Mt. Hood

[donv]

Yesterday, I took my S85 Model S up skiing, to Mt. Hood Meadows from the west side of Portland. I thought some might be interested in my experience. It's just about 75 miles from my house to Meadows, and I wasn't sure how the car would handle the elevation change. Also, the good news (from a Tesla standpoint; bad from a skiing standpoint) was that it never got colder than the high 30s...

Anyway, I range charged before I left (265 miles rated), and got to Meadows with about 140 miles remaining. I did put the climate control in "range mode" and drove 60-65, just to be sure. There is a J1772 charger at Ski Bowl, so I figured that if I had less than 100 miles remaining when I got to Meadows, I would pick up a few miles there... but obviously had no issues at all.

On the way back down, it was neat to see the rated range increase three miles at a time, as I came back down the mountain. After a small side excursion, I ended up back home with about 70 rated miles left.

If it was really cold, it might be a little bit tighter, but all in all it was very easy. And if it was really cold and nasty, I wouldn't have driven the S since I'm on my summer tires, etc.

 

[SCW-Greg]

Great to know! Thanks for sharing.
You must have a newer Model S, and/or your first range drive with 265 miles topped off.

I've wondered about making that trek, especially if we went for Timberline. I think we'll try that in the Summer. That would be an awesome regen push on the way back down.

Do you know how much regen put back on when you came back ? What was actual mileage?

How were the roads? I hate driving when they have cinder everywhere. Not good for paint. And any snow on the mountain?

 

[donv]

My car is 6 months old, 7,700 miles. I've only range charged twice, though, including this time (and the other time was by mistake). I was a little surprised to see 265 as well-- it could be because I did a normal charge overnight, and when I woke up, set it to range charge so charging finished just before we left. If I went up there in the summer, I don't think I'd range charge at all-- obviously I didn't need to this time, but it did make me feel more comfortable with the trip.

I had 139 miles of rated range when I left the Meadows parking lot, and I think at one point I saw 143 miles of range on the way down (the from Meadows to Government Camp is less of a downgrade than from Government Camp down to Welches or so).

The roads were fine-- totally clear. There were a few rocks, for sure, and plenty of water from snow melt (so the car was very dirty when I got back), but nothing out of the ordinary. But then, my Model S is my daily driver, so I don't get too worked up about a few rock chips here or there. It'll have plenty of them eventually.

Snow was lousy, but it was sunny and warm, so that made up for it to some extent. Actually, it wasn't too bad up high, but the winds were blowing pretty hard up at the top of Vista Express.

Skis worked great in the Tesla, incidentally. There were three of us, so we folded down one half of the back seat and put the skis in lengthwise. Not quite as nice as my old Audi with the ski bag, but perfectly usable.

 

[SCW-Greg]

Nice recap. Thx.
Mine is 7 months coming up on 12k.

 

[donv]

I took the 85D up to Mt. Hood Meadows today for the first time. As I posted previously, I took my old S85 up there a couple of times, but last year it was never really all that cold.

Today, it was never over 30F the entire trip, and from just below Government Camp to Mt. Hood Meadows it was well under 20-- even as low as 10 or 11 for a bit. There was a fair amount of packed snow and ice on the road, but traction really wasn't an issue-- I think even my old S85 could have made it without issue, at least on snow tires.

I 100% charged, which got me 270 rated, and I got to Meadows with about 133 remaining (leaving from the west side of Portland-- Cedar Mill, specifically). I put it in range mode, but otherwise kept the heat at 70 the entire time, and didn't do anything special. I never saw the battery pack heating kick on, which I thought was interesting given the low temperatures.

Coming home, the traffic was terrible-- bumper to bumper until well below Government Camp. However, I pulled into the Sandy Supercharger with about 100 miles remaining. I would have been home with around 50 or so, I think, if I had gone straight through, but I figured I might as well give the Sandy Supercharger a try, and stop in at Starbucks in Fred Meyer.

