Wyoming is home. Because we had family in Gillette and Basin trips over Powder River Pass on US16 were common and normal. My first memory of going over Powder River Pass was in a 1948 Buick Roadmaster. We stopped at the top for pictures. See the attached picture of me and my older brother. Notice the snow in the background. I'm certain that this picture was taken during 4th of July week in 1954. I wonder how long it has been since there were snow banks at the top of Powder River Pass on the 4th of July!
The highway has been vastly improved since 1954! By comparison it is now a super highway.
The old Buick (which wasn't terribly old at the time) needed to stop on the way up to cool down!
I still travel the pass frequently. It is the closest/best way from northeastern Wyoming to northwestern Wyoming. I've never found it to be much of a problem. It is just a long pull up and down.
I've driven that road in many different vehicles. One of the them was a 1988 Bounder with the Chevy P30 chassis towing a Buick on a tow dolly. We got to the top with a cool engine and to the bottom with cool brakes.