Nisei Ski Club

MAY is membership renewal month!  Your NSC membership expires at the end of May.  Renew before the end of the end of the month and get a $5 discount for the 2013-14 membership year!  For you mathematically inclined, that’s a 16.66% discount – try to get that kind of return on your mutual fund!!!  Click here for the membership form: >>membership form<<

At this year’s tragic Boston Marathon, the following  humorous sighting was made at the athlete’s village at the starting town of Hopkington, adding a bit of levity for an otherwise unforgettably sad day.

On a happier note, we have Armand’s President’s Message and Membership Report which can be read here: >> President’s Message<< and >> Membership Report <<.

Lastly, Curtis Otiguro reports on the Pinnacles National Monument hike. We in the San Francisco Bay Area are blessed with the proximity of  National Parks, Yosemite and the newest, Pinnacles, within easy driving distance.  Read Curtis’ “Lure of the Pinnacles” and enjoy some armchair travelling!

REMEMBER – RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP!!!  Invite your family, friends & enemies to join!!! The more the merrier!

Ischgl, Österreich

~Armand Gutierrez ~

Sad to say, but, I’ve finally acknowledged that the ski season has ended. It wasn’t  the best of seasons with Mother Nature giving us great hope in November and December and then leaving us high and dry from January to April.  Still, it was a better season than last year and this was one of those seasons that I didn’t have to use 4WD up at Tahoe, which means either I missed the snowfall weekends or it just didn’t snow that much. Fortunately, there was plenty of snow on my Innsbruck trip. Three days at Innsbruck, one day at St. Anton, and one day at Ischgl provided some excellent skiing. A return trip to Ischgl is in the cards because I was amazed at how big this place is. Think three or four Vails put together and you have what Ischgl has to offer.

This is also the end of our 2012-2013 season and it’s time to bring in the 2013-2014 NSC season. Last month we had our nominations and this month it’s time for elections. Based on the nominations it looks like there won’t be much of a change on the board, but we’ll still have the election ballot go out to everyone so you can due your duty of voting. Lucky winners will be announced at the June NSC Post-Season Picnic.

We’re currently finalizing plans for the June NSC Post-Season Picnic at Las Palmas Park (Sunnyvale) on June 22^nd. As mentioned last month, this will be a potluck lunch where you provide your favorite dish and the Board will provide the beverages (beer, soda, and water). Details will be in the June Newsletter.

Interested in volunteering for a worthwhile event? Well, the annual Mt. View Obon festival is scheduled for 20-21 July and they could use a helping hand, especially for the ever-popular beer booth. If interested then contact either Karen Soo ( "> ) or me ( "> ) for details.

 Membership Activity
~ Armand Gutierrez ~

We’re ending our 2012-2013 season with a total membership of 58 members and I’m hopeful that the upcoming season will see an increase in membership. The 2013-2014 season starts in June but if you send in your completed membership form during the month of May the early membership fee is only $25 instead of $30. This last season our membership was sufficient to plan and have one weekend ski trip (we did have three planned but two had to be cancelled), and the ski week had 28 lucky skiers at Steamboat. So now is the time to for you to recruit some friends and if we can get 75+ members then we can start planning on a possible 2^nd weekend ski trip.

Byline – C. Otaguro

Having three of the most popular American parks, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, and Sequoia / Kings Canyon in California, it’s easy to overlook the newest national park, Pinnacles.  Luck for us, this gem can be found right in our back yard in the Gabilan Mountains just east of the Salinas Valley.  This enticed 16 NSCers and guests to make the 1.5 hour trek on March 30^th to visit Pinnacles, America’s 59^th national park.

The threat of rain showers almost cancelled our trip, but our worries were unfounded as we headed out under light overcast skies.  Hoyt drove us (Morgan, Greg, Tony, Karen, and me) from his home heading south of San Jose then through Hollister.  As we neared the park, Hoyt suggested that we first meet at the east entrance instead of the original meeting place, Bear Gulch Visitor Center, just in case the parking lots were full since it was the Easter weekend.  Entering the east entrance, Hoyt’s foresight came true as we saw a long line of visitors  waiting for the shuttle bus after parking in the overflow lots.  David Tom soon drove up with Bev, Jenni, and Michelle.   We didn’t see David and Amy there, but assumed they were already waiting at the Bear Gulch Visitor Center since they left before us.  After parking, we deliberated whether it would be faster to walk or take the shuttle 2 miles to the start of the trailhead.  Taking into account that there were 2 shuttle buses carrying approximately 20 – 25 people, the number of people waiting in line, and a pick up time of around 15 minutes, we decided the best choice would be to wait for the shuttle.

