who were standing around (no campfires allowed) drinking some beers and telling stories, when this guy came up and said it was after ten and he didn't want a repeat of last night. Come to find out these guys were up pretty late the night before partying and being 'loud' as this guy put it. He said he had to race in the morning and wanted to get some sleep, I took that as my cue to mosey back over to my tent. I fell asleep listening to the intermittent pop and bang of fireworks.
Saturday morning I woke up to more arriving race cars that were filling up their assigned pit areas. I had asked Bret to pick me up some McDonald's breakfast on his way out of town, which he did, which was much appreciated by my empty stomach. He was in a foul mood concerning his trailer and turning it around, so I figured the breakfast thing should probably remain a one-shot deal. At the driver's meeting I found out I was working the morning and driving in the afternoon.
I was working at the last corner station before the finish, up on an embankment that overlooked the course, with a nice fellow who wasn't even driving in the event. He had run in it before but this time was just there to take pictures and support his friend. Where we were working was really the only straight section of the entire course, so it was actually quite entertaining.
For the holiday I had added an American flag to my decal collection, God Bless America! I drove cautiously on my first run to get a feel for the course. I started with a 2:23.833 and spent the weekend whittling it down to my best of 2:13.735 (my last run). Larison is a fun but challenging course with its slippery moss edges, narrowly paved surface with off-camber undulations and the changing light throughout the day. This 'strobe effect' of dark shade into sudden intense sunshine was something new in a hill climb for me. There were no trees at Freezeout and Cascade Lakes has only one real continuously shady section. This is why I have included two video clips, one afternoon run and one from a morning run, so the viewer can see the differences. Also I didn't get my fastest run on video, we'll just write it off to technical difficulties, which started to get more frequent as the season wore on. I was running out of memory and I had no way of confirming if I was recording. I would turn my camera on by rotating the lens and then rotating the lens to its wide setting. I would do this procedure quickly so I could lock my seatbelt and go, many times not knowing if I was recording or not. For instance at Freezeout, I didn't record a single run on Sunday because I wasn't turning the lens enough to turn the camera on and then I never checked my camera until after the last run.
Saturday evening EESCC had a get together at Big Mountain Pizza in Oakridge. I got there early and ordered a medium pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms, my wife doesn't like mushrooms, so I indulged and figured it would make a great breakfast. I hung out for a little while but most of the folks I knew were not there, feeling a little home sick for some odd reason, I drove to the town park to have some quiet time and call home because I could still get a signal there. As soon as I pulled in and parked, a guy laying in the grass under a tree, immediately got up and pushed his bike over to me. He was kind of walking all jittery and as soon as he started talking I realized he was a meth-head. I guess even little logging towns are not immune, I listened politely for a little bit about how he was clean now, how he was going to kill his brother, was my car an electric car, he had an awesome idea on how to make an engine that ran on water or some such nonsense, blah blah blah. I got out of there before he could try and bum a ride. So I ended up just pulling off to the side of the road and calling home.
Later that night, as I lay sleeping in my 'sweat-bag', as I call it because it is so hot you have to stick a leg out, I was dreaming that something was crawling in my ear. I woke up suddenly realizing there really was something crawling in my ear! Its little legs or wings or something trundling on my ear drum, a sound I will never forget. I started digging at my ear with my finger and shaking my head, trying to remain calm, but slowly losing it. I looked at my phone, it was 3am in the morning, how was I ever going to sleep with an insect crawling around inside my head. I was outside of my tent still digging at my ear thinking I might have to wake someone up for some help when suddenly the sound stopped. I crawled back into my tent trying to calm myself down, waiting for the bug to start moving again, was it out? did it die in my ear canal? was it starting to eat my brain? I lay there thinking of Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, whispering "The horror" over and over again.
Sunday morning I awoke to silence - at least inside my head. I sat in my camp chair eating cold pizza and drinking a coke, most likely looking a little crazy, trying to figure out if there was still something crawling around in my head. I told Bret and Buddy, and some other people about my plight and I noticed that everyone I told the story to took a step back when I replicated the sound I heard, as if the bug was going to fly out of my ear and into theirs. I was in the morning run group and as everyone was staging their cars, I ran over and asked one of the EMT's if they could take a look in my ear . The EMT turned out to be the Mayor of Oakridge, and he even took a step back when I told him what had happened. He looked in my ear with a flashlight and said he didn't see anything other than my skin being all irritated from me digging at it.
The Rest of the Story
Larison has a 'Sub Two Club' of drivers who can run the course in under two minutes, needless to say I was nowhere near joining that club. Bret was really close with a 2:00.230. Jen, who's best ever was a 1:53 in her STI, could only muster a 1:59.082 in her GTI. She would have made Queen but that went to Brenda (who is Jen's constant hill climb competition) who got a 1:57.660. Remember the irate guy from Friday night who needed his peace and quiet? His name is Harry and he got King of the Hill in his yellow '73 Porsche with a 1:51.479!
I was one of two cars entered in OSPU, and I came in second, to another 510. This time I didn't know what he had under the hood, but he was lowered, loud, and had a cage. He looked more serious than me and proved it with a best time of 2:05.638, a good 8 seconds faster than me. That afternoon I worked the staging area with Stefan, a younger guy who only ran his STI on Sunday. He was only thousands off from getting King of the Hill. After the day’s runs were finished I drove all the way down to the entrance to the national forest because it was the closest level area to change over my wheels. Once I was done I drove back to my tent site to start packing up, most people had stuck around for the awards ceremony, which was right next to my camp site. When I was all packed up I drove back into Oakridge one last time to fuel up. On my way out of town I passed by the meth-head guy riding his bike and gave him a 'see-ya' beep. I continued east on 58, which was a spectacular drive. It ran over the Willamette Pass at 5128ft with majestic pines lining the road for miles and followed along Odell Lake with Diamond Peak and its still snowy cap flashing in view behind. Then I hooked back up with 97 headed south, making my entire trip a loop around southern Oregon. Another great drive home with some new scenery and some more familiar, to let you know you’re getting close to home.
Next up: Hoopa, CA
Last edited by saving4one; 11-15-2020 at 09:43 AM.
11-19-2014, 10:43 PM
! Thanks for the great information!
), check out this link for the New England Hillclimb Association. 
