And Spirals Everywhere

By Les Tanner

Come on, big guy,” I urged my faithful but laboring vehicle, “you can do it.”

I’m not sure, but I thought I heard a sigh. As much as I liked and trusted my ‘89 SUV, it just didn’t have what it took anymore to go up White Bird grade without a struggle, which was getting to be embarrassing. We were passed as though we were standing still.

Once again I stomped on the gas pedal. Once again came the sigh. As always, though, we finally made it and were able to relax heading downward toward Grangeville.

For those folks who have driven up that grade, you know what I’m talking about. That’s a pretty steep road. Signs warn of stretches of a seven-percent grade. Going up can be hard but so can going down, especially if you’re driving a heavily loaded semi.

I’m sure those drivers are thankful for the emergency pullouts that can slow down and, one hopes, stop runaway vehicles. From what I’ve read, no grades on the U.S. Interstate highway system are steeper than six percent.

Occasionally when I’ve asked folks how steep they think White Bird grade is, the answer has been thirty degrees. Thirty degrees is really steep. More than once my SUV and I, while off-road in 4WD and in very low gear, climbed thirty-degree slopes. But it felt like we were going to fall over backwards.