Crystal Mountain

Using the numbers HERE, I feel really confident that you will make it on a full charge. Given that there is elevation, cold, and possible stuff on the road at least partway, it could be somewhat close so I would do a full charge the first time you try and stick to the speed limits. But you should be fine.

Make a point that they should have 14-50s or EVSEs available in the parking lot... hopefully if enough people speak up they'll decide it's worth it.

hiddengems99 said:

Planning to ski Crystal tomorrow - leaving from Issaquah, 85KW, anyone else made that round-trip without anxiety on charge?

Google maps says 150 miles round trip.

Any thoughts?

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I did a round trip to Crystal last week on a 60, so I think you'll be fine.

I was nervous about range too and didn't know how elevation and temp would factor in to it. I left my house and drove in range mode. Since the roads to Enumclaw are slow and flat (I took Front Street + Cedar Grove to 169) my energy usage was very low all the way to 410. 410 and then Crystal Mountain Blvd used quite a bit of energy. By the time I hit the parking lot I think my watts/mile was over 400.

I started the day with 196 rated miles and had about 90 in the parking lot.

As you can imagine, the 30+ miles of downhill definitively help. I think I maybe used 10 miles of range to get back close to Enumclaw, using cruise control and driving a bit over the speed limit.

There is an L2 charger at Fred Meyer in Maple Valley that I was certain I would need to use for a few mins. When I got there I had plenty of charge (maybe 50 miles, I can't recall), so I continue on and even took 18 home, which used far more energy. I got back with 25 miles.

I took a P85D with 21" winter tires to Crystal Mountain Resort from Issaquah and back this weekend. I made the round trip on one charge with 36 miles remaining. Here are the results:



More info

• No passengers or gear. Took i90 to i405 to 167 to 164 route...
• Full charge (243 miles) (57°F in my enclosed garage, 50°F outside). Sport mode. Range mode. Cabin temp set at 68°F for most of the journey, raised up to 70°F towards the end of the first leg. I didn’t use seat heaters.
• There was very little traffic along the way, thus I was able to keep cruise control on for the majority of the trip. I likely averaged within 10-15% of posted speed limits throughout. Punched it a couple of times while passing cars on 2 lane roads
• Around half way into the trip, I ran into some light rain that lasted the remainder of the first leg of the trip (and part of the way back). I also made one stop.
• I reached the parking area closest to the lifts with a rated ranged of 111 miles remaining, 41.8kwh used, and 512 Wh/mi for the 81.7 mile trip. 35 degrees out. Total elevation gain around 4200'
• I stayed at the top for about 25 minutes and then started the descent back. Temperature was now 34°F and the rated ranged had decreased to 110.
• Drove back, no stops, 81.2 miles
• Total distance traveled 162.9 miles, total energy used 64.9kWh, average energy, 399 Wh/mi, rated range 36 miles remaining. Projected range based on the average for the last 30 miles was 34 miles.

• Best guess on Whispbar rack with 2 snowboards + 2 skis will reduce range by 10-15%. Add another 400-500 lbs of passenger weight and gear will subtract another 3 miles from the trip
• Further reductions in range will be caused by snow (I didn't run into any) and colder temperatures and if I had left the car in the lot, unheated, for 4-5 hours
• Final guess is that it should be possible to make the trip regularly on one charge (with ski rack), but careful driving is required, and expect near to zero range left on return.

P85DSKI said:

I took a P85D with 21" winter tires to Crystal Mountain Resort from Issaquah and back this weekend. I made the round trip on one charge with 36 miles remaining.Total distance traveled 162.9 miles, total energy used 64.9kWh, average energy, 399 Wh/mi, rated range 36 miles remaining. Projected range based on the average for the last 30 miles was 34 miles.

• Best guess on Whispbar rack with 2 snowboards + 2 skis will reduce range by 10-15%. Add another 400-500 lbs of passenger weight and gear will subtract another 3 miles from the trip
• Final guess is that it should be possible to make the trip regularly on one charge (with ski rack), but careful driving is required, and expect near to zero range left on return.

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Wow I would lobby them for a charge station or at least the use of an outlet!!! Might be different numbers after being cold soaked after five hours on the mountain.

They do have 24 RV hookups (110V and TT-30s) on the B parking lot which can help to keep car & battery warm as long as they are available. I've emailed them a couple of times this year through their website and suggested to install "real" EV chargers ("...Stevens & Snoqualmie Pass have them too..."). Responses so far were non-committal. Let's keep pinging them....

I was just there the other day. RV spaces were completely filled with...RV's. I wouldn't count on a connection. I think we need to push for EV spots.

I'm assuming you started in Issaquah? I'm about to order a 60, the 85 is just too much money for us. I would like to make the round-trip from Mercer Island to Crystal. I figured we would have to eat dinner at IKEA on the way home and charge there.

N8DGR8 said:

I'm assuming you started in Issaquah? I'm about to order a 60, the 85 is just too much money for us. I would like to make the round-trip from Mercer Island to Crystal. I figured we would have to eat dinner at IKEA on the way home and charge there.

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My post above is over a year old at this point, but I did a round trip to Crystal on a 60 with plenty of miles to spare... guess it depends on the conditions and your driving.

- - - Updated - - -

iridium said:

My post above is over a year old at this point, but I did a round trip to Crystal on a 60 with plenty of miles to spare... guess it depends on the conditions and your driving.

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Let me qualify.. it was a round trip from Sammamish.

nwdiver said:

Make a point that they should have 14-50s or EVSEs available in the parking lot... hopefully if enough people speak up they'll decide it's worth it.

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I know I'm a bit late on this thread but just read it recently, a good friend of mine that grew up in Northern California was the operations director for CM and worked for them for over 30 years. He is retired but I sent him an email about installing a couple of 14-50 plugs, he is well connected and knows lots of people at CM. He said he would look into this issue and let me know what there feeling is about installing the outlets. Do not get your hopes up but I will keep you posted on the out come.

Merrill said:

I know I'm a bit late on this thread but just read it recently, a good friend of mine that grew up in Northern California was the operations director for CM and worked for them for over 30 years. He is retired but I sent him an email about installing a couple of 14-50 plugs, he is well connected and knows lots of people at CM. He said he would look into this issue and let me know what there feeling is about installing the outlets. Do not get your hopes up but I will keep you posted on the out come.

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Thanks Merrill - this is excellent. Maybe a few more folks can reach out to them too and nudge them to make the fairly small investment (e.g., some NEMA 14-50s and some signage). My initial contact was through their website "contact us" form and they responded quickly (but responses were still non-committal).

Just an update on CM and installation of 14-50 Nema plugs, my friend spoke to his contacts at CM and they seemed to willing to give some thought to doing the above. I e-mailed the marketing people and explained how beneficial this could be for them. So nothing yet but at least they did not say that they would not install a couple of these plugs. My friend will continue to talk to his appropriate contacts and I will update when I hear something. It may not be a bad idea for others to e-mail CM and ask for them to install those outlets, the more people they hear from the better.

It's a year later, is it still the case there is no EV charging at Crystal Mountain in WA?

Seattle said:

It's a year later, is it still the case there is no EV charging at Crystal Mountain in WA?

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Per their web site, they still only have "forty 30A RV hookups" in Lot B, no EV stations. I'd recommend others contact them like I have asking about EV hookups: Contact Us | Crystal Mountain Resort WA

Update, response from CMR:
"At this time, Crystal Mountain has no electrical charging stations for vehicles. We apologize for the inconvenience."