For RAAM and RAW racers and crew

The mountains start in Congress and continue on and on.

Though I haven't done an analysis I would guess that exhaustion and rookie status takes out most riders before Durango.

Racers would do well to learn how to pace themselves when they reach Congress. The stretch to Flagstaff is just ... plain ... UP.

I'm including links to the Garmin data on some rides (not races) I've done between Congress and Flagstaff. Worth studying.

Congress to the top of Yarnell (Yarnell Grade) isn't steep but it is the first persistently long climb. Good pavement, nothing more than 7%.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/161958434

Skull Valley to the summit just before descending into Prescott will test a racer's capacity for patience and strategic climbing. The first 6.45 miles is bad road, tarred cracks. There is no shoulder, just dangerous drop-offs from pavement to dirt and rocks. But the grade is gentle, mostly 2 - 5%.

When the racer crosses the cattle guard and enters the Prescott National Forest the road becomes ideal, with wide and safe shoulders. But the grade to MM 5 (6.5 more miles) becomes much more demanding and consistently steep (6 - 10%). It just grinds on.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/175962998

From Prescott to Flagstaff the racer will encounter 91 miles of everything climate and terrain can throw at a racer. Long smooth flats, narrow roads with steep switchbacks, steep descents (Jerome to Clarkdale), and the grim climb up from Sedona to Flagstaff. (Tip for recumbent racers: climbing on switchback filled roads for dozens of miles I've found that `tilting' my handlebar up a bit makes maneuvering easier. Avoiding potholes and sand may require quick steering changes; inevitable `wobbling' on steeper sections ... it helps to not have to deal with the bar ends hitting your legs)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27857918