After a short wait, we boarded a shuttle bus and rode to Bear Gulch Visitor Center where we spotted David and Amy.  Luckily, they managed to get one of the few remaining spots at a lot closer to the center.  The original plan for the day was to hike the High Peaks trail counterclockwise then hike to the Bear Gulch Caves, time permitting.  However, since the majority of the group desired to see the caves, we opted on a clockwise route, planning to double back from the High Peaks trail if we ran out of time.  We also decided on a lunch stop at the Bear Gulch Reservoir, next to the caves as it was already past noon.

We started hiking on the Bear Gulch Caves trail which climbed steadily, running parallel to a road along a narrow canyon.  Trees provided shade as we hiked toward the caves.  We walked alongside a small stream as we entered the talus caves – tunnel-like caverns created when massive boulder toppled into the narrow ravines.  I pulled out my headlamp to explore the darker spurs, hoping to catch a glimpse of bats which colonize these caves.

We climbed upwards, passing water spilling over boulders, a small pool, and saw shafts of sunlight slipping past huge boulders overhead.  Marked arrows led us deeper into the caves, where we were forced to squeeze through some tight sections.  A four-story climb up stairs cut from the side of a rock wall led us out from the caves to a reservoir which opened up towards the western side of the park.   Eventually everyone from our group left the caves and joined the throng of hikers who had stopped for the view.

I found a spot near the reservoir and unpacked the bentos that I was carrying for Karen and myself.  The homemade bento consisting of chicken, musubi, and Spam musubi was very satisfying!  A ranger came by and played an Indian song on a flute and then proceeded to give a history of the Pinnacles.e throng of hikers who had stopped for the view.

The Pinnacles volcano came into existence an estimated twenty-two to twenty-three million years ago.  It slowly grew over time to nearly the size of Mount Saint Helens.  However, the  steady movement of seismic plates of the San Andreas Fault slowly destroyed the volcano over time leaving one-third of it in Southern California and moving  the other two-thirds of it in Southern California and moving the other two-thirds to the current park location.  The volcano slowly sunk and eroded over time by wind, rain, and ice, forming ravines and monoliths and colonnades alongside massive walls and lonely pillars.  Boulders fell from lofty recesses to top narrow stream channels forming the talus caves.

We estimated that we had enough daylight to finish our planned route, so we continued on the High Peaks Trail after lunch.  The trail wound around some pinnacles then headed northwest.  A few miles later, we reached the base of the High Peaks where we encountered a series of switchbacks.  Jenni identified the patches of Manzanita with its characteristic red bark and stiff, twisting branches that we saw alongside the trail.  We were rewarded near the top with a view of condors leisurely riding the thermal updrafts.  At the top, we enjoyed the views as we waited for the rest of our group.  David and I scrambled up some rocks to a higher vantage point and were rewarding with a fantastic view of the park.  Everyone showed up except for Hoyt and his neighbor friends.  We conjectured that they may have decided to double back on the trail, returning to the trailhead, so we decided to hike on.o the current park location.  The volcano slowly sunk and eroded over time by wind, rain, and ice, forming ravines and monoliths and colonnades alongside massive walls and lonely pillars.  Boulders fell from lofty recesses to top narrow stream channels forming the talus caves.

The trail continued along the ridge of the High Peaks.  We climbed up and down some narrow or steep sections with cable railings.  As the trail headed east, we enjoyed stunning views of the Balcony cliffs.  Wildflowers such as Indian paintbrush, Parry’s larkspur, and Peak rush-rose dotted the trail.  The light started slowly fading as we headed down switchbacks towards the end of the trail.  Fortunately, we reached the Bear Creek Gulch Visitor Center before the shuttle service ended for the day, so David Tom was able to shuttle down to the outer parking lot returning to pick up Bev, Karen, Jenni and Michelle.  A stranger offered the rest of us a ride so Greg, Morgan, and I rode down with him to the park entrance.  David and Amy hiked to the nearby lot, picked up their car, then drove back and waited at the trailhead for Hoyt and his friends.

