Nisei Ski Club

Armand Gutierrez, NSC President

Although summer is here and once again I’ve been receiving notices from Mammoth Mountain to lock in on low season pass rates for the upcoming season. Mammoth seems to be the only early bird on season pass notifications, but I’m sure that the Tahoe resorts will soon be sending out their notices.

Last year at this time there was quite a bit of talk about El Niño and a wet winter. So far I haven’t heard anything about an El Niño, but there has been some talk about La Niña. Now, La Niña can have an opposite effect on the weather so it’s very possible this will not be a wet season like last year. It’s still too early to predict so we’ll have to wait and see what our winter season will have in store for us.

Last year we had an August Pizza Social at the Garret that was well attended. I completely forgot about discussing it at our July board meeting so I’m going to have a September Pizza Social at the Garret in Campbell. Date and details will be in the September newsletter.

Mt. View Obon Festival – July 16th and 17th

The Mt. View Obon Festival was quite exciting this year and I would like to thank the following volunteers: Bill Lee, Trisha Le, David Miura, David Uyeda, Frank Chang, Brian Hess, Curtis Otaguro, Alex Kami, David Ng. and Alice and Dick Horio. Once again NSC has stepped up to the plate and volunteered for this event. I was there on Sunday with Jeannie and her two grand-nephews (ages 9 and 11) and the boys had a great time playing the carnival games. The only rule was that they were not allowed to play any games that involved goldfish in the bowls, and they did bring home lots of toys.

Snowmass Ski Week 2017

The Snow mass trip is about half full (21 signups) so if you haven’t signed up yet then now is the time to do so. If you’re interested in signing up, here is the link to weeklong trip flyer.The Mountain Collective Season Pass (https://mountaincollective.com) is closed for the summer and will reopen in the fall so check the website often. The MC season pass will be good for two days skiing at Aspen Snowmass, plus a third resort of your choice. The Mountain Collective is also good for Mammoth, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.

Sandy Kiyomura

Summer is quickly coming to an end and our thoughts are turning to the ski season. I just saw the race schedule for next year. For those of you who race or ski, tuning your skis is a must if you want them to keep them in good condition. This is your $700-$1000 investment and some of you have many pairs of skis. Did you know that you can get a $200 service card at Granite Chief for $100? There is a limited number available so it’s good to get one soon. It is good for mounting and adjusting bindings and tuning and repairing your skis. You can also share the card with friends. Here is the link for the Granite Chief service card.

Armand Gutierrez, NSC President

Summer has officially arrived and we can now expect warm-to-hot temperatures for the next three months. Our wet winter is behind us and drought conditions are not as much as a concern as last year. However, one year of above-average rains is not going to alleviate the drought problem. Yes, El Niño brought us a good rainy season, but now La Niña is expected to impact our weather system and that could bring us another dry winter season.

Mt. View Obon Festival – July 16th and 17th

This is an annual volunteer event that NSC participates in and is always a fun event. After all, there’s a variety of food, carnival-style games, cultural events, lots of people, lots of food, and the famous Beer Booth. There’s room for a few more volunteers to work the Beer Booth and the new Chicken Teriyaki so look for information in the newsletter or contact Karen Soo tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org.

NSC Annual Membership Meeting and Luau Picnic, June 11th

Once again we had a great turnout for our annual membership meeting and Luau picnic, and the weather was most cooperative. And once again I didn’t win the Left-Center-Right game that Karen sponsored. Congratulations to Rick Dumlao for being the big winner. Even if he had lost, it would have been to his wife Patt because they were the only two left. Thanks to everyone that showed up and had a great time.

Snowmass Ski Week 2017

Applications have been coming in for the Snowmass ski week so if you haven’t signed up yet then what are you waiting for? There are quite a few from Hawaii coming on this trip and I expect it to fill up quickly. Link to the flyer: Snowmass 2017 week trip.

It’s not too late to consider getting the Mountain Collective Season Pass https://mountaincollective.com, which will be good for two days skiing at Aspen Snowmass, plus a third resort of your choice. The Mountain Collective is also good for Mammoth, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.

