Northern California - Mt Diablo vs Mt Hamilton

I've climbed Mt Diablo 4 times this year and want to give Mt Hamilton a shot. How does Mt Hamilton compare in terms of difficulty? I did all of my Mt Diablo climbs up the south side (starting at a friend's house in Danville).

Also, where can I park for the Mt Hamilton climb so that I'll have a few miles of letting my legs get warmed up?

Thanks,
Bob

As per Strava:

Mt Hamilton - Official
Distance 18.4 mi
Avg Grade 3.8%
Elev Difference 3,693 ft

Mt. Diablo S. Gate to Summit
Distance 10.2 mi
Avg Grade 5.7%
Elev Difference 3,069 ft

I'd say Hamilton is easier even though it's longer. Has two short descents in the climb that you can use as breaks.

edit; you can just park on the street someplace around Alum Rock Ave.

We always park at Linda Vista Elementary School (http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=0,0,13134639175619882122&fb=1&hq=Linda+Vista+Elementary+School&hnear=0x808fcae48af93ff5:0xb99d8c0aca9f717b,San+Jose,+CA&gl=us&daddr=100+Kirk+Avenue,+San+Jose,+CA+95127-2295&geocode=12972417952362637712,37.377717,-121.823842&ei=-00KTrDvI4r4sAOQotneCg&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=directions-to&resnum=4&ved=0CDsQngIwAw)at 100 Kirk Ave.

Diablo is about a 10-11 mile climb, Hamilton is almost twice the distance (from the front side), with a couple of short ~1 mile descents tossed in to ease the pain. From the base of Hwy 130, you have to cross 2 ridge-lines and traverse two valleys to get to the final 6-7 mile climb up a series of switchbacks.

If you really want to compare Hamilton to Diablo, you need to do the backside of Hamilton, or even do both sides of Hamilton.

Hamilton is about 20 or 25 minutes longer, with a much worse road for descending. It's also about 20% shallower of a grade most of the way, so easier feeling.

Just did Hamilton for the first time the other weekend, after riding North and South Diablo a bazillion times. Hamilton is definitely easier overall - beautiful ride, much more popular with motorcyclists than Diablo for some reason - maybe they all head out for Mines Rd.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hjf_ZcKyoPA/R8wvwUnbTgI/AAAAAAAACTE/fLn1Iea7o7E/s640/Palomar%25252C%252520Diablo%25252C%252520Two%252520Hamiltons.JPG

I got these graphs for everything.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hjf_ZcKyoPA/R8wvwUnbTgI/AAAAAAAACTE/fLn1Iea7o7E/s640/Palomar%25252C%252520Diablo%25252C%252520Two%252520Hamiltons.JPG

I got these graphs for everything.

You need one for Baldy Ski Lifts :p

You need one for Baldy Ski Lifts :p

Made it when they announced the route last October:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R_yWczp4NDc/TK5uSzFBeNI/AAAAAAAAJ3o/R-dTaKpaaYA/s400/Diablo%252520Vs%252520Baldy.JPG

Made it when they announced the route last October:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R_yWczp4NDc/TK5uSzFBeNI/AAAAAAAAJ3o/R-dTaKpaaYA/s400/Diablo%252520Vs%252520Baldy.JPG

Now what would make these plots even better would be to superpose gradient for both climbs as well.

If you really want to compare Hamilton to Diablo, you need to do the backside of Hamilton, or even do both sides of Hamilton.

^^ This is what you need to do.

Been there, done that

I love the backside of Hamilton......ride it at least once a month.

Hamilton from SJ was not too bad as I recall. Will have to try the backside sometime.

DiabloScott, do you happen to have a graph comparing Mt Baldy Ski Lifts to Palomar?

DiabloScott, do you happen to have a graph comparing Mt Baldy Ski Lifts to Palomar?

Not on the same chart, but I've got all the data in the same spreadsheet. You can see them both but in different charts I already posted.

My focus is on comparing other climbs to Mount Diablo.

My focus is on comparing other climbs to Mount Diablo.

It's amazing how similar Diablo and Baldy climbs are, with the exception of the extra two miles on Baldy.

It's amazing how similar Diablo and Baldy climbs are, with the exception of the extra two miles on Baldy.

I dunno, looking at mile 5 to 7 1/2 and after mile 9 Baldy looks tougher, a couple % higher gradient doesn't look like much on that graph; that's why I was bugging Scott about a gradient vs distance chart.