I can fully believe that the Braes can be daunting the first time – especially if it’s night and wet and you can’t see!
On the bright side, it sounds like you had a clear road: I go up and down the Braes an average of 3 - 4 times a week and still find that the biggest problem is the muppets in cars. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been heading north only to get half way around the bend only to get looks of shock/abuse from the muppet in the car who wants to know why i’m on his side of the road!
Then they invariably want/expect YOU to reverse/hill start!
Sigh. 