"Yosemite: 'Elijah's flight in a chariot of fire could hardly have been more gloriously exciting,' wrote John Muir of a ride he took on an avalanche of snow in Yosemite Valley. 'Being eager to see as many avalanches as possible,' he had walked out one fine morning after a heavy snowfall and climbed up to a commanding position over the valley, when the land suddenly gave way beneath his feet. Undaunted, he simply threw himself on his back against the sliding snow and 'was swished down to the foot of the canyon as if by enchantment.' He later wrote, 'This flight, in what might be called a milky way of snowstars, was the most spiritual and exhilarating of all the modes of motion I have ever experienced.'" From The Magnificent Continent (Rand McNally, 1975)
