How to Drive Uphill and downhill

I learned my hill lesson on The Big Hill on the way to Bella Coola, BC. I was driving a 3/4 ton GM van pulling a tent trailer down this enormous hill. I thought I knew what I was doing, downshifting to second gear and using the brakes briefly on each switchback. Luckily it was a hot day and my daughter had her window open. She smelled something "burning". I stopped and found the wheels were very hot. After a few minutes to cool down we proceeded in first gear. We stopped at the half way rest stop where we found a melted car with a sign warning what happens when brakes get too hot. We did the rest of the hill in low gear with very little use of the brakes. There was a delightful campsite at the bottom with several cold mountain streams. Ever since I have kept the brakes cool for stopping, not slowing down (except to downshift).

Pictures of The Big Hill: http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/bella_coola_hill.html

Pictures of the other hill going up to lakes above Bella Coola.
http://explorenorth.com/wordpress/experiencing-bit-bella-coola/
DW, DD and I turned around at a spot like the last photo after encountering 8 foot high snow. We were young and very careful - unhooking the trailer, turning it around by hand, then turning the van using rocks to block the wheels when necessary. The only alternative was to attempt backing down that hill.