Some posters seem skeptical that the OP faces grades of 17%...Shoot, I can find that grade about 4 miles from my house. Then there's this 37% (peak) hill, which I rode up (along with a couple hundred other people) last November. Just watch this video, and you'll see a few different strategies -- get up off the saddle and grind up in a tall gear, stay seated and spin in a granny gear, etc.