Montreal River Hill
Montreal River Hill is a hill in Unorganized North Algoma District, Ontario, Canada, located north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario near the Montreal River. Traversed by Ontario Highway 17, the hill is simultaneously considered one of the best parts of the Trans-Canada Highway to drive in good weather due to its scenic vistas, and one of the worst parts of the Trans-Canada Highway to drive in poor weather due to its long, steep grade.
The hill, which mounts a six per cent grade over a distance of three kilometres, can be particularly difficult for heavy trucking traffic to navigate. In winter, the hill can become a bottleneck in the Trans-Canada Highway system, as snow and ice can make the hill virtually impassable for all vehicles. In the event of closure due to an accident, drivers can use Ontario Highway 101 and Ontario Highway 129 as a detour; however, in the event of a closure due to weather conditions, Highway 129 is likely to also be impassable due to its own steep grades and sharp curves. Between 1998 and 2002 alone, at least 16 vehicle collisions were recorded on the hill.
The hill is also noted for the challenge it posed during Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope in 1980. For that leg of the marathon, Fox wore a T-shirt which read "Montreal River Here I Come" on the front, and "I've Got You Beat" on the back. Because of its symbolic significance as the last major geophysical obstacle that Fox passed before being forced to abandon his run near Thunder Bay, the Montreal River Hill segment of his run is depicted in the 2005 television film Terry, although the segment was actually filmed on the less onerous Old Woman Bay hill nearer to Wawa.