Donner is probably least steep [in the northern end of the state, has the
most help available.

Mike

On 7/23/08 5:29 PM, "Michael Hart" <mjhart853@YAHOO.COM> wrote:

> I am planning a round trip loop through the Sierras in California starting
> next week (starting from the San Francisco Bay Area)
> The Sierras have gradual gradients going East, but coming back West is a
> different story. Last year I took Highway 4 (Ebert's Pass) both ways (most
> convenient for our planned destination), but the West direction is VERY steep
> (25% for the last mile close to the summit), so I was down to 1st gear in my
> fully loaded Westy (temperature gauge running at the high side on a very hot
> day > 100F and strange sounds coming from the engine/transmission). Also, the
> approach to Ebert's Pass from Highway 395 over Highway 89 (Monitor Pass) was
> pretty steep too.
> No apparent damage to the engine or transmission and since then I've had
> VolksCafe completely rebuild the cooling system (new radiator, stainless
> pipes, etc, etc.) [btw - great work by Peter at VolksCafe!], so I'm not too
> worried about overheating, but I'd rather not stress the engine so much again.
> Hence I will NOT be taking Ebert's Pass West again and need an alternate
> route.
>
> I've tried to find out the gradients of the other major passes, without
> success.
>
> So to my question - can someone tell me how steep Highway 88 (Carson Pass) is
> going West from the Lake Tahoe area? (I've driven this before, but not
> recently or in my Westy, you don't notice the hills quite so much in our other
> car, a 2.8liter V6 VW Jetta...). Any other ideas for the 'least steep pass'
> over the Sierras?
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
> '87 Westy (stock 2.1l)
> '97 Jetta GTX (2.8l VR6)
> '00 Cabrio GLX