The Mountain View Obon Festival is July 16 and 17. NSC provides volunteers for beer booth at the Mountain View Obon Festival every year. We need 2 more volunteers for the Sunday noon-3pm shift. If you’re interested in signing up for this slot, please email Karen Soo.

If you want to volunteer for other activities, you can sign-up on the Mountain View Obon volunteer site. Here are links to the various activities that need support:

Pre-bazaar activities (during the week preceding the 16th and 17th)

• preconstruction staging and booth assembly
• manju making
• chicken, vegetable, and beef preparation

Bazaar weekend (July 16th & 17th)

• tempura booth
• udon concession in dining hall
• take out booth
• chicken teriyaki booth

Post-bazaar clean-up (during week following obon and bazaar

• post bazaar deconstruction

The Obon is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors. The festival has been celebrated at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple’s current location since the temple was completed in 1957. The Obon is the Mountain View Buddhist Temple’s biggest event of the year.

Link to Obon information: Mountain View Obon 2016

Rick Dumlao

We had the annual Nisei Ski Club picnic at Las Palmas Park in Sunnyvale. Thanks to the Board members and organizers for picking a perfect warm sunny day. As usual I arrived late for the event. Hawaiian fashions was the theme to wear. I got some flack for not wearing a Hawaiian shirt but the bantering was all in good fun. There was lots of good food to be had on the tables. People brought tasty dishes like couscous salad, grilled asparagus, veggies, and fruit salads. I can’t forget desserts like lemon poppy seed cake, mango cake, fruit cake, banana bread, and on and on. Curtis’ master chef skills at the BBQ rewarded us with great ribs and hot dogs. We had about 33 people which included a few new faces. Everyone enjoying each other catching up in conversations with the upcoming Snowmass trip, a big topic.

The usual highlight of the picnic is the “Left-Right-Center” game, played with 3 lively dice and a few $$$. You never know which way the ebb and flow of money will go. At the end with only two out of twenty one players are left, Patt had 3 dollars in her hand and I had a measly $1 bill — barely surviving. Surely she would out last me. She throws the dice into the pan and everyone peers in to see how it landed. Wh-a-a-a-t . . . no . . . couldn’t be . . . 3 C’s are showing in the pan with a pile of dollar bills! She throws her bills into the pan and I throw my fists into the air with a victorious smile, yes!

The Nisei Ski Club again shows its great sense of community and camaraderie as a club having events like this. Looking forward to other events.

Armand Gutierrez, NSC President
June has arrived and that signifies the start of the 2016-2017 NSC season. Since there were no new nominations and all board members agreed to serve once again, then this season will be a continuation of last season. Thanks to all of you that took the time to vote.

Election Results
The 2016-2017 election results are as follows:

• President – Armand Gutierrez
• Vice President – Hoyt Nelson
• Treasurer – Frank Chang
• Trip Director – Karen Soo
• Membership – Greg Wong
• Newsletter Editor – Judy Hom
• Board Member – Brian Hess
• Board Member – Allen Hu
• Board Member – Sandy Kiyomura
• Board Member – Curtis Otaguro
• Board Member – Dave Schultz

Upcoming Events

The Mt. View Obon Festival is on July 16th and 17th. This is an annual volunteer event that NSC participates in and is always a fun event. After all, there’s a variety of food, carnival-style games, cultural events, lots of people, and the famous Beer Booth. There’s room for a few more volunteers to work the Beer Booth so look for the flyer in the newsletter or contact Karen Soo tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org).

NSC Annual Membership Meeting and Luau Picnic, June 11th
Mark this down in your calendar for the NSC Annual Picnic on June 11th at Las Palmas park in Sunnyvale (same place as last year). See the flyer in the newsletter and the Evite invitations have already been sent out. If you didn’t get an Evite in the mail then please let me know (president@niseiskiclub.org).

