Dave's 1st Hiilclimb prep

Went down to Poor Mountain today to pre-ride the hill and decide on gearing and tires.
32x18T fixed is too hard for me. Made it up to the 1st little peak with pavement
maybe 4 miles or so up, right before the right turn to get to the towers, I assume
the course goes there. Started up after the turn . Legs just were toast, lower back hurt,
and besides, I doubt the 32mm cross tires would hook up on the loose gravel at the grade I saw,
so I bailed at that point. The Tomicog made a workout on the descent as I tried to use the
brake sparingly. My thinking is I run either a 22T freewheel or go 1x9 gearing with the RD
and the WTB 2.55 tires for traction at the expense of a little weight.
32x34 should be alot easier to spin. Any thoughts? Experience on this hill?