The snow was coming down harder, and she looked back at the mountains.
When I joined it, after crossing from Lake Tahoe at Stateline into Nevada, I stopped to look back at the mountains and was struck by the contrast here, for just on the other side, less than an hour before, I'd seen lush clusters of Manzanita and pine trees on the slopes.
Toss the anchor and rope up and you'll be back at the ski mountain.
The same faces that had seemed so anxious or strained back at the top of the mountain were now exploding with joy, full of accomplishment.
Back at the top of the mountain, I was as keen to work up an appetite as I was to get my bearings, so I spent my first afternoon with Jim Cornfoot, Cairngorm land manager and senior ski patroller.
He had to be back on the mountain at 3 a.m.
Indeed, by the time we got back on our bikes and began cruising down the back of the mountain at speeds of more than 30 m.p.h., the vision had passed.
Back at Music Mountain, the Shanghai String Quartet will be appearing two weekends.
"I looked back at the expanse of the mountains, the valleys, and something struck me," he said.
As we made our way back down the mountain, they shrieked at every lurch.
