Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Grades are Important

There are grades and then there are grades.  Most people are familiar with school grades or food grades.

And then there are grades of hills.  Coming into Canada we had to go up and down several long and steep hills.  Don thought  an 8% downhill grade was pretty stressful to drive.

At the Columbian Icefields, when we got on the snow cat (an updated version of the one we rode into Yellowstone), I looked out the window at a hill that appeared to be one the snowcat used.  Couldn't be.  It looked like a roller coaster hill.  And indeed that is what it is.  32% grade. (The picture just doesn't capture it very well . . . but take my word for it.)



The driver explained that he drives it like a roller coast going backyard . . . slowly and carefully.  It was not nearly as scary as it looked, but it was definitely steep.

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