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R1 to ski Kirkwood

R1Jeff

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Anyone have experience with a ski trip to Kirkwood in their R1S/R1T? I have a QM R1S. Our group is staying in Jackson, CA (coming from the South Bay) and driving to Kirkwood to ski Saturday and Sunday. We don't have access to an L2 charger at our hotel in Jackson, and it doesn't look like Jackson has any non-Tesla DCFC (I checked Plugshare, Chargepoint, and EA). Kirkwood resort has Chargepoint chargers, but I heard it's really hard to get one. Overall Kirkwood seems really challenging for non-Tesla EVs. Thoughts and suggestions very much appreciated!
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mkg3

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There is Tesla SC w/Magic Docks in Placerville, RAN DCFC in Truckee and EA in South Lake Tahoe (on CA side).

You should be just fine managing the vehicle charge.
 

Ingo B

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I loved Kirk on pow days, but its relatively remote location does give me pause. Following this thread for sure.
 

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Kimmyyox

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I let a friend borrow my R1S last week for a ski trip. He charged at the Rivian charge station in Sacramento on the way up and way back with no issues having enough charge while up in the snow.
 

AaarghT

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With no L2 in Jackson, you are probably out of luck making it to Kirkwood and back twice.

Expect it to take 90 miles of range from Jackson to Kirkwood, and 25 miles getting back. Roads are (were) clear this weekend, but with any chance of snow I would hold at least 100 miles range in reserve in case of road closures (which are common on 88)

I drive from the east bay to Kirkwood almost weekly. My DM R1T uses 215 miles of range to make the 150 mile trip getting there, and 100 miles getting back. Knowing that road, however, I would never set out with less than 200 miles “in the tank” past Jackson, and expect to charge at Kirkwood again to at least 150.

There are 6 L2 plugs in Kirkwood and they are always in use during the day in high season. If you are staying in Kirkwood, you can usually get a plug after 8pm (which is what I count on). Beyond that, you’d have to drive to South Lake, which is at least 45 minutes each way, without snow.

Be careful out there. Donner pass is famous for a reason…
 

timeslip

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They are not but well within the manageable distance within and to Kirkwood so that the charged to certain state, it will do the job.
I am assuming you have never been to kirkwood before, so pretty dangerous reply with bad assumptions.

Very high possibility of being snowed in at kirkwood and being pretty remote from the stations you specified.
 

mkg3

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I am assuming you have never been to kirkwood before, so pretty dangerous reply with bad assumptions.

Very high possibility of being snowed in at kirkwood and being pretty remote from the stations you specified.
I've lived in the Bay Area for years and used to go skiing nearly every weekend to various ski resorts around Tahoe (e.g., Squaw, Sugerbowl, Heavenly) , including Kirkwood to the south in the winter.

Being snowed in implies that one is going with adverse weather. If that's the case, one can be stranded anywhere. I know some snow storm can be quite heavy and roads closed for few days. One should be conscious of forecast any time of the year, especially in the winter.

All I said was that R1 has enough range, even in the cold weather such that if one manages the charge level smartly, using the DCFC around Lake Tahoe, it can be done without much stress.

If your risk tolerance is such that you are not comfortable with the idea, well, that's your take and my is different. I have no idea how the OP feels about it so I mentioned what I would do.
 

sacramentoelectric

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I've taken my R1T to Kirkwood plenty of times from Sacramento. There are multiple L2 chargers (6 or 8, I can't remember) at Kirkwood. I think the lot is paid parking on the weekends but it's free during the week. I've gotten there around 9am and still found a charger but you can never tell. They're not particularly fast, maybe 6kw. If they're all full, you can sign up for an alert from Chargepoint when they open up. I had one fault on me after about 30 minutes but other than that, they seem to work fine.
 

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R1Jeff

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We went this past Saturday, and this advice from AaarghT was spot on (even with a little snow and ice and R-2 chain controls on 88):

“Expect it to take 90 miles of range from Jackson to Kirkwood, and 25 miles getting back.”

We ended up leaving the R1S overnight Saturday at the holiday inn ChargePoint in Jackson, which would have been enough to get to kirkwood and back again. But we ended up not going to kirkwood Sunday given the crazy conditions.

We also could not get a ChargePoint at kirkwood. I wouldn’t rely on it.

With no L2 in Jackson, you are probably out of luck making it to Kirkwood and back twice.

Expect it to take 90 miles of range from Jackson to Kirkwood, and 25 miles getting back. Roads are (were) clear this weekend, but with any chance of snow I would hold at least 100 miles range in reserve in case of road closures (which are common on 88)

I drive from the east bay to Kirkwood almost weekly. My DM R1T uses 215 miles of range to make the 150 mile trip getting there, and 100 miles getting back. Knowing that road, however, I would never set out with less than 200 miles “in the tank” past Jackson, and expect to charge at Kirkwood again to at least 150.

There are 6 L2 plugs in Kirkwood and they are always in use during the day in high season. If you are staying in Kirkwood, you can usually get a plug after 8pm (which is what I count on). Beyond that, you’d have to drive to South Lake, which is at least 45 minutes each way, without snow.

Be careful out there. Donner pass is famous for a reason…
 
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R1Jeff

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Should also note that 88 was closed for almost an hour on Saturday because an 18-wheeler spun out, which added a bit to our drive. Keep the world adventurous!

We went this past Saturday, and this advice from AaarghT was spot on (even with a little snow and ice and R-2 chain controls on 88):

“Expect it to take 90 miles of range from Jackson to Kirkwood, and 25 miles getting back.”

We ended up leaving the R1S overnight Saturday at the holiday inn ChargePoint in Jackson, which would have been enough to get to kirkwood and back again. But we ended up not going to kirkwood Sunday given the crazy conditions.

We also could not get a ChargePoint at kirkwood. I wouldn’t rely on it.
 

ksurfier

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I was at Kirkwood about a month ago, saw a R1S charging at the group of 5-6 chargers there. Also saw a guy begging someone who was charging to let them charge…can certainly do it but if you don’t need to it seems like a great use of an ICE…
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