Once we got to the park entrance, we only found Hoyt’s van there – his friends van was nowhere to be seen.  We started worrying since Hoyt could now be hiking by himself.  Much to our relief, David and Amy saw Hoyt hike out and returned with him back to the park entrance.  We found out from Hoyt that his friends had doubled back to the trailhead, but he had hiked on, completing the difficult loop back on the High Peaks trail – what a trouper!

Jenni suggested having dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Hollister, so we drove there after Hoyt returned.  Recounting our day’s adventures over a delicious dinner of tamales and tacos was a nice end to a tiring, but enjoyable day.  Thank you Hoyt for planning another memorable hike!

No April Fool’s here!  Our Schizophrenic weather is still bringing us occasional snow showers in the Sierras!!!

The Double Trouble Sisters!

As Armand describes in his monthly President’s Message (>> Armand’s Link <<) spring skiing is really great. Are you wondering where our president will be taking us for next year’s week long snow trip???  Welllll, read Armand’s message and find out!!!  Hint: B.C., and that’s not Before Christ!

Pinnacles Panorama

The Pinnacles National Monument is the newest member of our National Park system, having been awarded “national monument” status when  President Obama  signed the legislation in January of this year.  A hearty group of hikers, led by Hoyt Nelson, ambulated through this natural wonder on March 30.  See their pictures here >> Pinnacles Hike <<.

 

And finally, your editor made his quasi-annual Alpes ski trip.  This time, j’étais à Serre Chevalier – I was in Serre Chevalier where I had a blast!  The weather was cold but sunny.  Luckily, it wasn’t any colder than Steamboat!  If I had been able to go to Steamboat AND Serre Chevalier, I would have done so.  Fortunately, like those at Steamboat, hours and several feet of fresh light snow fell on my second day there, so, lots of deep untracked snow was to be found for the rest of the week, particularly hors-piste!! It wasn’t the Champagne powder the lucky Steamboaters experienced, but it very good, nonetheless.

A short spiel about my trip can be found here >>Serre Chevalier<<.

~ Armand Gutierrez ~

Well, it’s that time of year again. This is the time of year when spring has officially begun and thoughts of skiing are giving way to golfing, mountain biking, hiking, and other activities. Of course, there is still snow up at Tahoe and spring skiing can be enjoyable. There’s nothing like cruisin’ down the slopes without all the bulky clothing, basking in the warm sunshine, and just enjoying what Mother Nature provides. Can you tell? My season isn’t over just yet.

It’s also time for our time-honored traditional democratic process to take place. That’s right. It’s time for NSC Board nominations and elections. This month you will receive notice to provide nominations for the Board. If there’s anybody you feel would be a good representative as a Board member then by all means, nominate that person. After nominations are received in April , the Board will confirm that those nominees will accept the nominations and be placed on the election ballot for May. Then, you will have the opportunity to vote on all the nominees, and the lucky winners will be announced at the June NSC Picnic. Volunteers are also greatly appreciated.

Did I say NSC Picnic? That’s right, folks. Mark your calendar for June 22^nd for our Post-Season Picnic event. This will be a potluck lunch where you provide your favorite dish and the Board will provide the beverages (beer, soda, water). We’ll also say goodbye to the old Board members and welcome the new Board members (that is, if there are any changes).  The picnic will once again be at Las Palmas Park in Sunnyvale – details to come…

On the heels of Morgan’s most excellent ski week trip to Steamboat, it will be difficult to arrange (as ex officio) next year’s ski trip with the champagne powder that you experienced (I’m still jealous). However, if you remember the snow ghosts of Big White and the excellent snow conditions, then get your passports in order for next year’s ski week at Sun Peaks Resort, BC.  In their words: “If you haven’t been here, You Have No Idea What You’re Missing”.

