"Those guys in Colorado don't have anything over us in the
NW!  I took my worn out '85 up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park
this summer.  That's a 5200 foot climb from sea level in 17 miles."

Not much of a comparison between starting at sea level and going
only to 1 mile high, vs starting at over 8000' and going to over 14000'.
Ask your engine what it's like to try and breathe at altitude. It's where
the power is lost due to the loss of molecular density.

There are not many places in the NW that compare in altitude to what
is everywhere, anywhere in the 3000 mile stretch of the Rocky
Mountains, with a high elevation of 14,400'. McKinley is over 14K but
you can't drive to that elevation. There are roads all over CO that reach
elevations between 7500' and 14K' (about 49 at last count), and that low CO
elevation is the topping-out elevation of 99% of all the high passes in the
PNW.

Length and steepness of grade is quite different when climbing between
sea level to 5K, 6K feet, as compared to starting at 8k' and topping out at
14K'.

I've driven a lot of miles in both environments (lived in PDX for 6 years and
have been back many times), and have been in the Rockies since '79,
and there is just no comparison.

Horse power makes a big difference.

Bob