All around the city, drivers are retrieving their cars abandoned during Wednesday's snowstorm, but not on one street in Southwest Portland.

A blue recycling bin and orange-and-white road sign sit across College Street near 16th Avenue, warning drivers to reconsider going down the hill.

About 300 feet in the middle of the icy slope sits a red Volvo, wedged sideways and blocking the one-lane, one-way street. Someone - presumably the driver -- has written "I'm sorry" with a heart underneath on the snow-covered windshield.

A green Jeep Cherokee is smashed up against the passenger side of the Volvo. A gray Ford Escape is smashed into the back of the Jeep. A black Nissan Pathfinder sits sideways a couple of feet behind the Escape. A white Jeep sits askew a few dozen feet behind the Pathfinder.

A blue Mitsubishi with Lyft and Uber stickers displayed on the windshield takes up the rear of the pileup but pointed in the opposite direction.

"It's just incredible," said Tess Vigeland, whose parents live in a home directly across College Street from the Mitsubishi.

"I'm glad I stayed in my house, next to the fire, with two adorable dogs," she said.

Vigeland, who's visiting her parents for the holidays, described the hill as a 31 percent grade. The stretch has no street lights and trees flank much of the way down, making it appear dark even on sunny days.

It doesn't appear that anyone was injured, said residents along the block. They couldn't remember a similar pileup on the hill.

It might be a few more days before the car owners can get their cars back. The freezing temperatures aren't allowing a thaw that would clear the way for a tow truck to help.

Vigeland, former anchor for public radio's "Marketplace" who lives in Bangkok, Thailand, said she heard what sounded like one crash around 6 p.m. Wednesday, looked outside but didn't see any headlights.

She heard another loud bang 10 to 15 minutes later. She ended up inviting the drivers of the Pathfinder and the white Jeep inside to get warm and make phone calls. The woman who was driving the Pathfinder was near tears and the man driving the Jeep also appeared shaken.

"I offered them wine and whiskey, but they declined," Vigeland said.

The woman told her that she was driving home from work and used her GPS to take an alternate route to avoid heavy traffic.

The man said he was from Pennsylvania and renting the Jeep, Vigeland said. A Google Maps app on his cellphone led him to the hill as he was leaving a Thai food restaurant and heading back to his hotel downtown.

The man told Vigeland that he and the woman both got into the Jeep and tried to drive back up the street. "They made it 10 feet away from 16th and the Jeep just started sliding right back down the hill," Vigeland said. "He said he had no control of it whatsoever."

It missed a gap in a guardrail that would have sent them over the embankment, he told Vigeland, and then hit the Pathfinder before crashing on the other side of the street.

The two stayed at the house for about 45 minutes before getting rides home - getting picked up at the bottom of the hill.

Most people avoid the street, but it appears to be getting more use as a shortcut to downtown lately, said Jay Maxwell, a resident of 21 years.

"But this road just isn't suitable for winter conditions," he said.

At least two other cars abandoned in the snowstorm remained on the street Friday: a red Hyunda Elantra further down the hill from the pileup and a BMW parked along large retaining wall near Maxwell's house.

People have since gone sledding down the hill and taken pictures of the wreckage, he said.

A man came back Friday to try to retrieve the Elantra. He told Maxwell that he, too, used Google Maps to find an alternative route and ended up there.

Vigeland said the woman who drove the Pathfinder returned Thursday and left notes in Ziplock bags on the three cars ahead of her SUV.

"Hi," the notes say. "When you get your cars moved, can you please give me a call so I can come get my car? Thank you!"

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey