More skiing ;-)

Hi everyone,

Last week we had spring break at Stanford. We worked the first part of the week (but Stanford is really empty then) and decided to do some backcountry skiing in Yosemite for a long week-end.

We left Mountain View on Thursday afternoon and slept in a small hotel at "Buck Meadows", a few miles from the western entrance of the park. On Friday we entered the park and drove to Badger Pass. After taking a "wilderness permit" and preparing our gear, we started our tour for the day: 10 miles to Ostrander Lake, 1500 feet to climb. With a heavy backpack (we were going to camp two nights), I can assure you it wasn't easy... Our feet didn't like the first four miles and a half on a flat road but the landscape once you get there is just amazing!

On Saturday we did a short (three-hour) backcountry tour. We climbed up to "Horse Ridge". From there, you have a full view of Yosemite's High-Country and you can see the Half Dome from a quite unusual angle. In the afternoon Cedric and Maureen joined us at our campsite (they drove up on Friday and stayed at the same hotel as we did). We spent a nice evening together.

On Sunday morning the guys went for a quick "up and down hill" (again up to Horse Ridge but on the other side) before packing up and going down back to the cars. The way down was great, except the part on the flat road again. The week-end ended with two stops: one for dinner, the second for dessert :-)

You'll find our pictures here and those by Cedric & Maureen here.

And we are now back to work!

Marie-Catherine & Goeric