Crater Lake via Crater Lake Trail

Parking in the lot normally reserved for dropping off people, start your upward journey from the base of the Prairie t-bar at the far edge of the resort's boundary. Shortly after starting, we took the path that angles off to the left, away from the t-bar line, and upwards through the trees. With a slow but steady pace, we threaded our way through the trees with the looming peak of the mountain as our ever-present beacon.

Approximately 1 kilometer into our tour, we broke through the tree-line and took a break for some water and food. Shortly thereafter we continued onward and upward towards the lake across the hard, windswept prairie snow. After what seemed to take forever, we finally found ourselves high above the lake at the edge of the inverted cone in which the lake is located. Taking in the view for a few moments, we stopped for some sustenance and a few photographs before making our way back to the parking lot. This part of the trip was a lot smoother and faster without the skins on our skis. While the crust on the snow made for some difficult turns, it was still exhilarating nonetheless. The phrase "earning your turns" was truly the mantra of the day.

A couple of notes:

• If you come up and the clouds obscure the peak above the lake, if you stand right in front of the building that houses the bullwheel of the t-bar, follow a compass bearing of 320 degrees and you'll find yourself eventually at the edge of the lake.
• I noted above that the skill level was "intermediate". That's mainly due to the length of the climb. There's really only one moderately steep section of the trail just as you start heading up through the trees. After that, the trail flattens out. It's just a relatively long climb that makes it a bit more difficult.

If doing this in winter:

• Be sure to check avalanche conditions
  
• Pack necessary equipment (probe, beacon, shovel, and compass)