~ Morgan Hua ~

For the Sun Valley trip, I currently have 21 signups.  4 SFO seats out of 10 are already taken.

If you want to book your own air, you can take the Land Only package for $890.  We have paid for a charter bus to take all of us from BOI to Sun Valley.  Your Land Only package includes this bus.  If your flight misses this bus, then you are responsible for your own transportation from the airport to Sun Valley.

Our last group flight arrives at BOI on Jan 21, 2012, 1:36pm.  Our first departing flight from BOI is on Jan 28, 2012, 12:35pm.  If you purchase a LAND ONLY package and you want to catch NSC’s chartered bus, you must arrive at BOI no later than the last club booked flight which is scheduled to arrive at 1:36 pm on Jan. 21, 2012.

If you are booking your own flight, you may want to fly directly into SUN instead of BOI.

If you change your mind about airfare, contact me before November that is when I must release our unused airfare seats.

From Armand’s Desk, Armand Gutierrez

Membership Activity

The NSC continues grow on pace with last year. At the end of July we have 55 members, which compares with 53 members at the end of July 2010. As we get closer to ski season (yes, it will be here before you know it), there should be an increase in membership, especially around the October time frame when everyone starts getting excited about skiing and the weekend ski trips. Also please welcome the following new members: Mary Jang, Carolynn Honey, and Rick Dumlao

Chamonix Ski Week

When I first read about FWSA planning a ski week in Chamonix, France, it became apparent that this was a trip in my destiny. Why? For starters, I’ve been yearning to return to the Alps (Swiss, Austrian, or French) to explore the many ski resorts that Europe has to offer. I say “return” because I had the enviable position of living in Germany for two winter seasons. And yes, during those two seasons a weekend trip to Switzerland or Austria happened about twice a month. My only trip to France was to Tignes/Val d’Isere (a one week trip), and to Corvatsch, Italy on a weekend trip. And now I get to add Chamonix to the list.

Although the trip is in March there should still be good ski conditions. But I’m not only going for the skiing. There’s the Aiguille du Midi, which is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. If you’re afraid of heights then this is not the place for you.

I’m looking forward to the international flavor of European ski resorts. And I’m not talking about the food, although that is certainly another consideration. The international flavor of hearing people speaking so many different languages is a delight to the senses.

If you’ve never been to Europe for a week of skiing, then this is a golden opportunity. Yes, it is more expensive than the NSC ski week trips, but then what price can you put on a trip to Europe if you’ve never been there? So far, my fellow skier, Curtis Otaguro, will be joining me on this trip. If you’re interested or have any questions, then you know whom to call.

Byline: Karen “Gilligan” Soo

Seven NCS members and guests ventured out to San Francisco Bay on July 23 for a day of salmon fishing.  With 2 doses of Dramamine in my system and my motion sickness band on my wrist, I was ready to go. Most of us got up as early as 4:00am to meet at 5:00am at the Emeryville Marina where Tom Ryugo and I met our fellow castaways.

Everyone checked in, handed over $5.00 for the “Biggest Catch” cash pot, and we were on our way.

Read the rest of this entry »

DJ’s Boardshop (www.djsboardshop.com) is giving NSC members a 10% discount and a swag bag if you make a purchase. They specialize in selling last year’s gear. If you make a purchase, send them an email mentioning NSC and they will throw in a free swag bag. The discount code for NSC is: NISC10

Check it out at: www.djsboardshop.com

By Dan “Don’t Tread on Me” Lew

Greetings from your newbie newsletter editor.

Assistant Editor

For this July 2011 newsletter, I employed the assistance my little friend, Amelia, who is shown here napping after long exhausting hours of correcting my grammar and typos!

We find ourselves already in July, with half of the year already put to bed.  July marks the anniversary of the birth of our nation.  Amelia and I wish you all a great Independence Day!

What’s Up Doc? Well, our esteemed president, Morgan Hua has put together a trip to Sun Valley, Idaho for an incredibly low $1200 plus the inexorable baggage fees (Jan 21-28, 2012).  See the Sun Valley article for details and the signup form.  It’s been quite a while since the club has been to Sun Valley and I for one, had a memorable trip the last time NSC was there.

Voulez-vous skier avec moi, ce soir? Fancy some skiing français? See the article on Far West Ski Association’s trip to the home of mountaineering, Chamonix, France (9-17 Mars 2012).  Life is short, go on both the Sun Valley and Chamonix-Mont-Blanc trips!

Salmoninae Oncorhynchus, anyone? Like angling or just enjoy Pacific Ocean views, (like Dramamine)?  For your very own Hemingwayesque experience, sign up for Grand Slam VIII Fishing Charter – (the sequel!)  which will take place on July 23.  Sign up NOW!  See info and application in this newsletter.

Skiing in JULY? For those who just can’t get enough skiing, Squaw Valley and Mammoth Mountain will have skiing through the 4th of July.  Sugar Bowl does too, but for season’s pass holders only

CHANGES -With this newsletter, the printed edition will be the last one for the 2011-12 membership year with a membership application form.  The reasons are multiple: 1) less printing, saves resources in paper & ink – think of the poor polar bears; 2) is lighter, potentially lower postage costs and 3) it is always available on the web.  Commencing with the August newsletter, only the web address for the membership application form will be provided.

