Mt Washington, New Hampshire

[RichMalden]

Thanks for all these details Rich, I remember you mentioning this trip before. My dad is coming up in a couple weeks and we are gonna drive to Quebec and Montreal but do Mt Washington on the way up and I was wondering if going from Portland ME would be better that up through NH charging wise.

Hopefully it'll be amazing for you! My dad made a million visits to NH since his childhood but had never gone up Mt Washington. One day, in his late 60s, I said get in the car and we did an impromptu trip up to Mt Washington and the auto road. The photos of him smiling and the memories of that trip are priceless to me.

I go up to Trois - Rivières, which is mid way between Montreal and Quebec, every June, 3 times with the Lucid. The EA in Dartmouth NH is an obvious great stop and once in Canada I've always done well with the Electrified Canada sister stations to EA. Not free to use like EA but worked perfectly. I'm sure there's other alternatives too. Download the EC app for convenience.

Enjoy the trip with your dad!

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

Missed these photos first go-around so thanks for reviving the thread.

Never been up the Wash. except for the short hike to the bottom of Tuckerman, to see the fun and games:
Fun:

^ A powder day, in June, at Tuckerman Ravine

Games:

Games.
Hike in...hike up...fall down. Part of the reason New England skiers can handle any situation...very little of the skiing is on what you think of as snow. And the weather Mt' Washington creates...
I was skiing Wildcat, which is directly across the valley, in February, in a T-shirt. It was 70+ degrees F at the top of Wildcat: bluebird sky. The view of Mt. Washington was spectacular. You could see Tuckerman clearly, and nobody on it = the only place on the E coast that has avalanches.
The skiing at Wildcat was mash potatoes: ankle- busting deep slush. The place was packed-with locals, who did not seem to be bothered.
Twelve hours later it was 15 degrees F. The mashed-potatoes were frozen in whatever shape they'd been left ... there is no grooming, or at least not when I was skiing there. I tried a few runs but it was brutal (wind, cold, impossible conditions). The locals were Telemarking ... when I think I was a pretty good skier I check out the new videos from Mad River ... last time I was there I rode the single chair...and there was a guy "Telemarking" under the chair. It's steep as ship. There had been little snow so far but cold. Under the single chair: Frozen water falls plunging over granite outcrops (they call it "ledge") with broken tree trunks like pick-up sticks, and lift towers with the concrete base, and only a patch of snow here and there between boiler-plate ice. This old-school Telemarker (not Randonnee), dressed in "local" ski clothing: plaid wool shirt, alpine hat with tassels on ears, silver duck tape covering holes and tears ... it looked like he'd come there right from the milking parlor. Humbled.

Here is "regular" skiing at Mad River, VT.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

Mad River Glen : Ski it if you can.

... see these all over the planet ... in the most unlikely places.

 

[Drcheema]

I went on September 17th of 2022.

I had free EA charging. I actually went slightly indirectly by heading to Portland Maine to the EA charger there and then cut across to Mt Washington. It was only very slightly out of the way but was absolutely the right decision for me as it gave me peace of mind about my SOC. When I do it again, I'd take the exact same route.

The road is amazingly maintained and has never felt dangerous any of the many times I've gone up. There have been 3 deaths on the auto road over the past 150 years:

In 1880, a stage coach overturned (in the hands of a drunk driver), and a passenger was killed. In 1984, a vehicle experienced brake failure about a mile up the road and was unable to make it down safely. And a motorcyclist suffered a fatal crash in 2009.

Pretty good safety record considering 45,000 cars go up it each year.

Don't be in a rush to get to the top. There's so many stops along the way and each one will be such a different perspective. New Hampshire's tallest ski mountain, Wildcat, is right across the road. By the time you get near the top of Mt. Washington it'll look like the flat lands from your perspective.

The biggest variable, by far, is weather and visibility. Even when totally clouded in though, the road feels super safe. It's scarier for the passengers watching the edge and their minds racing. The driver is focused on the road.

I've had trips where the clouds never cleared at top. One trip, it was totally socked in, you couldn't see more than 100 feet. I decided to go through the museum in the basement of the large lodge building at the summit. 20 minutes later as I came upstairs from the museum and voila! it was as crystal clear out as ever. It can be that dramatic of a change.

