Kirkwood, CA 3/9/2023

tseeb

Well-known member
I skied Kirkwood 1030-1230 on my way home after cleaning, chipping ice off rear eave of cabin for about an hour and closing cabin. There was chain control on downhill after Luther pass and on Carson pass on way to Kirkwood. Wind blown snow white-outs through Hope Valley and passing Caples Lake were much worse than slick road. Near Caples Lake.
6289PassingCaples.JPG

I had two laps on the Wall where visibility and wind were much worse than previous morning at Heavenly when they closed Canyon chair. I was surprised they ran Wall until 220. Both times I went up, I was glad I had only 94-width skis as they were hard enough to control in wind gusts near top which is protected by peak and big metal windbreak. Bigger skis may have worked better for snow, but I mostly was ripping groomers and windsift after two preceding days with better powder and my cabin work. High-speed Cornice chair where top is not protected closed at 1140 about when I was planning to do some fast laps there. The Wall was busy on my 2nd lap at 1115.
6291AlmostFullWall.JPG

There were times when you could not see Thimble Peak from either Wall or Reut chairs due to blowing snow. Since Cornice closed and near top Wall was scary, I took two laps on Reut, Solitude (which stopped a lot on 2nd lap). On Solitude, top of Cornice is lost in the cloud.
6293Solitude.JPG

I was worried that Carson Spur would close, adding 60 miles to my trip home. The Spur and Carson Pass both did close by 5 PM, the pass from an avalanche, and both remain closed, possibly a couple of days for Pass and more for Spur. I rode Timber Creek twice at both beginning and end of day and totaled 10 lifts and under 9K vertical.

I drove through Spur after only removing right ski boot as I didn't want it to close before I got through. There were many places W or Kirkwood with 20-30' snowbanks; they were not always vertical and some were forming cornices 20+ feet above highway. This is Carson Spur at 1240.
6297CarsonSpur.JPG

I made it home before 5 after stops at empty Lockeford Meats for some smoked Dakota brats and at winery to get some sale items I'd seen on way up. I was stuck behind this propane tanker twice, first time I pulled over to change out of 2nd ski boot and again when I caught up with him. Some people at Kirkwood may have lost heat last week due to low pressure in community propane system nearly running so this was an important truck.
6299BehindPropane.JPG

No beer on chair pictures for @jimk or @Sbooker this week, but here are a couple of good ones that made it home with me from Tahoe. The Altamont Citra Fuel was bought a week ago at beer/wine tasting at local market. The Knee Deep was being closed out at Tahoe Safeway. I've been to both Altamont and Knee Deep brewpubs more than once, well worth a stop if in area.
6306Beers.JPG


Winds recorded at top of Palisades this AM. Most Tahoe ski areas announced yesterday that they would be closed today.
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In a Kirkwood Facebook group there were complaints about Carson Spur not re-opening (which it did at 2 pm on 3/16 after being closed for a few hours less than a week). They said "SPUR CLOSED 11 DAYS WITH NO INFO? Not even a 'won't be open today' ? 15 miles of road closed when all the other passes don't even have chain controls?" This was not true. First the Spur was open twice between storm during the 11 days - I drove it. Second, Emerald Bay on W shore of Tahoe, and Monitor Pass, S of Markleeville, E of Kirkwood, both highway 89, and 395 N of Lee Vining have not re-opened.

On my way home I thought I had a flat as SUV was pulling to right on Ridge Rd which I take to avoid CA-88 through Jackson. Then I realized it was the strong cross wind from the S.

But after I got home I started heard a clunk or two under right rear when making hard left turn, especially just after starting out. My mechanic could not take it on Tues and said to come back on Fri when weather would be better for test drive. He found link connected to swaybar on right rear was broken and left rear and right front were going to fail soon. He replaced all four for $315 which included $170 + tax in parts. Pilot seems tighter.

If I hadn't done a grocery run on morning I took this picture, I would have hit 296K on muddy dirt road on family ranch SE of San Jose. Instead where I stopped a mile or two before gate we saw two foxes, but only one stayed for picture. We also saw herd of tule elk, but they were not where they usually are seen so no picture.
 

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I'm so close, I at least have to get to 300K, but expect to sell Pilot before next winter and before it needs a third timing belt replacement at 315K. I thought I'd be selling it to carless or license-less relatives for $1,000, but looked on craigslist and was surprised to see 2003s with over 200K miles have average asking price of close to $5K. So it may almost pay sales tax on replacement.