Snowmass Ski Week 2017

Plans are moving smoothly for the Snowmass ski week trip for 2017. Take a look at the flyer and make that all-important decision to be on this trip. You might also consider getting the Mountain Collective Season Pass (https://mountaincollective.com), which will be good for two days skiing at Aspen Snowmass, plus a third resort of your choice. The Mountain Collective is also good for Mammoth, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.

FWSA St. Anton am Arlberg Ski Week 2017

As a member of NSC you are eligible to participate in any of the FWSA/BAC ski trips. For 2017, FWSA is going to St. Anton am Arlberg, one of Austria’s most famous and extensive ski towns. The Arlberg area of ski resorts includes 94 cables cars and ski lifts, 210 miles of groomed pistes and 120 miles of deep snow runs.

Len Bridges and David Schultz

On May 1st, David Schultz led a happy band of twelve club members into the Pacific Heights region of San Francisco for Stairway Hike #4. This hike hadn’t been done by the club since July of 2010. Considering the beauty of this hike, it was long overdue. The weather was gorgeous and it was a very clear day.

Starting in the Marina district on Yacht Rd., we walked across the street to the Palace of Fine Arts, where the old Exploratorium used to be. The Palace of Fine Arts is always impressive. It’s like being thrown back into ancient Greece or Rome. Walking among the huge columns and rotundas, you might expect to see people wearing togas. Actually, there were some ladies in full white gowns, since the Palace is still very popular for weddings.

This photo gives you an idea of the scale of the buildings.

As we exited the park, we stopped for a group photo. Sunscreen anyone?

David had the maps and the path laid out by club member Hoyt Nelson. Of course one could conclude that David was only the titular leader, as knowledgeable ladies in the group took part in directing us in different directions. This was fine with Dave and the group was congenial, fun, and hung together as a team.

As we walked into Pacific Heights, the hike became challenging and even more fun. We traveled up some really steep steps, and plenty of steep streets as well. The hike was also educational. In the photo below, we walked past the home of Henry Casebolt, an inventor in the 1870’s who made it possible for one cable car track to cross another while maintaining control over the train car. He also invented a better grip and lever for operators to slow and accelerate the cable cars. As you can see, he obviously made a good living and built a fabulous house on Pierce Street.

We saw beautiful maintained neighborhoods, with staircases full of gardens, flowers, and expansive, exhilarating views of the marina and the bay.

We passed consulates of foreign governments as well as home of famous people. We started our descent back to the Palace of Fine Arts at the intersection of Lyon and Pacific streets. Here begins one of the most famous stairways in all of San Francisco – the Lyon Street stairs. Postcard views don’t come much better than this.

The stairways eventually drop down into a neighborhood of Italian Renaissance style homes before passing alongside the Presidio.

Before getting back to the Palace, Hoyt’s instructions had us turn left into the Presidio at Francisco Street. Within a short distance we reached the Letterman Digital Arts Center. This four-building complex, finished in 2005, is the headquarters of Lucasfilm and houses Industrial Light & Magic (the company responsible for so many movies’ special effects). In front of the complex is a pretty park with a pond, ducks, a Yoda statue, and plenty of large rocks for sitting on or hopping over. The pond was a nice spot for a nice break before the group split up.

Most people went home after leaving the Letterman Center, but five of us went to a restaurant called the Squat & Gobble that Maggie Chang recommended. We walked there via Chestnut Street, which actually has a lot of restaurants. The menu at the Squat has so many interesting items — it was difficult to choose. Len picked the fruit crepes with double scoops of ice cream (hey, it was a challenging hike and there was a need to replace calories, you know). Dave had a florentine omelet that was disguised as a salad. All in all, we had a fun time filling up on the fine food.