If you make all your stops on the way up, which I feel is best, the ride down will be as simple as it gets with the Lucid. With an ICE vehicle you really do have to think/worry about overheating your brakes. You have zero worries with the Lucid as you'll barely touch them.

Make sure you listen to the recorded self-guided tour during the drive up. It will give so much information that you wouldn't realize on your own.

Obviously foliage will be amazing but it may be getting late in the season for peak. The Kancamagus Highway is by far the #1 place for leaf peeping. The area is void of EA chargers and I'm not sure about alternates so make sure you have a plan if you're doing it. Be sure to visit the shops in nearby North Conway. Some hotels there have chargers too which I considered but didn't need.

I've never gone this late in the season but the road is so well managed I have to imagine if it is open it is safe. Enjoy your trip and I look forward to seeing the results!

That's amazing! thanks for taking out time to share such a detailed insight and information (Beauty of Lucid family). Since Lucid is a wider vehicle, how much of a trouble was it to pass other vehicles on the route as i do see some really narrow curves on YT videos? Did you have any extra familiarity with the route? where to pass quickly, where to wait etc.?
My wife also read your response and very appreciatively agreed to follow the same route as yours, Boston - Portland - Mt. Washington (Thank you), not an awful out of the way though, some extra 30 odd miles but big peace of mind. So from Portland to MT. Washington toll house, it would be ~83 miles and then the climb. Assuming you charged to 100% at Portland, how much charge was left after reaching summit and back. Also considering factor of colder temperature now (we'll be driving up the Mt. on Oct 3rd), not sure who much would that affect as i got my vehicle in Jan 2024 and drove only once on a long drive NYC-VA during winter season and i only noticed some 8 miles difference than the estimation at start point. We're planning to drive on Kancamagus Highway the next day and i do see a Tesla charger at 17 miles marker on the hwy. Again, not sure how fast can it charge.
I've downloaded the Mt. Washington auto road app after your suggestion, I totally realize worth of these self guided tour guides as we used gypsy guide voice guided tour for road to Hanna (Hawai'i) and it was the best decision. So far i think we only need to figure out charging stations from Mt. W to Kancamagus Hwy and back to NYC.
I will share the link to my video once published, will definitely put you in credits Thank you!

Do check out my YT channel when get a chance https://www.youtube.com/@drfaizan

 

[RichMalden]

That's amazing! thanks for taking out time to share such a detailed insight and information (Beauty of Lucid family). Since Lucid is a wider vehicle, how much of a trouble was it to pass other vehicles on the route as i do see some really narrow curves on YT videos? Did you have any extra familiarity with the route? where to pass quickly, where to wait etc.?
My wife also read your response and very appreciatively agreed to follow the same route as yours, Boston - Portland - Mt. Washington (Thank you), not an awful out of the way though, some extra 30 odd miles but big peace of mind. So from Portland to MT. Washington toll house, it would be ~83 miles and then the climb. Assuming you charged to 100% at Portland, how much charge was left after reaching summit and back. Also considering factor of colder temperature now (we'll be driving up the Mt. on Oct 3rd), not sure who much would that affect as i got my vehicle in Jan 2024 and drove only once on a long drive NYC-VA during winter season and i only noticed some 8 miles difference than the estimation at start point. We're planning to drive on Kancamagus Highway the next day and i do see a Tesla charger at 17 miles marker on the hwy. Again, not sure how fast can it charge.
I've downloaded the Mt. Washington auto road app after your suggestion, I totally realize worth of these self guided tour guides as we used gypsy guide voice guided tour for road to Hanna (Hawai'i) and it was the best decision. So far i think we only need to figure out charging stations from Mt. W to Kancamagus Hwy and back to NYC.
I will share the link to my video once published, will definitely put you in credits Thank you!

Do check out my YT channel when get a chance https://www.youtube.com/@drfaizan

You will find the travel up the auto road is WAY easier and less stressful than you are envisioning. Driver's of all ages and skill levels traverse it every year. I've done it many times but I'm absolutely not "familiar" with it. It never feels dangerously narrow and you can always proceed slowly and pull off at any stop if you feel like you're backing traffic up. You truly will finish the trip and think why the heck was I worried about that.

There's many pull off spots that are designed for a combination of stopping points for cars coming down to let their brakes cool (you won't need to do that) and places to get out of your car and enjoy the new perspective, angle, and view. Especially your first trip, stop more often rather than less to take it all in. Once you get above the tree line everything opens up.

