Nisei Ski Club

 Here’s wishing everyone a great 2012!!!  New year’s resolution—get out and play in the snow!

SUN VALLEY ORIENTATION MEETING - from President Morgan

Come & meet your condo mates.

Contact me at ">. 

Mammoth long weekend trip - Can’t make to Sun Valley?  How about Mammoth Mountain?  See the flyer for the long weekend trip to Mammoth Mountain!  Click the wooly mammoth for more info ======>

 Weekend Trips – it can’t stay dry forever!!!  Sign up for a weekend trip.

Click here => SKI TRIPS <= for the details or the “SKI TRIPS” tab at the top of this page. This season, we have scheduled 3 weekend trips:

1. Heavenly/Heavenly, Feb 10 — 12, 2012
2. Squaw Valley/Alpine, March 2 — 4, 2012
3. Long Weekend at Mammoth, March 23 — 27, 2012 - see above.

Armand’s Korner—December  saw two returning members, which brings us to 71 members.

So far, the ski season is off to a miserable start.  Snow conditions in Tahoe have been the worst I have seen in years.  Hopefully, snow conditions will improve before our first weekend ski trip.

Chamonix Ski Week -The Chamonix ski week currently has about 160 participants for this trip, but if you’re interested there are still a few openings available. In particular there is an opening for a female roommate, plus a few other spots are also available.  If interested, contact Armand :  ">.

Click here =>CHAMONIX <= “pour plus informations”.

Hoyt and Nancy’s Great Adventure - They’re home now, but check out Hoyt & Nancy Nelson’s blog on their travels to South East Asia:   http://nancyandhoytontheroad2011.blogspot.com/

Finally, where is your newsletter editor? Here are some clues

I just got the souvenirs back from the embroidery for the Sun Valley trip.  It is a high quality fleece from Marmot (thanks to Karen Soo’s connections).  We ran out of some of the colors for the men, so colors will vary for some of the men.

There’s snow at Sun Valley already.  19 runs and 6 lifts are already open.  It’s a La Nina year for 2012 and it means a colder and wetter winter which is great for us.

I will setup a date for the orientation meeting in the next few weeks when I get the full details about our itinerary from Daman-Nelson.

December ALREADY??

Xmas Trees, Minouras, Snowmen (maybe), Dreidels, Santas and Bears – Oh My!

Did you vote???

If you didn’t, don’t complain!!

Thanksgiving has passed and now  thoughts are on holiday shopping & giving.  Don’t forget those who are less fortunate than you!  Be GENEROUS! Help the poor, the homeless, the foster children, or the ill.

SUN VALLEY UPDATE from President Morgan–

Still want to go to the sold out Sun Valley trip? If you are still interested, a waiting list  is being kept. Contact me at ">.  Click here >> SUN VALLEY << for more info.

Sun Valley is already opened with limited operations with  6 lifts already running

Mammoth long weekend trip  - Can’t make to Sun Valley?  How about Mammoth Mountain?  See the flyer for the long weekend trip to Mammoth Mountain! Click here>>MAMMOTH << for more info.

Armand’s Korner—November saw three returning members, which brings us to 70 members.  Now that winter is here and the ski resorts have started operations there should be an increase in membership during the next few months as we start preparing for our weekend ski trips, the long ski weekend to Mammoth, and the ski week to Sun Valley.

Chamonix Ski Week -The Chamonix ski week currently has about 160 participants for this trip, but if you’re interested there are still a few openings available. In particular there is an opening for a female roommate, plus a few other spots are also available.  If interested, contact Armand at  ">

Where’s the SNOW? Not much in California, YET!  Keep your fingers crossed.  In the meantime,

you can get into shape  or try a new winter sport like ICE SKATING.  Here’s my 7 year old  buddy, Sima, executing a great  sit spin.  Want to try your hand or rather, feet,  at skating, then here are some places to skate during this holiday season.

~Where to Skate~

San Francisco

• Embarcadero Center—Justin Herman Plaza
• Union Square (very small rink)
• Yerba  Buena  (4th & Folsom)  year round indoor rink

Oakland

• Oakland Ice— year round indoor  – 519 18th st

Walnut Creek

• Civic Center—1375 Civic Drive

Dublin

• Dublin Iceland— 7212 San Ramon Rd

San Jose

• Kristi Yamaguchi’s Downtown Ice at the Circle of Palms – A CIRCULAR rink!!—120 S. Market St –    this is really COOOOL→
• Sharks Ice  – 1500 10th St

Palo Alto

• Winter Lodge, first & only permanent OUTDOOR rink west of the Sierras!
  • 3009 Middlefield Road