Sun Peaks, British Columbia

~Karen Soo, Trip Director ~

It’s upsetting to see our ski club dwindling down with such low membership. Three weekend trips were planned back in September of 2012 and everyone had plenty of notice of when we were going on our trips in 2013.

Doug W from MSSC and Tony M from NSC

We had 13 sign-ups for Trip 1.The first trip of the season had to be cancelled due to low sign-ups. We needed 30 people to make a weekend trip happen, thirty to break even. Prior to Trip 2’s departure, we had 15 signups. Emails were sent and phone calls were made. With Monterey Ski and Social Club’s gang of 11 sign-ups, we finally had 37 people for Trip 2.

Now I was left with another problem – We needed a bigger bus. The 36 passenger bus was too small. I made a few phone calls to Bonjour Transportation and we were able to get a 57 passenger bus. It cost everyone an additional $7.00 but it was worth it for the leg space and comfort.

With Amy Tsuhako as my co-trip leader, we left the bay area around 8:00pm due to an accident delay on 880 North. As usual, dinner was served on the bus. What was on the menu? Thai chicken green curry over rice with mango pudding as the dessert was served. We plugged in a DVD into the player,Flight with Denzel Washington, and we were on our way. Before you know it, we arrived at the Sands Hotel in Reno around 12:00am.

The Crew from Monterey

When we arrived at the Sands, everyone got their $5.00 casino voucher, the keys to their rooms, a quick introduction to their roommates and everyone scurried off to bed.

On Saturday morning, we departed at 7:30 am for Alpine Ski Resort. Amy and I collected the money for the group rate lift tickets on the bus and called to order the lift tickets. By the time we arrived at the parking lot, the Alpine sales coordinator came over and handed me the lift tickets. The tickets were distributed and we were on our way.

The skiing at Alpine Meadows was great. Sunny skies and plenty of snow. Most people skied the entire day and got back to the bus by 3:30pm. We had our après ski at the bus with drinks and plenty of snacks donated by the people who came on the trip. ~”Thank you” to those who brought home made goodies.

By the time we got back to the Sands, it was 6:00pm. We had an hour to get ready for 7:00 dinner. Where did we go for dinner? A group went out to the Vietnamese restaurant across the street from the hotel, Seafood Buffet at the El Dorado and Hash house A Go Go at Harrah’s.

Snow at Northstar

On Sunday morning, we went to Northstar Ski Resort. Thanks to Sidney Mar, I was able to secure 18 – $50.00 lift tickets from the Tahoe SAFE Alliance. (A local Tahoe charity) Those who signed up early on the trip were able to get this limited deal. Those who signed up late for the trip had to get their own lift tickets. This is not the usual case; the cost of these tickets was lower than the $70.00 group rate, a price we could not refuse.

The weather for Northstar was wet with a light drizzle at the parking lot. When we got to the summit, there was 6 inches of fresh snow and fresh tracks made.  It was fantastic plus it was still snowing on top.

Some people who opted out from skiing that Sunday morning went back to the bus, changed to their ski gear and came out again.

Après Ski at 3:30

It turned out to be a great day. Dennis Heffley from BAC came out to meet us. He brought his famous cookies filled with whole almonds, chocolate chips and apricots.

Dennis – Can I get the recipe? Or is this a secret family recipe?

Again, we had après ski at the end of the day. For dinner, we tried something different.I know that the tour leaders were supposed to provide dinner but you know what? Amy and I did not have time to do this. We decided to order out at Ikeda’s in Auburn. Tom Lee helped out with everyone’s order and call in the order at Ikeda’s.

Walking Billboard for
Marmot

We had 4 people, charging 4 groups of receipts. The food was bagged and the names and amount was put on every bag. The only problem that we ran into was that 2 bags were switched on their orders. All was cleared and everyone had a hot meal going home.

It was smooth sailing going home.  Grady, our great bus driver, worked wonders in getting us home on time.

An extra thank you to Greg Robinson – President of the Monterey Ski and Social Club for getting their 11 members onto our weekend trip. We had had a blast, plus it was a great way to get the 2 clubs together. We hope to continue this collaboration in 2014.

