Crater Lake National Park - March 2007

After poor weather prevented us from seeing much of Crater Lake in December we planned to make up for it by skiing around the entire Rim Drive during the first weekend of Greta's spring break.

Our trip began with a three and a half hour drive to the Steele Visitor Center (Park Headquarters). We arrived at 9:15 am and began to prepare our equipment for the trip. At 10:00, the visitor center opened and the ranger issued us the required backcountry permit. With permit in hand, we drove the three miles to the Rim Village and parked our car in the overnight parking lot. We shouldered our packs and hit the trail at 10:30 am.

The weather and views were spectacular and the snow was consolidated and fast. We made good progress and quickly caught up to a large group from Washington who had started late the day before. They were planning on spending nine days to get around the lake. After another few miles we encountered the only other people we would see during our trip. Three guys who had spent the night at Cleetwood Cove (10 miles from Rim Village) were heading back. One person in their party had some pretty bad blisters and realized he was not fit enough to finish the circumnavigation of the rim, so they were returning home.

We stopped for lunch at 1:00 pm at the junction of the north road into the park which is closed during winter. The weather had turned cloudy on us and the wind had picked up. I could handle clouds and wind, but I hoped that we could continue without precipitation. We still had nine more miles to ski before stopping for the night.

With full bellies, we proceeded further around the rim drive. I knew that no other people were ahead of us, and the sense of isolation started to sink in. It was comforting to know that we were both competent skiers and were prepared with enough food and fuel for at least three nights out here.

As we continued to our goal of Skell Head at 14.9 miles, we were constantly rewarded with wonderful views of the lake. The road this day was easy to follow, with just a few bare sections. Though there was over 90 inches of snow around the rim, some parts of the rim drive were located such that they received a maximum amount of sun and wind. In these sections, the pavement was visible and we either had to take our skis off and walk or scramble through the trees with our skis on. This was no problem for us, but I felt sorry for the group from Washington. Four from their group were pulling sleds loaded with gear.

We arrived at Skell Head at 5:00 pm. After six and a half hours of skiing, we were pretty tired and thirsty. Still, there was work to be done and only two and a half hours of daylight. We prepared a level spot for our tent, got the stove going to melt snow for water, and dug out a kitchen in which we could cook and eat dinner and breakfast. We used up every minute of daylight to get all of this done plus eating dinner. We crawled into the tent at 7:30 pm. We slept as well as can be expected given the heavy winds at times and the sound of precipitation on the tent (it turned out to be snow).

The rest of the trip was a blur even though we were only half way around the lake. We woke at 7:00 the following morning and began the chores of morning: strike tent, melt snow, cook and eat breakfast and clean dishes. All of this was performed under cloudy skies and constant snowfall.

We hit the trail at 9:00 with the snow falling and limited visibility. I certainly had tunnel vision for the car and we continued to push on around the lake. Many portions of the rim drive on the east side of Crater Lake dip well below the rim. This combined with low visibility and one navigational glitch prevented us from seeing the lake again. Also, due to the snowfall, I kept my camera in my pack the whole day.

Due to the fact that we didn't see the lake again and I was anxious to get back to the car, the rest of the trip was mostly uneventful. One memorable moment, though, was the avalanche-prone section by Kerr Valley. The rim drive in the northeastern section of this valley is underneath steep cliffs which probably seem harmless in summertime. In the winter, they take on a more menacing look with evidence of snow sloughs all around. To make matters worse, the slope is so steep that the road just blends into the hillside and you no longer have a flat surface to ski on. As a result, you have to traverse this slope on the edges of your skis. Yikes!

We made it back to park headquarters at around 4:30 pm, tired and filthy. I checked in with the ranger and then started to focus on getting our car. Since we parked at the Rim Village, we were still three miles apart. The ranger informed us that it is easy to hitch a ride to the top and if we couldn't find a ride he would take us up at 5:00. Luckily, though, I found a lift quickly and retrieved our car.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Wizard Island

Wizard Island with Liao Rock in the background

Greta skiing the rim drive

View to the south of Mt McLoughlin and Union Peak

Western rim of Crater Lake

Wizard Island and Mt Scott in background

The Watchman

Greta with Hillman Peak in the background