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Some may not know that Crater Lake National Park is a celebrated winter destination. Crater Lake winter is not only gorgeous, but bustling with outdoor enthusiasts enjoying the snow covered terrain. The Diamond Lake Lodge is open all year and provides a warm place to spend your downtime between wintery adventures. The Diamond Lake Lodge is five miles north of Crater Lake on another pristine lake called Diamond Lake. This lodge is a full-blown resort offering a long list of winter activities for guests of all ages.

Crater Lake winter guests to The Diamond Lake Lodge spend their time snowmobiling, sledding/tubing, ice-skating and cross country skiing. Guided and unguided snowmobiling tours are also available. 60 miles north are downhill skiing resorts for skiers and snowboarders. The Diamond Lake Lodge has an almost 90 year long history of providing shelter from the storm. Take this fun story from the past as an example.

In 1948, a young man named Jack Meissner, 28 years old and already a war veteran, decided to set out on a 300-mile solo adventure on cross-country skis. He announced his lofty and dangerous plan to the world to which he received plenty of criticism for his dangerous ambition. The CAP (Civil Air Patrol) and the Willamette Ski Patrol studied the planned route with Meissner before the grand departure. The CAP planned to make a supply drop for Meissner at a Forest Service shelter along the way. A Eugene outdoors group called The Obsidians offered the use of trained carrier pigeons, Homer and Cynthia, to communicate his condition from the isolated trail. Meissner was a woodsman, trapper, back country guide and serviceman. He was determined and prepared.

Crater Lake Winter photo by ex_magician on Flickr

Jack Meissner set out from Mt. Hood’s Government Camp on Friday the 13^th of February, 1948 aboard his cross-country skis. Meissner’s finish line was Crater Lake National Park. His pack weighed in at about 55 lbs. It contained everything he would need along the way, aside from the supplies that would be dropped for him later. Meissner planned to travel 10 miles a day for 300 miles of fresh tracks at elevations ranging from 4,000-10,000 feet. And, for the most part, that is just what he did.

1948 went on the books as one of the harshest and coldest winters with the most snowfall in many years. Meissner traded work at various stops along the way in exchange for room and board where it was available, which was seldom. The last half of his route was quite secluded. On one stormy day, he fell into a deep and snowy ravine and had to rescue himself by making ledges out of his skis where he climbed one step at a time out of the trouble.

Those waiting for Jack’s return had no way of knowing if he had made it to the supply drop, because the pigeons, Homer and Cynthia had not returned to Eugene. The normal travel time from the pigeon drop-zone was three hours as the crow flies, or pigeons in this case. The storms and blizzards were a life threatening obstacle for the feathered pair as well as for Meissner. The Obsidians knew that Homer was slower and held Cynthia back. The pigeons were feared dead as they were many days late. Then, to their surprise, Cynthia returned with a note on her leg indicating that Meissner had gotten at least as far as the pigeon drop-zone. Homer, was proclaimed lost until he also made it home four days after Cynthia. Still, with the harsh weather conditions and heavy snowfall, Meissner’s current condition was unknowable.

Crater Lake Winter photo by Tracy Vierra on Flickr

As it turned out, he successfully found the dropped supplies from the CAP and he also managed to locate the pigeons to attach the note to Cynthia’s leg. He skied into the Diamond Lake Lodge where he warmed up by the fire and traded his room and dinner for shoveling snow. In eight hours, it snowed as many as 10 inches in the Crater Lake area causing a power outage to most of Klamath County. He had his shoveling work cut out for him. In the morning, he set out for Crater Lake National Park where his journey would come to a relieved and triumphant close one week later.

The end of this adventure story finds Jack Meissner a celebrated outdoorsman who was the first and last person to attempt such a feat. Crater Lake National Park was the 25^th and final campsite of Jack Meissner’s 300-mile journey on cross country skis from Mt. Hood. He accomplished this in 33 total skiing days with 20 days scattered in-between where he did work trades and waited out storms for a total of 53 days from start to finish.

To this day, The Diamond Lake Lodge provides comfort for many Crater Lake winter guests. Spend the holidays at The Diamond Lake Lodge for a full resort experience. Give the professionals at US Park Lodging a call, toll free, to secure your Crater Lake winter reservations at the Diamond Lake Lodge.

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