Black Mountain whooped my butt !!

blt2ski wrote:
NC,

Some of those grades you mention are worst than I've seen in the Rockies. About on par with a few seconds roads in cascdes and lower coot hills here in the Puget sound region.there is one pass north of Wenatchee going east that is in the mid teens. Coming down if you miss the tee at the bottom, you're in the Columbia. The road at the bottom is 10-20" from the river depending upon the reservoirs level.
I've said it before, I have yet to find an interstate freeway that has worked me as far as not going up. I've slowed down.....but never literally stalled out u.til I'm on side roads in the 15-20% range minimum.
Marty

Marty, they'll be short runs of a 100 yards or so of an ES curve to where you just about have to come to a stop to make the curve (towing), and then a very steep incline going into the next curve....secondary roads in some of these area's have been like this for as long as I can remember, (I'll be 65 tomorrow :)).....Interstates have been finished since then that people will go out of their way to get onto to avoid some of these curvy mountainous roads...We do have 7% grades on some of the Interstates also, most notable is the I64 section called the New River Gorge...heading into Beckley...very long climb, they did one of the BIG THREE towing test on that road....I've towed up and down it a dozen times or more and it'll also let you know if you have the right truck to tow with:)....

Only reason I even bring this up is I guess I get tired of being told that we don't have mountains east of the Miss.....May not be as tall by a long shot, but some of the roads, more secondary ,would be down right scary to some who haven't driven roads like these, some narrow two lane roads...I doubt very many people are towing their 40' 5th wheels up to the top of these mountains, but one would think they are...