Ahhh, here's a story. Ben and Beth went on the hunt for a decent hike. Boy did they ever get more than they asked for. Now, the 4 mile hike was not so long as it was steep. After a nice, 1.5 mile gradual climb, the trail seems to go straight up (not quite, but to probably around 45 degrees in some spots). From start to finish, the hike has a verticle distance of a little over 1,000 feet, most of which occurs in the last quarter mile or so. For you math nerds (Ben raises his hand), this *averages* about a 10.5% grade over the entire hike, but is much much more at the top of the trail. Though tiring, the hike was definitely worth the reward, as the view pans out looking over a waterfall. Beth and Ben opted not to continue on the trail, which only continued on another 12 miles. If they wanted to walk to San Francisco, there is a ~250 mile trail available.

Ben and Beth hiking.

A picture from the top of the waterfall looking down on the trail that was taken to get there. Look at those little pee-ons (probably not spelled correctly, but it works) still trying to get up the mountain. Our achy legs laugh at them

Alright now, this is the mountain called El Capitan, or as Ben would say, El Capeetuh (with a French accent, obviously, or not so obviously). You're going to have to put on your trust hats, because the magic of the internet world more or less forces us to decrease the quality of the pictures. In the boxes, and what the arrows are pointing to (besides little dark spots) are rock-climbers. The one on the left was just one person, who didn't move out of that little tan circle the whole time we were there watching. The middle box shows about 4-5 people all bunched together, slowly going up the middle. The people on the right are climbing up as well, and there were about 8 of them or so. You can slightly make out the various individuals. These peole are officially insane, and Beth and Ben felt a little more wimpy about their hike afterwards, but to each his/her own.

That's right! Beth and Ben finally made it to some snow..... about 13 feet of it. Only 2 1/2 hours from home, Boreal is a great ski resort nestled in the Sierra mountains. Great fun was had by all!!! This is the view from the mountain looking back at Boreal. I-80 is the highway in the picture. There was a great slope that went around the side of the mountain that offered a good, moderate length run to the bottom.

Though it was Beth's first time skiing, she did a great job. She only fell 4 times in about 6 hours (and one of those times was Ben's fault ('cause he pushed her (not really (one time was Ben's fault, but not because he pushed her)))). :)

The view from one of the ski lifts going up the mountain. It was a perfect day for skiing.

Here's a picture of Beth and Ben going up the mountain. Boy howdy those goggles are stylish. And check out Ben's ski jacket (circa 1980's (literally)). This was Beth's first time skiing, and she loves it, except for the soreness that follows. Ben learned to ski while living in Salt Lake City some time ago, and of course had a blast as well. Although he doesn't like the soreness either. Strange, unknown muscles are used in skiing. They have since gone back and Beth's skills continued to improve. They plan on several more visits in the 2004-2005 winter season.