Uhh.. What happened to Trip 3? You have to wait and see.

~Ksenia Dyachkova & Bowen Gu ~

Ksenia and I are new to the Monterey area. We are here on a study program, working on our master thesis in Environmental studies. While we are staying here for only 3 months, we wanted to go to see Lake Tahoe.  It was a last minute decision to join the Nisei Ski Club and Monterey Ski and Social Club on their weekend ski trip.  We did not know what to expect from this trip. All we know was that a quick decision was made and there were more surprises during the trip itself. They are not ranked by their surprise level though.

During our limited stay in Monterey, Ksenia wanted to go to the mountains of California, but she had no idea, how to get there. The weekend trip with Nisei Ski Club was full of surprises both me and Ksenia.

Surprise 1: As students at the Monterey Institute of International Studies located in Monterey. Most of our time is spent on research on the computer. Ksenia was surfing the net and found information about a weekend bus trip sponsored by Nisei Ski Club (http://www.niseiskiclub.org/) on the Monterey-Ski an Social Club (http://www.montereyski.org/ ) website. She started to see if it was possible to join them on their upcoming weekend trip. Upon reading the trip description on the website, the bus departs from San Jose and she already lost hope that she could not make it. After sending a few emails to the trip director Karen Soo, Karen was kind enough able to help with the transportation   She was able to coordinate our rides to San Jose with members of the Monterey Ski and Social Club and we were able to get to San Jose for the start of our adventure. Thank you to Monterey members, Ted Hill and Bill Robinson for driving us is there.

Surprise 2: The trip was sooooooo well organized and all the club members are so friendly. As soon as we boarded the bus at San Jose, the two of us felt we were part of a big happy family. Once the bus departed, we knew that it was not an ordinary ski trip, but a trip filled with laughter, friendship, warmth and FUN. We truly appreciated the efforts of the trip leaders Karen Soo and Amy Tsuhako for their organization and the friendliness from its club members.

Surprise 3:  The accommodations at the Sands in Reno were more than sufficient.  Comfortable bedroom with 2 queen-size beds, hot shower, TV and Wi-Fi.  We were staying on the 12th floor and it was a bit noisy from the casino and club on the main floor. When we arrived, everyone was given a free Gambling card. With an initial deposit, we made $3.00 on the slot machines Yahoo!!

Surprise 4:  As an experienced snowboarder, Ksenia decided to take some skiing lessons at Alpine Meadows. With the experience she had from snowboarding, Ksenia was able to move up 3+ times in a day from level one. By the end of the day, she was skiing comfortably on the challenging runs.  Discounts for the all-day long classes were such a bargain; she had no hesitation to take a lesson!

Surprise 5: On Sunday, it was raining on the base and I decided to try my first attempt at SNOW SHOEING. The peacefulness of walking in the deep snow in the forest at Northstar was definitely different than the extreme excitement of skiing at Alpine Meadows on Saturday.

Surprise 6:  A little rain on Sunday scare a few members and many took the day off. Skiing at Northstar turned out to be absolutely the best.  Fresh tracks, moguls and fresh snow in between the trees. It was not raining on top and Northstar had 6 inches snow on the top summit. We also got our pictures taken by the Epic Mix Camera crew, provided by resort. The pictures were easily shared on Facebook for free!

Surprise 7: FOOD – While skiing and snowboarding is the most exciting and expected part of the trip, the dinner, breakfast and snacks were also impressive.  Even a vegetarian option was available on the bus. We had dinner with a few of the Nisei Ski members at the Hash House a Go Go at the Harrah’s (http://www.harrahsreno.com/restaurants/hash-house-a-go-go.html)

To our surprise to the both of us, the multicolored lemonade and the huge portions were more than enough to eat for the 2 of us after a full day of burning calories on the slopes.

To sum up in a simple way, it is a truly, truly FUN and memorable trip for two international students almost new to the US and totally new to the Nisei Ski Club.

A great big THANK YOU to all the members of Nisei Ski Club and Monterey Ski and Social Club for making our trip a memorable one.

If you were so unfortunate to have missed the Pinnacles National Monument hike on March 30th, here is a pictorial essay to soothe your sorrows.