My Wife and I headed up over Sonora Pass today to see how they did. It has a section just above 7k feet that is a 26% grade (Yes, 26 percent!). And it handled it well. Also took a run on a quick easy trail to a lake that sits at 10k feet. And as it happened, we have been having some high mountain storms. So it was poorly rain and there was flash flood advisories (We had to cross two creeks to get to the lake). Although the snun poked out now and then. And with the way the gearing is now I was able to do basically the whole thing in 2wd. Before I had to use low range or the engine would lug down and stall. The NSG370 trans that I have has a 4.46:1 first gear, which isnt quite a granny, but is lower than most these days.
I would love to take my J10 up there, but there is no way it would handle those grades. Maybe when it gets a new engine, but right now it literally would not have the power to climb those grades at those altitudes.
Here are a few photos of the trip. The big lake is Donnel Lake.
