Puerto del Escudo
Puerto del Escudo is a mountain pass at an elevation of 1.011m (3,317ft) above the sea level, located in the valley of Luena, between Cantabria and Castile, in Spain. It has several parts of double-digit gradients.
The road to the summit is asphalted. It’s called N623. The climb is particularly nasty, with no descent to recover, with sections of 12 and 13%. With such a high summit altitude the road is closed often in winters due to snowfalls. The zone is prone to heavy mist and can be dangerous in low visibility conditions. It’s well known for its steep inclines on its Cantabrian slope that can be up to 15%, causing a difficult transit for heavy vehicles
The climb has been used by the Spanish Vuelta bicycle race. There are 2 routes to reach the summit. Starting from Corconte, the ascent is 4 km long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 158 meters. The average percentage is 4 %. And starting from Entrambasmestas, the ascent is 16 km long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 801 meters. The average percentage is 5 %.