No, that's not snow in the foreground. It's calcium carbonate around Mono Lake in the Inyo National Forest just northeast of Yosemite. Mono Lake is an inland sea, and named for the Indians who lived here, the Kutzadika'a. They were known for eating alkali fly pupae and were nicknamed "Monache" meaning "fly eaters" by their Yokut Indian neighbors who they traded with for acorns. Monache was shortened to Mono by the white explorers in the 185o's. There are sea gulls in the area, but no fish can live in the alkaline waters...only brine shrimp, and of course alkali flies!