I was thinking Subaru Forester to get over 30 mpg highway (and the free pair of Sierra-Tahoe passes that I would probably give to my son and wife and get a full one with Powder Alliance benefits for myself), but have concerns about Subaru reliability, power with 182 horsepower and CVT, and ability to fit near-190 cm skis (especially with room for near 6 footer to sleep).

The 2023 Pilot, 20 inches longer than mine, but narrower inside has been available since December. At least some models are hard to find for sticker price. It may be my choice, even though I rarely have used the available 7-8 seats. Horsepower is 285 vs. 240 on mine and it has 10-speed auto vs. my 5-speed. EPA mileage is 25% better than 2003, but not sure that is realistic.
 
Those 8-10 speed automatics are really good. My 2011 Cayenne has one of the first of those. Just be sure you have a manual option to select gears driving down the mountains. One of the recent Euro rentals would take it out of your manual selection and put it back in auto after about 30 seconds. So we were constantly fiddling with it going down hills.

I had a Subaru Legacy wagon from 1985-1991, but it did not put up well with our driving style. The turbo was engaged almost constantly at freeway speeds and bit the dust at 80,000 miles. It was replaced by a Toyota Previa minivan, incedibly space efficient for a family of 4. The 160hp 4-banger under the driver's seat sounded like it was thrashing itself to death going up Sherwin grade but it was durable. I sold the Previa in 2002 with 175K miles.
 
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I had a 2014 and 2011 legacy. They will not hold up. They also ate brakes.
I would go with a Toyota Highlander hybrid or a 4 runner.
 
I don't think 4 runner has the room I often need and has similar EPA gas mileage at 16/19/17 to my 2003 Pilot. I thought my Pilot window sticker was 16/20, but EPA says 15/21/17 (also says there was 2WD version which didn't come out for a few years). 2023 AWD Pilot is rated 19/25/21 with TrailSport model lower

The Highlander Hybrid is something I should look into although I'm not sure that electric rear wheel motors with front wheel drive are as good at Honda's AWD. Mileage is very good at 36/35/36, 35/35/35 or 35/34/35, depending on version. There is also a new Grand Highlander that is longer, but has an ugly front end that looks unprotected in collision and is so new that it's not on EPA website. It sounds like it has a better AWD hybrid.

Someone at https://www.skitalk.com/threads/uni...ngland-vehicle-with-decent-gas-mileage.24438/ was looking for 4WD with a lot of room and 30 mpg, but gave up (page 13) on Highlander last October when there was 6 month wait and they were going for 16% over sticker and got a Subaru Outback.

Back to Kirkwood: They announced they are extending season into May; opening Fri-Sun May 5-7 and 12-14. Previous closing day was April 30. Heavenly says they are open through Sunday, May 7, adding three full weeks to their schedule. Heavenly also opened a week early and Kirkwood opened three weeks earlier than scheduled.
 
I don't think 4 runner has the room I often need and has similar EPA gas mileage at 16/19/17 to my 2003 Pilot. I thought my Pilot window sticker was 16/20, but EPA says 15/21/17 (also says there was 2WD version which didn't come out for a few years). 2023 AWD Pilot is rated 19/25/21 with TrailSport model lower

The Highlander Hybrid is something I should look into although I'm not sure that electric rear wheel motors with front wheel drive are as good at Honda's AWD. Mileage is very good at 36/35/36, 35/35/35 or 35/34/35, depending on version. There is also a new Grand Highlander that is longer, but has an ugly front end that looks unprotected in collision and is so new that it's not on EPA website. It sounds like it has a better AWD hybrid.

Someone at https://www.skitalk.com/threads/uni...ngland-vehicle-with-decent-gas-mileage.24438/ was looking for 4WD with a lot of room and 30 mpg, but gave up (page 13) on Highlander last October when there was 6 month wait and they were going for 16% over sticker and got a Subaru Outback.

Back to Kirkwood: They announced they are extending season into May; opening Fri-Sun May 5-7 and 12-14. Previous closing day was April 30. Heavenly says they are open through Sunday, May 7, adding three full weeks to their schedule. Heavenly also opened a week early and Kirkwood opened three weeks earlier than scheduled.
Mammoth just announced they're staying open until the end of July!
 
I was thinking Subaru Forester to get over 30 mpg highway (and the free pair of Sierra-Tahoe passes that I would probably give to my son and wife and get a full one with Powder Alliance benefits for myself), but have concerns about Subaru reliability, power with 182 horsepower and CVT, and ability to fit near-190 cm skis (especially with room for near 6 footer to sleep).