The only reason for a hardcopy option is that a handful of dedicated members do not have regular web access and need signup forms mailed to them. There I$ a fee for this service.

Lastly, this club is run by volunteers.  Any help will be graciously accepted.  Help keep your club fun & vibrant.  Help at an event or sponsor an event.  Heck, help me! Contribute an article, an interesting story, training tips, recipes, a good joke or pictures!

For the Sun Valley trip, I have 10 signups in hand already.  4 SFO seats out of 10 are already taken.  If you want to book your own air, you can take the Land Only package for $890.  We have paid for a charter bus to take all of us from BOI to Sun Valley.  Your Land Only package includes this bus.  If your flight misses this bus, then you are responsible for your own transportation from the airport to Sun Valley.  Our last flight arrives at BOI on Jan 21, 2012, 1:36pm.  Our first departing flight from BOI is on Jan 28, 2012, 12:35pm.  If you change your mind about airfare, contact me before September, that is when I must release our airfare seats and any cancellations or changes will cost you money.

For those who wanted airfare, I will contact you separately about your legal name for the airline tickets.

You must be a NSC member to go on the Sun Valley trip.  Armand, our membership chair, prefers that you send a separate membership form and check to him, but for your convenience, I will take the membership form and fee when you send in your first payment.

We will be at Sun Valley during Theme Week.  I don’t have details yet, but there are supposed to be free parties and events at that time.

That’s all for now.

Good news.  Dan Lew has volunteered to be the Newsletter Editor.  Dan, Thank You.

Frank Chang returns as Treasurer for a 3rd term.  NSC has term limits, but since no one was elected Treasurer this year, Frank graciously agreed to stay on as Treasurer for another term.

I’d like to thank members of last year’s board:  Alice Horio, Charles Akers, David Jensen, Frank Chang, Hoyt Nelson, Armand Gutierez, Joel Hayashida, Allen Hu, Brian Hess, Karen Soo, David Tom, and Greg Wong.  NSC is an all volunteer organization and without the hard work of these people and others, we wouldn’t exist.  All of  these people have been on the board for many years, even decades.   Thank you, thank you,  thank you.

The board for 2011-2012 is smaller than previous years, but our membership is smaller too.  Last year we had 117 members.  Decades ago, we had peaked at 450 members.

This year, we don’t have a newsletter editor.  I will continue to post articles and pictures, and events on the website as this will be our way of communicating with the membership.    The only reason we offer a hardcopy option is that a small number of dedicated members do not have regular web access and need signup forms mailed to them via the US mail.  For a fee, I will just periodically print out the website articles and signup forms and mail it to them.  The PDF version of the newsletter will cease to exist.

Karen Soo has a tentative schedule for the next season, it includes 2 weekend bus trips and 1 long weekend  trip to Mammoth.  I have the weeklong trip scheduled already to Sun Valley for Jan 21-28, 2012. The price is $1200.  At the end of this month, there will be Post-Season/Thank You BBQ Lunch at my house.

If I don’t see you at the Post-Season Event, I’ll see you at the slopes or at a different event.

Morgan

John and Amy

The Nisei Ski Club put together yet another fabulous and well-organized weekend.  Great friends, terrific food, lots of laughs, combined with great snow and truly perfect ski weather.  40 folks joined us on this trip up to Squaw Valley on Saturday and Northstar on Sunday.  Three MSSC members participated, Elaine Giampietro, Maria Palazzolo (new MSSC Member) and Amy Williams, along with a new friend John McDonald from Capitola.

Gratefully, good weather was on our side, thus arriving at The Sands, Reno around midnight.  So much saner than the 4:30 AM arrival on Trip #3.  Once again, our intrepid bus driver, Grady, got us there safely and swiftly.  A variety of videos on board, trivia games and conversation seem to hasten the ride.  Talk about organization.  Terrific food evidently made with love and the best ingredients provided substance.  Plenty of liquid refreshments also helped!

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day.  Many of us went up to Squaw Valley for skiing and snowboarding, a few remained in Reno for retail therapy and pampering.  Elaine’s long time friend from Cape Cod hooked up both Saturday and Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »

This was the NSC Potluck weekend.  Unlike the previous trip two weeks earlier, the roads were clear, so the trip went quickly.  The back of the bus is where the party was happening. As usual, that’s where most of the members of the Monterey Ski and Social Club sat – coincidence? – You decide.  Grady was our driver again and he did an excellent job of getting us to our various destinations, quickly and most importantly safely.

After eating dinner on the bus, we were able to watch a movie on board. On the previous trip, the video player wasn’t working.  Also working this time was the light in the bus lavatory, which made using the facilities much easier.  After arriving at the Sands in Reno about 12:15 am, most people went straight to bed.

The next morning, the bus left at a bright and way too early time of 7:45am.  After breakfast was served on the bus and money for lift tickets was collected, we arrived at Squaw Valley at about 8:30am. We were soon on the slopes.

After a full day of skiing and an après ski spread back at the bus, we headed back to Reno.  After showering and getting changed, it was time for the NSC potluck dinner. The event was held in a couple of NSC members hotel rooms.  There were variety types of food and everyone ate their fill. There were plenty of leftovers for a couple of days of lunch! Read the rest of this entry »