Skiing the other 'Crater Lakes'

Did you know that Oregon has more than one Crater Lake? Newberry National Volcanic Monument southeast of Bend has an additional two — the Paulina Lakes.

My wife and I had visited them in summertime but, until stumbling on an article in The Oregonian, we were unaware that the Paulina Lake Lodge stayed open in the winter. In January 2007 we skied in to check out the area and became convinced that it would make an interesting weekend ski trip for the Edelweiss Ski Club.

In midwinter Paulina Lake Lodge rents rustic cabins for a minimum of two nights. The cabins have kitchens, but the lodge restaurant is also open for lunch and dinner on weekends. The approach road is only plowed to the 10-mile point, leaving three miles that must be covered on skis or by snowmobile.

Twelve people signed up for the trip to Paulina Lakes the weekend of March 8 and 9. Based upon information on the lodge’s Web site, Dave Anderson had reserved two cabins, one sleeping four and one sleeping eight. The large cabin was featured as having a queen-sized bed. Perfect, there would be one couple and 10 singles on the trip.

Because of the two-night minimum, all but one of the participants skied in on Friday afternoon. Rain was predicted for Roseburg that afternoon, but only an overcast sky greeted us. The surprise came when we reached the cabins. The big cabin had only four beds, and the small cabin two.

Apparently the lodge saw no need to advertise that all sleeping accommodations were doubles. How to handle this situation was put off while we all went out to ski the two-mile Nordic loop near the lodge.

That evening half of the group cooked in the big cabin and the rest ate in the lodge. Afterwards, as snow started to fall, we all gathered in the big cabin to sip a little wine and socialize. How to handle the sleeping situation was nervously avoided until the last possible moment.

Fortunately, two of the group had brought along sleeping bags and were willing to sleep on the floor. That, along with my wife’s last-minute withdrawal from the trip, meant that only seven would be in the large cabin, six guys and one gal. We offered the queen bed in its own bedroom to the lady and four of us drew straws to see which two would have to double up.

By 6 the next morning Richard had had enough of the double berth. He sat bolt upright and began singing reveille. “Let’s ski to East Paulina Lake” he declared. “Naw, it’s still dark, Richard!” Evan said as he rolled over and went back to sleep.

At first light, snow continued falling gently. Most agreed that the day’s trip should be to the top of Paulina Peak some 3.5 miles distant. By 9:30 we were on the trail under a low cloud cover. The light coating of new snow made for excellent ski conditions and spectacular scenery. As we slowly ascended, the clouds did also, giving us an emerging view of the main Cascades.

By the time we reached the nearly 8,000-foot summit we could see as far north as Mount Adams in Washington. A group of four downhill skiers who had been pulled up the road by a snowmobile were set to plunge down the steep north side of the peak. With our lighter gear, we opted to ski a combination of the gentler south slopes and the ascent road. Snaking our way through the scattered trees of the upper mountain was a joy.

That evening all but Richard went to the lodge for a hearty dinner. The place was packed and jumping. People seemed to know that the fare would be excellent, and it was.

Sunday, after a quick ski out on the icy road, we stashed our packs in the cars and went back uphill on one of the Nordic trails for more ski fun. Newberry was just too good to leave so soon.

Everyone agreed: “We will be back.”



<i>Paul Tamm is a member of the Edelweiss Ski Club.</i>