In Portland I would not have charged to more than 85%. I've never charged more than that while on a road trip. Once at the auto road, it's an 8 mile trip up. The 8 mile trip up used 58 miles of range to finish. Of course the drive down recovered 34 miles for a net usage of 24 miles of range to travel 16 miles.

The Lucid is my first EV and I had tremendous anxiety, because of my inexperience, about the Portland to the top of Mt Washington stretch and it truly turned out to be a joke.

The part you'll want to have a good plan and backup plans for is the Kancamagus run. Is the Tesla charger a super charger or destination charger? Adapters work on Tesla destination chargers but not their super charger network for Lucids, yet. That is where you want to focus your attention and planning. I would love to do that trip so you are going to be my guinea pig tester.

 

[Drcheema]

You will find the travel up the auto road is WAY easier and less stressful than you are envisioning. Driver's of all ages and skill levels traverse it every year. I've done it many times but I'm absolutely not "familiar" with it. It never feels dangerously narrow and you can always proceed slowly and pull off at any stop if you feel like you're backing traffic up. You truly will finish the trip and think why the heck was I worried about that.

There's many pull off spots that are designed for a combination of stopping points for cars coming down to let their brakes cool (you won't need to do that) and places to get out of your car and enjoy the new perspective, angle, and view. Especially your first trip, stop more often rather than less to take it all in. Once you get above the tree line everything opens up.

In Portland I would not have charged to more than 85%. I've never charged more than that while on a road trip. Once at the auto road, it's an 8 mile trip up. The 8 mile trip up used 58 miles of range to finish. Of course the drive down recovered 34 miles for a net usage of 24 miles of range to travel 16 miles.

The Lucid is my first EV and I had tremendous anxiety, because of my inexperience, about the Portland to the top of Mt Washington stretch and it truly turned out to be a joke.

The part you'll want to have a good plan and backup plans for is the Kancamagus run. Is the Tesla charger a super charger or destination charger? Adapters work on Tesla destination chargers but not their super charger network for Lucids, yet. That is where you want to focus your attention and planning. I would love to do that trip so you are going to be my guinea pig tester.

You got it , will report upon my return. All cameras are fully charged (Including Lucid) and ready to go, will make an informative video for EV owners who wish to make similar trip. I'm planning to charge 100% at Portland and drive up to the summit, followed Kancamagus Hwy drive and exit at Lincoln at Interstate 93, then continue to drive down to Manchester NH, stay overnight, charge at EA and drive back home next morning. If i did my math right, with 100% charge in Portland, I should still have 150~ miles to go when i charge at EA in Manchester NH.
My wife and I, have travelled extensively over the years and our average driving mileage has been atleast1500 miles on any trip locally or internationally. But, what makes me so curious about every detail is that, now is that now we have a 3 months old and we're making our first road trip since he was born and it changes everything.
Thank you!

 

[Drcheema]

I went on September 17th of 2022.

I had free EA charging. I actually went slightly indirectly by heading to Portland Maine to the EA charger there and then cut across to Mt Washington. It was only very slightly out of the way but was absolutely the right decision for me as it gave me peace of mind about my SOC. When I do it again, I'd take the exact same route.

The road is amazingly maintained and has never felt dangerous any of the many times I've gone up. There have been 3 deaths on the auto road over the past 150 years:

In 1880, a stage coach overturned (in the hands of a drunk driver), and a passenger was killed. In 1984, a vehicle experienced brake failure about a mile up the road and was unable to make it down safely. And a motorcyclist suffered a fatal crash in 2009.

Pretty good safety record considering 45,000 cars go up it each year.

Don't be in a rush to get to the top. There's so many stops along the way and each one will be such a different perspective. New Hampshire's tallest ski mountain, Wildcat, is right across the road. By the time you get near the top of Mt. Washington it'll look like the flat lands from your perspective.

The biggest variable, by far, is weather and visibility. Even when totally clouded in though, the road feels super safe. It's scarier for the passengers watching the edge and their minds racing. The driver is focused on the road.

I've had trips where the clouds never cleared at top. One trip, it was totally socked in, you couldn't see more than 100 feet. I decided to go through the museum in the basement of the large lodge building at the summit. 20 minutes later as I came upstairs from the museum and voila! it was as crystal clear out as ever. It can be that dramatic of a change.

