In less than four months, you can expect to hear the area around Georgetown, Colorado light up with the sights and sounds of hundreds of hot rods. Why are they there? Why, to see who can climb the mountain the fastest, of course! This is the famous Georgetown Hill Climb, after all. First held 60 years ago, the event was brought about by local timing associations and hot rod clubs. Both sides got together to race up the old mining route, all competing for the best time. Today, some new enthusiasts have decided to hold the event once more for the sake of fun and good times, while also retaining the spirit and memory of the original race by only permitting the legendary (pre-1954 cars and motorcycles) machines to compete.

In the video, we have “Josephine,” a 1940 Ford Roadster, taking the climb up and back down Guanella Pass (which will be the one used for the event) in mostly first gear, and opening up the throttle in the straightaways. The angle provides a terrific first-person view of the action, as the scenery zooms by at up to 50 miles per hour. The course looks well-balanced, starting off with a couple of hairpins before giving the driver an open path to the next hairpin; after that, he gets gentle curves to ride through before that last quarter-mile stretch.

On to the brass tacks: Regarding the event, there’s open registration from now until September 13, when the event will begin. The fee is $100, but that also gets you some goodies, including a shirt and a plaque! The classes permitted to race are the following body styles: roadsters, coupes (Model T, A, and ’32-’34), fat coupes (’35-’48), shoeboxes (’49-’54), vintage sports cars (a la Jaguar), and bobber motorcycles. If you choose to compete in the race, you will get two runs up the hill; you should apply quickly however, as there are just a few slots left.

This event sounds really cool, and we are quite lucky to have folks who remember what it was like way back when, and who want to honor that race and its mark upon the community today. Are you going? Got a rod you want to race? Let us know in the comments!