During president's day, my wife gets a week off of work. One of the perks of being a teacher. We used that free time to make a break up to Yosemite, for some winter fun. In my opinion, the park is made even more beautiful with a bit of snow covering it, especially when you put on a pair of snowshoes or cross-country skis and get out on the trails. We have become big fans of the park in winter. This would be our fourth trip, and a special one, as we would be returning to the Glacier Point ski hut where we got engaged 4 years prior.

Usually winter also means about a third of the normal summer crowd, but I guess the secret was out this year. It was packed. Get about a mile away from the valley in any direction though, and it is easy to escape the crowd and find some solitute. We spent a couple days down in the valley before going out to the hut, using the days to snowshoe and ski out at Crane Flat, where Hwy 120 gets shut down for the winter.

The ski out to the hut starts at Badger Pass (Yosemite's little ski resort) and goes 10.5 miles along Glacier Point Rd out to the hut. In the summers, the buidling operates as a gift shop and cafe for tourist at Glacier Point, but in the winter the road is not plowed and they close everything down except for those on skis or snowshoes. We took our time on the ski, which is not overly challenging, but not a breeze either. It took most of the day, and we arrived at the hut in the afternoon. The only other people staying at that hut are the others that also made the effort to ski out there, so that makes something in common with everyone there. We met some interesting people right away. The hut master took excellent care of us, and prepared AMAZING food (he is a pastry chef in the summer).

The view from the hut is just AMAZING. Halfdome is right there in front of you, and valley is far below. Sunset was just surreal, and there is something cool about knowing that it is just you and the other people who skied out there that are experiencing it from this vantage point. It was hard to pull myself away. I snuck out after dinner for some long-exposure shots, and only returned when I saw all the lights go off in the hut, signaling that it was time for bed.