If you make all your stops on the way up, which I feel is best, the ride down will be as simple as it gets with the Lucid. With an ICE vehicle you really do have to think/worry about overheating your brakes. You have zero worries with the Lucid as you'll barely touch them.

Make sure you listen to the recorded self-guided tour during the drive up. It will give so much information that you wouldn't realize on your own.

Obviously foliage will be amazing but it may be getting late in the season for peak. The Kancamagus Highway is by far the #1 place for leaf peeping. The area is void of EA chargers and I'm not sure about alternates so make sure you have a plan if you're doing it. Be sure to visit the shops in nearby North Conway. Some hotels there have chargers too which I considered but didn't need.

I've never gone this late in the season but the road is so well managed I have to imagine if it is open it is safe. Enjoy your trip and I look forward to seeing the results!

You were spot on, it was really like walk in the park. Some people made it look so difficult and tricky but the road’s width was good enough to accommodate wider vehicles like lucid even in passing. Thank you for the support and guidance. I fully charged at home in Hoboken, NJ, then in Portland, MN, and drove around a bit then arrived in Conway and drove around a bit before driving up to Mt. Washington. When i got back down from Mt. Washington, i still had about 257 miles to go. Followed by Driving through Kancamagus Hwy, exiting at Lincoln to Manchester, NH, where i charged one more time and back to Hoboken, NJ with 132 miles remaining. The whole trip was amazing, the climb, fall foliage and the Kancamagus hwy. Here are some photos!

 

[Drcheema]

Beautiful. I bet the Lucid is lots of fun on the Kancamagus

 

[Drcheema]

Indeed! it was fast and beautiful and I'm glad we were able to do it

 

[RichMalden]

You were spot on, it was really like walk in the park. Some people made it look so difficult and tricky but the road’s width was good enough to accommodate wider vehicles like lucid even in passing. Thank you for the support and guidance. I fully charged at home in Hoboken, NJ, then in Portland, MN, and drove around a bit then arrived in Conway and drove around a bit before driving up to Mt. Washington. When i got back down from Mt. Washington, i still had about 257 miles to go. Followed by Driving through Kancamagus Hwy, exiting at Lincoln to Manchester, NH, where i charged one more time and back to Hoboken, NJ with 132 miles remaining. The whole trip was amazing, the climb, fall foliage and the Kancamagus hwy. Here are some photos!

Awesome pictures! I'm so glad it went smoothly. How was the visibility at the top?

 

[Drcheema]

Awesome pictures! I'm so glad it went smoothly. How was the visibility at the top?

Couldn't ask for a better visibility, clouds came and went while we were at the summit which gave us great photos. However, while climbing and descending, it was an almost clear beautiful sunny day. I'm glad you were able to see the photos i posted? because i can't for some reason it shows if the upload had failed.

 

[RichMalden]

Couldn't ask for a better visibility, clouds came and went while we were at the summit which gave us great photos. However, while climbing and descending, it was an almost clear beautiful sunny day. I'm glad you were able to see the photos i posted? because i can't for some reason it shows if the upload had failed.

No preview type, I had to click on each individual photo to see them but it worked

 

[Drcheema]

Hi all,
Following @RichMalden's lead, I did my Mt. Washington Summit drive on Lucid Air followed by the Kancamagus byway scenic drive on single charge after charging to 100% in Portland Maine. I'm super convinced with what this vehicle can achieve. I'm sure, one day every one will recognize Lucid as a champion EV. Here is my video on my Lucid trip to the Mt. Washington summit!

 

[Drcheema]

Beautiful. I bet the Lucid is lots of fun on the Kancamagus.

We did the summit and the Kancamagus scenic byway on Oct 3rd 2024. It was amazing! Lucid performed like a superstar.

 

[moytoyx]

Hi all,
Following @RichMalden's lead, I did my Mt. Washington Summit drive on Lucid Air followed by the Kancamagus byway scenic drive on single charge after charging to 100% in Portland Maine. I'm super convinced with what this vehicle can achieve. I'm sure, one day every one will recognize Lucid as a champion EV. Here is my video on my Lucid trip to the Mt. Washington summit!

Thanks for sharing your trip! Enjoyed going on the ride thru your eyes!

 

[Drcheema]

Luicd on top of the world! Thanks for sharing the photos and the range info is very he

Thanks for sharing your trip! Enjoyed going on the ride thru your eyes!

Thanks for watching and appreciating!