The 2023 Pilot, 20 inches longer than mine, but narrower inside has been available since December. At least some models are hard to find for sticker price. It may be my choice, even though I rarely have used the available 7-8 seats. Horsepower is 285 vs. 240 on mine and it has 10-speed auto vs. my 5-speed. EPA mileage is 25% better than 2003, but not sure that is realistic.

I look at this differently. The car tseeb buys next will likely be his last gas powered car. He should know this as northern California will surely be the leading region in adoption of electric cars, which also means that charging infrastructure will be better than most places.

Within 5 years tseeb's second car will surely be electric, and he can expect splits like my history.
Porsche​
Tesla​
11-12
16387​
12-13
13721​
13-14
11203​
14-15
12791​
15-16
11425​
16-17
5556​
16264​
75%​
17-18
8636​
13660​
61%​
18-19
6842​
10606​
61%​
19-20
4360​
15773​
78%​
20-21
8489​
19316​
69%​
21-22
3783​
15538​
80%​
22-23 estimate
3500​
11500​
66%​
2016 Tesla
75%​
2019 Tesla

Most of my Mammoth trips are done in the Tesla. Tseeb's drive distance to his cabin in South Lake Tahoe is shorter and will surely be done mostly electric once he has an EV. The only Mammoth/SoCal scenario we avoid is right after a big dump as Model S has low ground clearance. Most EV's in development now are crossovers with better ground clearance though lower range.

Our local SoCal driving is nearly all Tesla. If not traveling we try to put 100 all freeway miles per month on the Porsche per mechanic recommendation.

As far as the imminent purchase decision is concerned, here's what should be important to tseeb:
1) Adequate accommodation for his needs on road marathons like the ones to Canada. If that means enough length to sleep in the back, sure.
2) Durability: You really do not want to be selling a gas car during the transition period when market prices may crash. The manufacturers will anticipate this and stop producing many models. Your Pilot has lasted 20 years. In 2043 gas cars will be relics in California. If you need one for niche remote and cold ski applications, the one you get now needs to last.
3) Since city driving will be nearly all electric, only highway gas mileage is important for the gas car. Hybrids are more expensive, add complexity and deliver most of their mileage benefits in city driving. And from the chart above you can see that gas mileage is less important when the gas car is being driven 5K miles/year vs. 15K.

It goes without saying that your eventual EV purchase should be AWD and with enough space inside to haul 2 people plus ski gear, so it can be used for most Tahoe trips. Since you own that cabin in Tahoe you should put in a 220 EV plug there as home charging is much cheaper than on-the-road fast DC charging.

I have been quite confident since buying the 2019 Tesla than the Cayenne is indeed my last gas car.
 
Thanks for your thoughts on this @Tony Crocker. I realized this would likely be my last gas vehicle purchase and that hybrids are most beneficial in city driving (although Highlander has close to 600 miles range), but hadn't thought of gas vehicles value crashing.

I was wondering why you took Cayenne to Iron Blosam this year, but assuming you must be planning some long drives across sparsely populated areas without Superchargers. The free Supercharging vs. PG&E high price per Kw adds to your Tesla benefits.

The panel on cabin is on left near front and has space for more circuits so would be easy to add a charger, assuming wiring can handle it.
 
We are now at Big Sky. That would have been fine but Discovery and Lost Trail are in supercharger deserts. Sun Valley doesn't have one either.

There was a poll asking owners where they want to see 5 new chargers. Big Bear was #1 and Sun Valley was high on the list. I voted for Kalispell, Pagosa Springs, Cody, Vernal, and Roswell on the list provided plus Ely as a write-in.

Free supercharging has saved me $5K since 2016. There have been an additional $11.5K in savings vs. gas.

Supercharging rates have increased substantially over the last few years from 28c/kWh to 44c/kWh on average with surprisingly little variation by state. Urban areas have time of use rates, often 58c/kWh during a time frame like noon - 9pm. So paid supercharging used to be like a 60mpg car, but at peak TOU it's closer to 30mpg now.

I've read with Europe's energy squeeze that fast DC charging can be 1 Euro per kWh. People really need to get serious about installing home charging. I see tons of Model 3 & Y at Glendale superchargers midday when the max rate of the municipal utility is about 28c/kWh.

So we have a strong incentive to stay with the current 2019 Tesla as long as possible. We have the longest range and fastest charging speed of any Tesla with free supercharging. Range and charging speeds will improve further, but the 8,200 mile round trip to Florida in 2020 demonstrated good long distance road trip capacity.
 
