Crater Lake, South Rim in Winter

I was on a ski trip to Mt. Bachelor as part of the Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council's annual "Chicago Week", where a different ski resort out west is visited each year. One of the highlights are the side trips. Last year it was Yellowstone. This year we were near Crater Lake, so almost 100 of us decided to go on a private outing there. Wanderlust Tours in Bend, Oregon was picked to handle the trip - transportation, snowshoes, food, guides. They did a great job and really, really catered to each person. Since I was shooting panoramics and wandering off on my own, they had a guide stay with me. Guess they did not want me falling 2000 feet down a cliff face. :-)

This area is amazing. Every photo is a postcard. During the Winter the lake and much of the park and rim is inaccessible. Snow blocks everything and there's no way down the caldera (well, I suppose it you're an expert climber you could do it.)

This area has an unbelievable number of volcanoes. Something in the area of TWENTY! Mt. Bachelor, Mt. Hood, the Three Sisters - Mount St. Helens is only a few hours away. These are part of the globe-spanning "Ring of Fire."

I thought this tree (sometimes called "Ghost Trees) was just too interesting not to shoot. I have panos closer to the rim, but felt this tree really added character.

This was nearly a record lack of snow. Typically there's at least 10 feet of snow. We were lucky to have 10 inches in many places.

USA-Canada / USA-Oregon

Lat: 42° 54' 50.77" N
Long: 123° 10' 3.87" W

Elevation: 2150

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: Medium. Nearby, but not to the last decimal.

Canon 7D, Sigma 8mm, Bogen ball head. PTGui, Pano2VR, Photoshop CC