Here is a shot I took last fall while visiting our friends in Nevada City, (northern California gold country). It was taken just outside of Nevada City/Grass Valley. Fortunately this steep section of the road is only a little more than a quarter of a mile. In the winter it is totally impassable even with 4 X 4 and necessitates a serious detour. I've seen my share of steep roads down here in Arizona, 8% to 10% is not unusual but this one takes the prize. :E

Did you drive it? Was it actually that steep? Usually the percentage of incline is relative to the terrain and not that bad.

:E That would get the adrenaline flowing. I have to laugh at the picture on the sign, nobody in their right mind would try it in one of those.

Yeah. If it's a straight downhill shot and not all that far and you have some run out at the bottom it's not a problem at all. But how do you know that out traveling cross country?

18% is the worst I've ever seen. Yours is a roller coaster!!

ReneeG wrote:Did you drive it? Was it actually that steep? Usually the percentage of incline is relative to the terrain and not that bad.That would be "Yes" and "Yes", down it and back up again. Just to make it even more fun the road is narrow, curving, virtually no shoulder and lined with trees. :E

How steep was it? | Good Sam Community

39 Replies

korbe
Explorer
Mar 29, 2014
That 31% slope equals about 1 foot rise in a run of 3 feet. Much more comfortable going up.
pnichols
Explorer II
Mar 29, 2014
I wonder how steep Old Priest Grade is in CA?

We went up that once in our 3-speed column shift Dodge 3/4 ton camper van and it barely could pull it in first gear, as only 3-speed manual shift gearing results in a tall first gear - plus we had over-diameter sized tires on it which made all of it's gear ratios even taller. (We got 18 MPG out of it's 318 V8 on camping trips, however ... this was using 1972 V8 engine technology.)
nomad297
Explorer
Mar 29, 2014
Fishinghat wrote:
The grade in degrees is normally a percentage of a 45 degree angle. So, 31% would be about 16 degrees. That's still a very steep hill, but "doable". A 31 degree hill would be about double in slope and I'm not sure a typical wheeled vehicle could navigate it.

On the other hand, I've never been there and it could be much different than what I think the sign implies.

I'm thinking the sign maker confused degrees with percentage.

Slope
Fishinghat
Explorer II
Mar 29, 2014
The grade in degrees is normally a percentage of a 45 degree angle. So, 31% would be about 16 degrees. That's still a very steep hill, but "doable". A 31 degree hill would be about double in slope and I'm not sure a typical wheeled vehicle could navigate it.

On the other hand, I've never been there and it could be much different than what I think the sign implies.

I'm thinking the sign maker confused degrees with percentage.
Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Mar 29, 2014
ReneeG wrote:
Did you drive it? Was it actually that steep? Usually the percentage of incline is relative to the terrain and not that bad.

That would be "Yes" and "Yes", down it and back up again. Just to make it even more fun the road is narrow, curving, virtually no shoulder and lined with trees. :E
2oldman
Explorer II
Mar 29, 2014
18% is the worst I've ever seen. Yours is a roller coaster!!
More_To_See
Explorer
Mar 29, 2014
Yeah. If it's a straight downhill shot and not all that far and you have some run out at the bottom it's not a problem at all. But how do you know that out traveling cross country?
romore
Explorer II
Mar 29, 2014
:E That would get the adrenaline flowing. I have to laugh at the picture on the sign, nobody in their right mind would try it in one of those.
ReneeG
Explorer
Mar 29, 2014
Did you drive it? Was it actually that steep? Usually the percentage of incline is relative to the terrain and not that bad.

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How steep was it?

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