CyclistClassic UK climb: Honister PassFor any cyclist, the name Fred Whitton sends a shiver down the spine. The annual Fred Whitton Challenge is among the most notorious sportives in Britain, serving its 2,000 participants with 180km of distance and 3,500m of vertical ascent that takes in the steepest and cruellest climbs the Lake District has to offer. One of those climbs, arriving 50km into The Fred, is the Honister Pass.Like many British climbs, Honisters altitude gain is far from linear. The gradient fluctuates throughout its 2.4km ascent, flicking between shallow single-digit stretches and slopes in the upper teens. The average gradient comes out to a mean 10%, although the maximum gradient is twice that. For entrants of the Fred Whitton that means negotiating the steepest sections while weaving through dense sportive traffic and avoiding the numerous people who have got off to walk. Alternatively, if youre a pro rider that might mean tackling the slope alongside a 150-man peloton at the Tour of Britain, which paid a visit to this climb back in 2013.Bite at the head, sting in the tailLocated in the western half of the Lake District between Keswick and Buttermere, Honister Pass begins in Seatoller. If you prompted ChatGPT to create an image of a typical Cumbrian village, this is what it would come up with: drystone walls, fields of sheep, cosy pub, a scattering of whitewashed houses, signpost denoting National Trust status. For cyclists, more importantly, its where the road starts to rise, beginning at 6% as you grind past the villages few cottages.After a couple of hundred metres, past a kissing gate, you reach the first stinger. The road tilts up to 13% and sticks there for the next half kilometre. These cruel early slopes head through a thick woodland with bracken caking one side of the road and a mossy ravine on the other, and once past the 13% section things only get tougher.At the 700m mark the road reaches its maximum 20% gradient and only relents by a couple of percentage points over the next 300m. Its here that the sound of the adjacent river starts getting drowned out by the sound of panting and creaking handlebars.Article continues belowJames VincentThe climbs toughest slopes run parallel to the Hause Gill stream.James VincentThe steepest stretches of the Honister Pass often see riders getting off to push, but not Cyclist (on this occasion).James VincentYoure never far from a drystone wall in the north of England.James VincentJames VincentThe pass cuts through Little Gatesgarthdale, a stopping point for Lake District visitors and hikers.James VincentJames VincentJames VincentA brief respiteHaving slogged through this tough section, at the 1.1km mark you cross a cattle grid something that requires extra concentration at 15% and the climb mercifully takes on a tamer profile as the landscape opens out into Little Gatesgarthdale, a serene Cumbrian valley carved out by the stream.Beyond the halfway marker the gradient teeters at around 5% as the road curves gently around a handful of dome-shaped mounds. Throw a glance left between these humps and youll catch the summits of Great Gable or, on a good day, Scafell Pike, Englands highest mountain. Look ahead, though, and youll catch your first view of the Honister Slate Mine, which has torn off a fair chunk of this hillside, leaving a significant grey scar on the upcoming slopes.Make the most of this half-kilometre of respite because with 600m to go the climb picks up again, returning to more Alpine gradients between 7% and 11%. A slight wiggle in the course rises well into double digits, hitting a maximum of 13% in the stinging final 400m.In this top section the landscape becomes more rugged, with brown-tinged scrub and patches of scree. However, with the roads angle sticking above 10%, even without any trees to obscure the view, the passs crest remains hidden until the final 50m or so a true testament to the term blind summit.Instead of your typical sticker-coated road sign, the summits peak is defined by the vast Honister Slate Mine. Beyond the collection of slate sculptures and signs scattered around the summit, the mines footprint stretches far up the southern slopes, with winding gravel tracks spurring further upwards into the hillside.While archaeologists claim mining has taken place here since the Roman era, the first industrial slate mining in Honister dates back to the 17th century when, rumour has it, Sir Christopher Wren sourced Honister slate for Kensington Palace and the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Today it survives as Englands last working slate mine, albeit the kind of mine that also has a zipwire, bus tour and cafe.In recognition of the considerable pain the Honister Pass has doled out over the years, a slate silhouette of a cyclist now sits by a clifftop, where you can take a breather to look down into the valley that carves between Great Gable and Dale Head. Or, if youre doing the Fred Whitton, you dive into the descent to Buttermere, where the sportives first feed stop awaits. Related Posts Classic UK climb: Gold Hill Classic UK climb: Rosedale Chimney Bank Classic UK climb: Bealach Fith nan Laogh Classic UK climb: Nick O Pendle The statsLocation Seatoller, CumbriaLength 2.4kmSummit height 361mAscent 248mAverage gradient 10.4%Maximum gradient 20.4%Current best Strava timeKoM Andrew Feather, UK, 7min 34secQoM Grace Brown, Australia, 9min 37secThe post Classic UK climb: Honister Pass appeared first on Cyclist.