Hello from Yosemite!

[Keith S. Walklet]

>It must still be active to some extent because I found foot prints on the mineral soil parts of the trail until the talus took over.

Yup. Not me. :-)

Even more interesting is that some people choose to ski down it in the winter! Boo Conway, once one of the top extreme skiers in world, was the son of the former manager of the stables in the valley. He did it. Has to be done in a heavy snow year because the normally by the bottom of the trail, the rocks were bigger and it was possible to run out of white stuff. But, after skiing in the extreme competitions in Alaska, Boo said that the Ledge Trail was like a bunny slope. Again. Not me!

[John Kasaian]

Ski?? WOW!

I've always wanted to try the down hill run they cut in expectation of the Winter Olympics coming to Yosemite instead of that little place back East---Lake Placid ;-)
Rail Creek I think, from Badger Pass to just below Chinquapin? I've hear its kept open and on rare days the instructors at Badger will lead the way (if you're very nice to them)

I've also thought the ski hut at Ostrander Lake might be a good LF "target" especially in snow but all the organized XC tours seemed to be going to Glacier Point last year. I wonder if the place is still standing?

It sounds like a perfect place to take a 5x7 Speed Graphic :-)

[Keith S. Walklet]

Rail Creek is correct. It is a bit brushy from what I understand, but a great run. It ends up down on 41 midway between Chinquapin and Wawona. Usually a shuttle car is involved or thumbs. There is some great color footage from the 40s of the instructors skiing down that at the end of the day that was made into a travelogue.

I'd say Yosemite dodged a bullet when Lake Placid got the Olympic bid in 1932. It would be a very different place today.

As for Ostrander, it is still there and it is a wonderful place for large format, beginning with the caretaker, 4x5 photographer and John Muir reincarnate, Howard Weamer, who is quite accomplished in his own right. Reservations are made through the Yosemite Association. When that was first built, ski touring (hut to hut) was the rage in Europe and they envisioned a series of huts in Yosemite. But then downhill took over and touring went by the by.

Howard wrote a book on Ostrander and the history of skiing in Yosemite. Some beautiful images to go along with the historical stuff.