All in all a great trip. The last two times I've been to Mt. Hood Meadows, I've had to come home through Hood River, and evtripplanner.com shows that as pretty tight (but doable) in the 85D. Fortunately, I didn't have to do it this time. I have to say, I'm not so sure about the 85D having more range than the S85, although the cold temperatures could well be a factor.

I was able to use Auto-Steer for probably around 50-60% of the trip, which made it nice. I could have used it a bit more but wasn't comfortable in some of the areas where the road was bare, but there were a few icy spots here and there. And, of course, there are a lot of intersections along that part of 26 which can be an issue.

 

[Lyon]

Thanks for the update. It's interesting to hear from folks who have upgraded. It's on my list of things to do sometime soonish. At this point I'm kind of waiting around to see if Tesla ports any of the interesting Model X features over to Model S. We shall see.

Running standard tires?

 

[donv]

I have Michelin X-Ices on it now. Should be pretty much unstoppable-- I know it didn't slip even once yesterday. Today, I can see how it does in my own driveway!

 

[Lyon]

I have Michelin X-Ices on it now. Should be pretty much unstoppable-- I know it didn't slip even once yesterday. Today, I can see how it does in my own driveway!

Nice. We got a dusting of ice today. You?

 

[donv]

About an inch so far.

Nice. We got a dusting of ice today. You?

 

[SweetP]

Ski bowl has a Chademo as well as the j1772.

 

[donv]

They do, but you have to pay for them. Okay for emergency use, I guess, but making it from Ski Bowl to the Sandy Supercharger doesn't take much range.

Ski bowl has a Chademo as well as the j1772.

 

[OregonDogDr]

I have Michelin X-Ices on it now. Should be pretty much unstoppable-- I know it didn't slip even once yesterday. Today, I can see how it does in my own driveway!

Do the Michelin X-Ices have the little snowflake on them that makes them count as "traction tires" in Oregon?

 

[goneskiian]

Do the Michelin X-Ices have the little snowflake on them that makes them count as "traction tires" in Oregon?

Yes. The XIce is considered a studless snow tire.

 

[donv]

I think it took me something like 15 miles of rated range to get from Ski Bowl to the Sandy Supercharger this weekend. Obviously with the cabin temperature set to 70, heated seats on, etc.

 

[winstonp]

Besides the charger in the Ski Bowl West parking lot, remember, there is a Supercharger in Sandy at the Fred Meyer and another charging station in Hood River across the street from Full Sail Brewery - AeroViroment (same as Ski Bowl). You shouldn't have to worry too much about charging, even if it gets cold outside. Regeneration down the mountain is pretty cool to watch. Enjoy the season!

 

[ohmman]

another charging station in Hood River across the street from Full Sail Brewery - AeroViroment (same as Ski Bowl).

There is also a 14-50 on the low wall in the northeast corner of the lot. It's listed on Plugshare, and I was able to use it to charge this past weekend.

 

[donv]

Is it free, or do you have to pay for it somehow?

It's really not paying for it that is my concern, it's more how to activate payment, will it work, etc.

There is also a 14-50 on the low wall in the northeast corner of the lot. It's listed on Plugshare, and I was able to use it to charge this past weekend.

 

[ohmman]

Is it free, or do you have to pay for it somehow?

It's really not paying for it that is my concern, it's more how to activate payment, will it work, etc.

It was free. It was just an outlet on the wall. I felt a little weird using it but everything worked out well.

 

[donv]

That's great to know about-- thanks! That makes me feel a little bit better, in case I need to come home through Hood River again.

I always 100% charge when going to Meadows, just in case I have to come back through Hood River. Going to Ski Bowl, a 90% charge is plenty, since I know I can always get back to the Sandy Supercharger.

It was free. It was just an outlet on the wall. I felt a little weird using it but everything worked out well.

 

[PNWmothership]

We picked up our Model Y a couple weeks ago. I was so nervous about range and this thread really eased my nerves. We have driven from our place in West Linn 3 times now to Meadows and just wanted to add that the Y handles winter road conditions amazing! We put on Winter tires and I set to chill driving mode, no problems with Range or anything! So stoked!