Mike,

The least steep (and lowest at 5212 ft) pass over the Sierras is SR70,
from Oroville through Quincy - - comes out on US 395 north of Reno,
NV. That's the route I took when I purchased my '82 Diesel in Marin
Co. and wanted to go easy on it bringing it to Nevada. Donner Pass
(I-80) isn't all that steep (I don't believe there's anything over 6%,
at least on the western slope), but freeway travel isn't my cup of
tea. Of course if your destination is the Tahoe area, I-80 would be
your first choice.

Good luck,

Gary

> Date:    Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:29:15 -0700
> From:    Michael Hart <mjhart853@YAHOO.COM>
> Subject: Least Steep Passes over the Sierra Nevadas? (for a stock Vanagon
>          Westy)?
>
> 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
>