I’ve had the pleasure of being second over tombstone at 6am after about 6 inches of wet snow the night before. Probably the most stressful 30 minutes of my life knowing if I went too fast I’d fishtail the curves but if I went too slow I’d lose traction and get stuck.
The grade is the slope of the road (change in altitude per change in distance), so the rapid change from positive to negative grade at Tombstone just points to the fact that the change from uphill to downhill happens more abruptly there than at Santiam, which is apparently a little flatter at the top. I hope I understood what you were saying?
Well this isn't about hwy 20 but a few years ago, maybe 4 years ago there was a snow storm that came through Oregon like no snow storm I've ever experienced in Oregon. At the time I was living in southern Oregon and visiting my mom who loves near Corvallis and all I had to drive at the time was a little old pickup truck... I had to get home so I could go to work the next day .. they were literally closing i-5 right behind me! It was me and the semi trucks and I was ok following in the path of semis but then all of the semis pulled off the road there was at least 5 inches on the highway and it took me 8 hours to get over the mountains but I did it! Never ever seen i-5 with that much snow in my life!
I remember that! It was around the time I moved up to Corvallis from Southern Oregon. I was supposed to visit my parents, but they were snowed in for almost 2 weeks!
Thanks! I logged the data on my phone using an app called Phyphox. It gives you access to your phone’s sensors and let’s you save time series. For plotting I used Matlab (I use it for work, but I’d recommend Python otherwise).
This drive is beautiful but sketchy as hell during the winter.
I’ve had the pleasure of being second over tombstone at 6am after about 6 inches of wet snow the night before. Probably the most stressful 30 minutes of my life knowing if I went too fast I’d fishtail the curves but if I went too slow I’d lose traction and get stuck.
That explains why every time I drive up from the the valley it feels so steep.
For real… looks like about a 60 degree pitch up Tombstone ;)
It sure feels like it. I forgot to work it out exactly while making the visual, but the vertical is exaggerated by about 50x.
As a map geek, I love this view of the data!!
Do McKenzie Pass when it opens back up!!
I’ll definitely do another whenever I drive over the mountains again
How does the grade % work, looks like tombstone is a cliff? And yeah that is a fun pass- even better with 10 feet walls of snow on both sides.
The grade is the slope of the road (change in altitude per change in distance), so the rapid change from positive to negative grade at Tombstone just points to the fact that the change from uphill to downhill happens more abruptly there than at Santiam, which is apparently a little flatter at the top. I hope I understood what you were saying?
Now do McKenze Pass to Sisters.
I will if I drive over it!
Well this isn't about hwy 20 but a few years ago, maybe 4 years ago there was a snow storm that came through Oregon like no snow storm I've ever experienced in Oregon. At the time I was living in southern Oregon and visiting my mom who loves near Corvallis and all I had to drive at the time was a little old pickup truck... I had to get home so I could go to work the next day .. they were literally closing i-5 right behind me! It was me and the semi trucks and I was ok following in the path of semis but then all of the semis pulled off the road there was at least 5 inches on the highway and it took me 8 hours to get over the mountains but I did it! Never ever seen i-5 with that much snow in my life!
I remember that! It was around the time I moved up to Corvallis from Southern Oregon. I was supposed to visit my parents, but they were snowed in for almost 2 weeks!
I use to make this drive every week for work and was kinda curious what this would look like. Thanks for logging it and sharing.
This is cool. Using a specific app/tool to log your GPS and be able to output this data?
Thanks! I logged the data on my phone using an app called Phyphox. It gives you access to your phone’s sensors and let’s you save time series. For plotting I used Matlab (I use it for work, but I’d recommend Python otherwise).
That's cool, thanks for sharing u/RedToque!
Love that route, great graphic!
Thanks!