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My brother bought a Tesla Y right before the pandemic. Fun car and technology - especially acceleration and software updates, but I am not convinced of its benefits.

It basically just sits in a garage in Telluride for the winter since it's not great on snow.

It's horrible for long-distance road trips. You are constantly charging the thing adding lots of time. Also, if you are driving from Colorado to East Coast (Florida, Massachusetts), you can spend sometimes more money on charging (non-network stations) than on gas for a fuel-efficient car.

His wife prefers to drive cross-country in a traditional car and not waste time, navigation/detous, and charging fees.

An expensive toy.

However, I am not a car guy. I generally have bought Jeeps or 4Runners (some new, some used) and drive them into the ground. I don't really care if they get dinged a bit on city streets or in the mountains. Or if the AC goes out - some years it never gets used.
 
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Quite a number of decent vehicles that would fit tseeb's needs as a gas powered vehicle I would think. Examples beyond those above include Ford Edge, Hyundai Palisade/Kia Telluride (basically the same vehicle), Mazda cx9, etc...

My neighbor ditched his Subaru and bought an Edge after we bought a used Titanium trim one a few years ago for example. Palisade/Tellurides are surprisingly capable off road. Though I've never spent any time with a Honda Pilot to compare.

An expensive toy.
Certainly cost more than I would ever pay for them (several reasons why, but not deep diving that here), though I also strongly believe Tesla is top of the EV heap for now (and probably a while to come). Potential exception to that in my view is probably Rivian since they sell what Tesla does not offer at all (capable off road pickup and SUV), though questionable if they survive as a company.
 
Potential exception to that in my view is probably Rivian since they sell what Tesla does not offer at all (capable off road pickup and SUV), though questionable if they survive as a company.

A friend just got his Rivian this winter after nearly 4 years on the waiting list. Beautiful and pricey car. I would not want the anxiety of driving such a thing - too worried I'd trash it.
 
I disagree. A Tesla Y is perfectly suitable for tseeb's drives from San Jose to SLT with lots of ski gear and most of the charging will be done at home or at the cabin.

When discussing EV's I always interview the person: Where is home? How often do they travel and what are the common destinations?

My friend Paul in Eagle Colorado got one of the first performance 3's, said "It's different car in the winter." Driving long distances at 20F or worse at high speed slashes range a lot. And Telluride is a lot more remote than Eagle. Paul says snow performance is fine if you get proper snow tires. Paul decided the 3 (only Tesla with trunk vs. hatch) was a nuisance for skiing and replaced it with the refreshed X. That's an extremely expensive car but it has the same 350 range as my car and blazing fast supercharging speed.
It's horrible for long-distance road trips. You are constantly charging the thing adding lots of time. Also, if you are driving from Colorado to East Coast (Florida, Massachusetts), you can spend sometimes more money on charging (non-network stations) than on gas for a fuel-efficient car.
I have never paid to use a non-network charging station in over 100K miles of Tesla driving. If you have to drive through a true supercharger desert, arrange to stay in a hotel with overnight 220 charging. There are a surprising number of Tesla owners who do not know how to charge efficiently on road trips. I needed to learn right away due to the frequent spring trips to Mammoth. Colorado to Florida or Massachusetts is a serious trip in anybody's book. In my Tesla the practical limit is about 700 miles a day.

So it depends on the individual. In California the high speed freeway driving is essentially never at low enough temperatures to affect range. Mountain driving is never that fast so the lower speed offsets cold temperatures. Tseeb can do whatever road marathons he wants in the gas car, but the Tahoe trips will likely be in the EV 100% of the time in summer and 80% in winter.

The other point is that it's easy for me to advocate an EV to a 2 car household. A one car household raises the bar quite a bit. Too far even for me if the one car household is in Telluride.
 
Quite a number of decent vehicles that would fit tseeb's needs as a gas powered vehicle I would think. Examples beyond those above include Ford Edge, Hyundai Palisade/Kia Telluride (basically the same vehicle), Mazda cx9, etc...
I sure as %$&*@# wouldn’t consider the Palisade/Telluride. Read the news. Even if those models are not silly easy to steal (I don’t know if they are or not) the fact that Hyundai and Kia put such a simple to steal ignition system in any of their cars and then refused to recall all cars potentially affected should be a huge red flag.
 
Given the durability argument, my gut instinct is that tseeb should limit his search to Honda and Toyota, both of which have reasonable options for his needs. Both companies have their heads in the sand about EVs, but that probably means they are putting more effort into modernizing(?) their ICE vehicles.
 
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