Somewhat unusually, the highway over Rabbit Ears Pass has a gently rolling character in the vicinity of the summit. After crossing the Divide westbound, the road dips briefly and then reaches its highest point (about 9520 ft) before descending gently to the west summit (9400 ft) and then dropping steeply (6.8% N) toward Steamboat Springs. This is the 28th steepest pass in the State of Colorado. The steep grade necessitates many sharp curves because of the steep rise of 3,000' in the seven mile descent into the town of Steamboat Springs. There is a single runaway truck ramp on this last stretch for truckers whose brakes become hot while descending the grade. The highway is significantly less steep on the eastern side of the pass, where it descends along a slow incline towards Muddy Pass.