Where are the "big" mountain passes in the Northwest?

I'm not even out of cdl school, and I can tell you snoqualmie looks deadly. Beautiful country. Would and perhaps will be very wary of driving it in a truck. Not sure this helps at all, but I think you are asking about the right spots

 

Again, I wish I could do better for you, but I can't remember much other than all the jake-breaks firing.

 

Everything in oregon and washington sucks. Despite massive fuel use taxes road maintenance is #### and they throw chain laws up at the first snowflake to avoid liability. Cabbage in oregon on 84 is horrible in that regard. So is snowqualamie.

Idaho and Montana are awesome. Passes are superbly maintained and virtually never close or throw chain laws. In their western neighbors defense the passes in mt and idaho stay much colder and see far less traffic.

Mt and idaho have quite a few passes. Off the top of my head.
4th of july,lookout,continental divide,bozeman pass

On 95 you got that 7% grade going into lewiston i cant remember the name of.

The list goes on,but you get the point.

 

Advice for you. Dont do anything you dont feel safe doing,but dont be afraid to push your limits a little to learn. The more you do it the more comfortable youll be in adverse weather.

As the saying goes ships are safe in harbor,but ships were not meant to live in harbors.

Oh and dont judge your safe speed off of everyone elses. Weight and tire tread are primary factors in traction on snow and ice. Everyones is different. Ive gone 20mph faster than everyone safely and 20mph slower than everybody safely. Circumstances dictate tactics.

 

Don't take any chances and go slow.

 

I80 donner pass in cali is pretty bad. You will run into ice problems all over the 5 during winter months from nortcall up. If you take us97 through Oregon it can get pretty bad from la pine to k falls lots of snow and ice.

I only run Washington, Oregon, and California so if you need something just send me a pm.

 

Hi mj. I've drove truck in the pnw for 35 yrs and a few other places. Yes it snows in the Winter and we haul 105500# GVW trucks. The Eastside of the Cascades has less grade than the Westside. You will probably only run the 4 main passes. Government camp,Santiam,Willamette and Siskyou. There are others but once you get your mountain driving skills its easy. A couple of tips. You can never go to slow off a grade,make sure your truck is road worth(brake check area) chaining is part of trucking the mountains. Or stay in town or the valley and do local delivery. Feel free to contact me.

 

Get you one of these, comes in real handy. They make an East Coast one as well.