Santa Rosa

• Snoopy Rink—Charles Schulz’s indoor rink!!!  With a Peanuts theme, of course! 1667 W. Steele Ln

Getting in Shape for Snowboarding

The following was sourced and condensed from :

www.snowboardsecrets.com/QandA/qasapula.htm

by Jean Sapula, Certified Trainer & Lvl II Snowboard Instructor

“Definitely stay with the aerobic conditioning, like running and hiking, but you can mix it up with other activities, such as, elliptical trainers, stair climbers and mt. biking, just to name a few. While aerobic exercise does help your leg strength to a degree, it is more important for keeping you from fatiguing on the slopes, giving you endurance. I’d suggest a good upper and lower body workout in the gym as well. The following exercises listed below help to comprise a good program for snowboarding fitness:

LEGS— Squats; Lunges…

ARMS— Push ups; Tricep “dips”…

BALANCE – with a tennis ball under each foot.

Both strength and aerobic training should be performed at least 3 times per week…. Flexibility is very important to relieve training soreness and decrease your chance of injury“ … see the above website for full details!



Vicarious Travelling with Hoyt & Nancy Nelson – follow the Nelsons while they traipse through Indonesia (Java and Bali), Singapore, Nepal and Northern India.  See their pictures and read their blog as they travel through South East Asia!

http://nancyandhoytontheroad2011.blogspot.com/

ELECTION DAY is NOV 8!!!

VOTE or SHUT UP!

Thanksgiving is just upon us.  Give thanks for all that you have.  Be happy  with what you have, hope for that what you don’t. Don’t over eat and be kind to your fellow person.

SUN VALLEY UPDATE ~ from President Morgan ~ 34 seats have been sold.  If you are interested, a waiting list  is being kept. Contact me at ">.

Here are some great reading material in Ski Net. com for your upcoming Sun Valley Trip in 2012 http://www.skinet.com/ski/resorts/sun-valley

Note Bene: 3rd remaining payment due 11/8/2011.

READY TO ROCK n ROLL ~trip director Karen Soo aka the 1/2 marathoner! See my report (click  >> here <<)  and the details of the 2 weekend trips of this upcoming season.  It’s been a LOOONG time since we’ve had a South Shore trip. Trip 1 will mark our return to Heavenly Valley!  Click on the “>> here << or the Ski Trips”  tab above.

Mammoth long weekend trip Can’t make to Sun Valley?  How about Mammoth Mountain?  Click >> here << for the flyer for the long weekend trip to Mammoth Mountain!

CHAMONIX TRIP—If you’re interested in the Chamonix trip, contact Armand Gutierrez, at : .  Click here >> CHAMONIX << for details.

Il Ciclista! ALLEN HU— This past Sept, NSC member & randonneur, Allen Hu spent 10 days cycling in Toscana sul Mediterraneo . Check out Allen’s travel log and great pics in this issue - clicca >> qui << per il suo articolo.

50% SNOWBOMB SHOW DISCOUNT! Enter “nisei” on either event ticket page for 50% off Gen Admin tickets and $10 off VIP tickets for BEER/WINE tasting

Silicon Valley  (Nov 12-13): http://snowbombsv.eventbrite.com/?discount=nisei
San Francisco (Nov 5-6): http://snowbombsf.eventbrite.com/?discount=nisei

World Cup Racing—at the first race of the 2011-2012 World Cup season (Oct 22-23) at Sölden Österreich (Austria), Americans Lindsey Vonn and Ted Legity took 1st place in their Giant Slalom races.  Way to go USA!

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ends Nov 6 – DST ends one week later this year

Reminder – when ordering from AMAZON, use the NSC link on the right of the home page!

~ Karen Soo – Trip Director

It’s November and you can feel the chill in the air. I was just in Lake Tahoe for a few days attending Marmot’s Fall12 sales meeting. All the Aspen leaves had fallen and a winter cold blast had hit the Tahoe area, a good sign that snow will arrive early this year. I heard Boreal is making snow and there is word that they might open this weekend.

They say La Niña is back. What does this mean?

