It's really not paved on the uphill side, and I've heard it's really just fine. Pavement starts right at the very top of the pass. I rode up and back from BV once, and seeing the dirt part at the top made me wish I was logistically able to keep going. It looked totally ridable. Probably would suck if it was raining, though.
I'll join the "I'm not doing it" posters on this thread (sorry jorpe, I know it's a dumb thing to do), and my excuse is, I'm doing BTC and I don't think I can ride day one of BTC without a rest day after RTR. Too bad though, I really wish I could. Looks like an excellent route this year.