Friday, March 6 was the first day of the Crater Lake ski trip. We were blessed with mostly sunny weather, so most of the group headed directly to the lake. It was 44 degrees on the West Rim road, which had soft snow and great views of the lake. It was a good start to this year’s trip, with a few also seeking out some slopes off the Rim to make a few turns in the layer of slush.
Friday night a weather warning was in effect from 10 pm to 10 am, leaving 2 or 3 inches of new snow on the crust from the sun of Friday. It turned out to be perfect weather for the Snowshoe with a Ranger event that 12 CONC members took part in. It was (in my opinion) surprisingly informative and fun. Jerry Sebestyen was given a Junior Ranger badge for knowing the lichen symbiosis of algae and fungi. But few of us knew the fun factoids covering subjects ranging from Hemlock winter survival to Canadian Jay food preservation methods. We all also slid down a hill penguin style (head first on our stomachs!) and had a three minute snowball fight; more fun than I remembered!
Coincidently, Saturday was also World Telemark day! So of course, many of the group had to participate! Roz led several skiers out the East Rim road to some perfect telemarking slopes. The few inches of fresh turned out to be a most excellent turning surface. As you can see, they carved up the hillside, returning to the Prospect Hotel with tired thighs and big smiles.
Photos by Jerry Sebestyen, Doris Feenstra, Louise Brown, Jo Keene, Char Newman, & Tamara Stephas
