That’s what makes it terrifying and not just inconveniently steep: the fact that it’s just about equally steep on both sides of Alvarado. The cross traffic on Alvarado is obliged to stop because the hill-climbers on either direction of Baxter simply cannot stop without losing all traction when they try to get going again… and they can’t see anything but the sky! It’s like cresting a rollercoaster; you can’t see what (or who) is on the other side of the crest until you’re already going down it.
And if you’re driving, say, a light pickup with a stick shift and no payload in the back to put some extra weight over the drive wheels, you’d better have a very educated foot on your clutch, especially when it’s wet, but even when it’s dry and some other driver is obliging you to change speeds or gears on the grade. I lived on Lakeshore, a block off Baxter, for a year or so in the mid 00s, and I drove Baxter every day. It puts hair on your chest, and then turns it white. I have seen both school buses and not-very-stretched limos teetering on the crest, all four wheels off the ground, when they tried to make it over.
I’d pay ca$h money to see that road closed off for a half hour so someone could barrel up it (maybe in a '69 Charger) at full throttle and go for distance. The back side is so steep, I’m tempted to think they wouldn’t touch ground until the actual bottom of the hill. You’d definitely need to drive it by remote control.
