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

Snoqualmie Pass westbound with snow on it is dicey for the first few miles off the summit. The road is elevated to get past the Denny Creek canyon.

I used to get off work in the Seattle area, then drive up to Snoqualmie to go night skiing. I remember one night it was snowing on top of the layer of ice on that multi mile bridge on a 6% grade. I was barely in control with my all wheel drive sports car, following well behind a big rig. Kudos to that driver. He was fighting a jackknife for a couple miles, at one point he had all lanes covered for a good quarter mile.

 

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hese are all track vehicles and the picture is tilted

 

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Sexton, Smith Hill, Canyon Creek and Stage Road, all between Roseburg and Medford. None are that bad, but if you run them long enough you'll eventually get to chain up.
Don't be afraid of chaining, it gets easier with practice.

 

I5 is not pass free. You will do battle in winter well enough with the snows that reach 10 feet before Medford.

This also assumes you got past Redding CA... once or twice I sit there with a closed interstate due to storms in winter. Wait and wait some more.

I consider every where west of the Mississppii River as part of the mountains where applicable. And some not even marked here in the Ozarks as well. It's not to say that the East is easy, it's not.

Crossing the pass out of Seattle makes for a nice fight and that trailer will come along one way or the other. For me it's usually one way thankfully. It's not that big and scary of a pass considering others that are steeper and more scary. But it's enough during winter.

Ive taken a class B cement mixer onto grades that are insane. about 30 plus percent in some short climbs where you feel that front end lift a little bit and think about head over heels right back into the bottom you are trying to climb out of. Thank god for Mack, anything less would be ########.

 

If Snoqualmie looks deadly, they are going to find you on a hill one day curled up in a sleeper crying for your mommy.

I will never figure out why snoqualmie has the rep it has. Only 3200 feet or so tall. It is more of a speed bump than a pass.

Calling Snoqualmie deadly is like those guys back east calling those hills mountains...

 

It isn't the height that gets you, it's the moisture content of the snow. It's not the dry powder you get in the Rockies, it's "Cascade Concrete". High moisture content morphs quickly into compacted snow and ice with a glaze of water on top, just about the worst conditions for traction other than an ice storm.

 

Been over it several times. Still don't get it. I do however prefer the drive over whites pass. Grew up hunting elk around Randall and Packwood whilr fishing around Morton.

 

That is the exact mix you describe. Throw in split ice conditions to where half your wheels are up on ice and such you describe and the other half is down low on either pavement or ice that cuts.

Praise the Interlock, long may it live. But I tell you it's a battle.

Powder is easy, the last time I had powder was almost two feet on Seven Mountains grade of 322 US east downgrade after climbing it. And that was tricky because if you stop being precisely in your power band between torque and horse and going too fast (Spin) or slow (Stall) you are breaking traction and that's that.

I added a little gambling to that downgrade that day, no jake in the truck so I overshifted higher gears at idle all the way down dragging the drives on purpose through the powder. It worked, but very hard to describe... my trainer was all over it eyeballing everything. We got away with that that day. Really hard to describe because usually when you allow the drives to starve of power and they stall (Stop rotating or want to stop rolling) you slide. Or worse, they pick up rotation and then you gain speed right quick. (Bad)

Maybe we should have chained that day on 322, but we thought that if you were really.. small in steering and really ... light on power and even ethereal very light on braking (Trolley time here, small trolley off the steering column, forget the dash trolley from fleet managers who are very stupid spec'ing that. Yes you...)

Anyway, that's a story I have trouble typing because bringing up the idea to drag the snow with the drives will get people into trouble. Don't do it.

 

The worst part of your trip is !82 between Ellensburg and Yakima the pass is maintained this part only has 2 trucks working that section all winter