Well water temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean are much colder than average, which is the definition of La Niña. Those temperatures can affect weather patterns across the globe, and that’s why La Niña is important. For North America, La Niña has some predictable consequences for snow during the winter meaning    LOTS OF SNOW FOR 2012

The two weekend trips that are scheduled for 2012 are set and ready to go.   Read the rest of this entry »

Back by popular demand, Mammoth Mountain returns as the destination resort for the NSC Long Weekend Ski Trip. Its stats certainly reflect its moniker: 3500 acres, 3100 vertical feet, 385 inches of snow and 300 days of sunshine. California’s highest ski elevation and longest season.  The trip will begin with an early Friday departure to our first bonus ski destination, Kirkwood. After enjoying a day of skiing, we’ll continue on to Mammoth for a three-night stay in condos. Three fun-filled days of skiing at Mammoth Mountain will follow. After the third day at Mammoth Mountain (Monday), we’ll drive north to Reno and stay overnight at Sands Hotel. The next day, we’ll drive to Sugar Bowl, where we’ll finish up the trip with our fifth day of skiing (or boarding)!

Dates:  Friday, March 23 – Tuesday March 27, 2012

Full Package Includes: Read the rest of this entry »

report by Allen Hu

For years northern Europeans have vacationed in the glorious hill towns of Tuscany like Montepulciano, Arezzo, and San Gimignano. Americans learned about this Italian secret when Frances Mayes rebuilt a Renaissance house in Cortona and wrote “Under the Tuscan Sun”.

Yet, there’s another Tuscany on the Mediterranean with 3000 years of ancient history based on the Etruscan civilization. Our fixed-base bicycle trip began on this coast near the village of Donoratico. Read the rest of this entry »

October Already?? Déjà??  Fall is upon us but what’s that falling out of the skies???  Satellite parts?  Meteors? No—it’s RAIN!!!  As I write  this, snow is already falling in the Sierras.  Let’s hope this portends a great snow season!

Read on for this month’s scintillating news!

SUN VALLEY UPDATE – from President Morgan–

I’ve sold 34 of the 40 seats for Sun Valley.  I have released all the remaining airline seats.  If you are still interested in going, please contact me first before signing up.  I can still add you to the trip, but the airline seat price is not guaranteed.  Contact me at ">.

Click >>here<< for info on the Sun Valley trip

3rd remaining payment due 11/8/2011.

FLY AWAY WITH KAREN -Click Karen’s picture for the Trip Director’s report!

ARMAND’s  Korner

Membership Activity – September was a good month for memberships, with seven new members joining. This brings us to a total of 67 members. As we’re heading into the fall season I’m sure many of you are getting excited about the upcoming Sun Valley trip, and hopefully you’ve started some sort of exercise regimen to get ready for the ski season.

Chamonix Ski Week – The Chamonix trip is filling up but there are still rooms available if you’re interested. So far, there are 45 rooms booked out of 60. However, those remaining rooms will soon be released since the hotel is currently booked. I would like to welcome Allen Hu in joining Curtis and me for this trip. Actually, Allen is going for two weeks, one week with FWSA and a second week at Club Med Chamonix.

Click >> here << for Chamonix trip info

NSC HIKES

North Berkeley Hike—Click >> here << for Charles Aker’s article in this month’s newsletter on the September North Berkeley hike.  If you missed this one, read on…

UPCOMING HIKE—This  month, Allen Hu will lead a hike through Almaden Quicksilver Park on Sunday, October 9.  Click >> here <<Allen‘s write-up in this issue.

This hike is a great way to GET IN SHAPE for the upcoming snow season.

SEASONAL Decorations Give Away By Presidente Morgan

In the NSC supplies are various seasonal decorations which are unneeded.  These are located in Sunnyvale:

1. 200 New Years noise makers
2. Artificial Xmas tree
3. Xmas lights and ornaments
4. Artificial Xmas wreaths
5. Mardi Gras decorations
6. Autumn leaves decorations

If anyone wants them, please contact to pick any of these items up.  Any remaining items will be donated / free cycled.

SQUAW + ALPINE = LARGEST US SNOW RESORT

On September 27, Andy Wirth, president and CEO of Squaw Valley announced that Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows will be under joint ownership with the KSL Capital Partners, LLC, the owner of Squaw Valley to be the majority owner of the combined company.  Read more about this provocative development >> here <<

See y’all next month!

Karen Soo – Trip Director

It’s October and it started to rain in the bay area. I predict snow will start falling after Halloween. Before you know it, Thanksgiving will be here, Christmas and then New Years. Our weekend trip is just around the corner.

As you might have heard, Squaw Valley Resort and Alpine Meadows have joined forces. It just so happens Read the rest of this entry »

~by Charles Akers

Waterfalls, breathtaking views, beautiful roses, charming Arts & Crafts houses and a long concrete slide were some of the highlights of an NSC hike in Berkeley led by Hoyt Nelson.  For me, it was a nostalgic return to the lovely old neighborhood where I lived in the 1970’s. Read the rest of this entry »