Why Climb Mountains?

For the view, of course!

Last month, I spent a few days with my family at Mt. Rainier just enjoying the beautiful weather and playing in the snow.  We went cross-country skiing (most of us for the first time), inner-tubing, and a little bit of hiking/snowshoeing.  Believe it or not, I didn't pull out my camera until the last day.  I guess I was too busy falling down. But during our short hike on that final day, I couldn't resist these amazing views.

Here is the view from the parking lot at Paradise:

Here is the same view after hiking a little ways up the trail:

Worth the effort?  Um, yeah.

One of my climbing buddies (aka, my dad):

More view:

Straight trees, sloping ground:

Tree icicles--you didn't expect me to resist a macro photo opportunity, did you?

Dad admiring the view:

More view (notice the unknown snowshoer in the bottom right):

The summit of Mt. Rainier, with the wind whipping snow off the top:

My other climbing buddy (aka, my brother):

And one last look at the gorgeous view:

Well, now that I've finally posted these winter pictures, I think I'm ready for Spring to arrive in a few days.