Ffordd Rhiwlas
2601.0 m · net rise 159.1 m · total ascent 176.5 m · overall 6.1% · confidence: good
Shape: stepped — 57% of the climbing sits in a quarter of the distance; longest continuous stretch at 10%+ is 313 m.
Found purely from mapping and LiDAR data, and not yet matched against books, race records or lists — it may be well known to locals under a name we've never heard. It was cross-checked against the OS road network, surface models and map tags, but a discovery can still be an artifact of the terrain model or the map. Treat it as a well-evidenced hypothesis until someone has ridden it. If you know this road, tell us what you found — photographs, corrections and local knowledge all welcome; the map links below let you scout it first.
≈ Overhead cover (tree canopy or structures) spans 33% of this route — detected by comparing the surface model (DSM, treetops and rooftops) against the terrain model (DTM, bare ground). Under cover the bare-ground model is built from fewer laser returns, so metre-scale readings can wobble; maxima whose window sits in a covered zone are marked ≈ below — less certain — the flag does not say whether the true value is higher or lower. Longer windows average over more clean ground and are steadier.
Gradient ladder what do windows mean?
| Window | Maximum | Located at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 m (diagnostic) | ≈38% | 463–465 m | under overhead cover terrain reads 79.9% at 158–160 m across terrain that holds no road surface (dense canopy, no bench) — excluded |
| 3 m (diagnostic) | ≈36% | 463–466 m | under overhead cover terrain reads 59.9% at 158–161 m across terrain that holds no road surface (dense canopy, no bench) — excluded |
| 5 m | ≈34% | 451–456 m | under overhead cover terrain reads 42.6% at 744–749 m across terrain that holds no road surface (dense canopy, no bench) — excluded |
| 10 m | ≈30% | 448–458 m | under overhead cover terrain reads 37.8% at 740–750 m across terrain that holds no road surface (dense canopy, no bench) — excluded |
| 20 m | ≈28.1% | 446–466 m | under overhead cover terrain reads 28.9% at 740–760 m across terrain that holds no road surface (dense canopy, no bench) — excluded |
| 25 m | ≈26.5% | 441–466 m | under overhead cover |
| 50 m | ≈21.5% | 416–466 m | under overhead cover terrain reads 22.2% at 736–786 m across terrain that holds no road surface (dense canopy, no bench) — excluded |
| 100 m | ≈18.3% | 383–483 m | under overhead cover terrain reads 20.3% at 740–840 m across terrain that holds no road surface (dense canopy, no bench) — excluded |
Map
Check this route yourself: Google Maps route via their router · Street View at the base where coverage exists · geojson.io our exact measured line · OpenTopoMap
This climb's data: OCL JSON — the full gradient ladder, quality flags and provenance in the OpenClimb Ladder format.
Ridden it, or know better? Submit data for this climb no account needed
© OpenStreetMap contributors · topo tiles © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · vector tiles OpenFreeMap
Profile
Provenance
{
"analysis_version": "0.1.0",
"sample_interval_m": 1.0,
"interpolation": "bilinear",
"smoothing": "none",
"gradient_windows_m": [
5.0,
10.0,
20.0,
25.0,
50.0,
100.0
],
"diagnostic_windows_m": [
2.0,
3.0
],
"elevation_crs": "EPSG:27700",
"elevation_resolution_m": 1.0,
"elevation_tiles": [
"data/cache/wales/dtm_1m/wg_del_11_280365_20210302dtm.tif",
"data/cache/wales/dtm_1m/wg_del_11_280366_20210302dtm.tif",
"data/cache/wales/dtm_1m/wg_del_11_280367_20210302dtm.tif",
"data/cache/wales/dtm_1m/wg_del_12_280368_20210302dtm.tif",
"data/cache/wales/dtm_1m/wg_del_12_280369_20210307dtm.tif"
],
"calculated_at": "2026-08-13T02:12:50+00:00",
"road_source": "wales-discovered-adopted-routes/ffordd-rhiwlas.geojson",
"elevation_provider": "Welsh Government",
"elevation_dataset": "Welsh Government LiDAR 1m DTM (2020-2023)",
"elevation_licence": "Open Government Licence v3 \u2014 \u00a9 Crown copyright Welsh Government",
"elevation_catalogue_layer": "geonode:welsh_government_lidar_tile_catalogue_2020_2023",
"elevation_tile_ids": [
"wg_del_11_280365_20210302dtm.tif",
"wg_del_11_280366_20210302dtm.tif",
"wg_del_11_280367_20210302dtm.tif",
"wg_del_12_280368_20210302dtm.tif",
"wg_del_12_280369_20210307dtm.tif"
],
"elevation_capture_dates": [
"02-03-2021",
"07-03-2021"
],
"route_summit_trim_m": 1595.3,
"route_summit_trim_loss_m": 52.1,
"climb_origin": "discovered",
"notes": "Coarse pass: max 15.9% over 200 m (Terrain 50), gain 89.8 m over 3993 m way. EXTENDED by graph walk: +2 segment(s) at base, +0 at top (stop: base=no_descending_continuation, top=no_ascending_continuation; min_avg=2.0%). Review before adopting. ADOPTED (notable slice 2026-08-11): qualified-steep."
}