Last weekend I

5/5/10 --  Last weekend I completed a "Life List" goal. In the company of good friends I skied around the rim of Crater Lake.

With a circumference of 33 miles, it took the better part of three days. Despite the calendar reading "May" there was still plenty of snow at that elevation. (7,000 feet or so, on average.)

Sometimes too much snow, as in whiteouts we experienced on both Saturday and Monday. (Ironic, since I'd just finished STORM MOUNTAIN.) Imagine skiing inside of a ping-pong ball while being buffeted by wind gusts up to 50 mph. We got lost twice. Thank goodness for compass, map, and GPS.

Sandwiched in between, however, was a beautiful Sunday of stellar views.

And accommodations were five star.

Two days after returning I'm still beat. But, just like the commitment and effort required to write a novel, the reward was absolutely, without-a-doubt worth it.