Armand Gutierrez, NSC President

It’s the month of May and that means it’s time to bring an end to the NSC 2015-2016 season. Like last year NSC had a pretty good season highlighted by a variety of accomplishments:

• Volunteer participation at the annual Obon Festival in Mountain View
• Volunteer participation at the annual Snowbomb Ski Shows
• Various hiking and picnic events
• Implementation of rideNSC, a ride sharing service for skiing
• An increase in membership
• First Annual Pizza Social
• A very well-attended ski week to Park City/Canyons

June marks the start of the NSC 2016-2017 season, and beginning this month you can take advantage of the $5 membership discount if you sign up and submit your membership form before May 31st. Please submit your applications to Greg Wong (Membership Chairman).

Since it’s the end of the ski season it’s time to start having our spring NSC events. Coming up we have our annual Post-Season Membership meeting and picnic on June 11th. Be sure to gander at the flyer in this month’s newsletter for details.

Nominations & Elections

The nominations process has been completed and the next step is elections. The elections chairman tells me there were no nominations therefore the slate consists of the incumbents, and we’re fortunate that everyone on the board has agreed to serve again. However, voting is important and although there were no nominations you can still vote for a write-in candidate. Whether you’re voting for the incumbents or a write-in candidate, it’s important that you do vote. You will be receiving an email informing you to vote online using SurveyMonkey.

Ski Week 2017

Plans are all ready in progress for our Snowmass ski week next year and details will be in the June newsletter. If you’re considering Snowmass for next year then you might also want to look into getting the Mountain Collective Season Pass, which will be good for two days skiing at Aspen Snowmass, plus a third resort of your choice. Snowmass date is January 28 – February 4.

Greg Wong, Membership Chairperson

This year’s ski season is coming to a close. El Niño has brought us a good year of skiing. The season started early and I took advantage of it in December with Nisei Ski Club. For those that do not know, Nisei Ski Club has a ride sharing program that was started this year. With the problems and cost of filling a bus, Nisei Ski Club has gone back to its roots. In the beginning, members would arrange trips by car pooling with other members. The club was founded by a group of hardcore skiers wanting to share in the experience. This year we will be trying more ski trips using this method. It allow some trips such as in December and late in the season when it is harder to get a full bus. It also allows last minute ski trips when the powder falls. There is one catch. You must be a member. So now is the time to renew those memberships and join again, or join if you are new. If you sign up before June 1, there is a $5 discount.

Link to membership form.

Our ski fashionista Karen Soo found this clever video that shows 100 years of ski fashion. The video was put together by the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum. Check it out.

Link to: video

The Monterey Ski and Social Club is planning a fishing trip to Loreto in Baja California.

Date: August 6-August 11
Price: $780 per person includes 5 nights at Hotel La Mision, 3 days of fishing, ground transfers and fishing licenses.
Contact: Rich Hughett 831-757-5709

For more information, see the fishing trip flyer

Armand Gutierrez, NSC President

April is upon us and that signals the upcoming end of our ski season. Thanks to El Niño the Tahoe resorts received an abundance of much-needed snow and provided us with a good ski season. Northstar and Heavenly are closing on April 17^th, and as expected Squaw Valley will remain open into May, and other resorts haven’t indicated when they will be closing. Hopefully you had a good ski season this year, whether it was at Tahoe or the Park City/Canyons ski week.

Nominations & Elections

Well, it’s that time again for holding our board nominations and elections for the 2016-2017 season. By now you’ve received an email for making your nominations for the board. As you know, volunteers run this club, and without them this club would cease to exist, and it’s been in existence for almost 60 years! You are encouraged to take this opportunity to nominate an individual for one, or more, of the board positions. All individuals that accept the nomination(s) will go through an election process in April, and final results in May. Ask any of the current board members and I’m sure they will tell you that by volunteering they get back more than they ever gave. By volunteering you will experience social benefits as well as provide a greater sense of self-worth, trust, and lots of fun. Many of you have served on the board in the past, and your efforts were greatly appreciated and perhaps you would like to join the board again. For those that have never served then perhaps now is the time to consider a board position and provide new ideas and useful experiences.

Ski Week 2017

Now that the Park City/Canyons trip is behind us it’s time to think about the NSC ski week for next year. It’s been quite awhile (2006) since we’ve been to Snowmass. I distinctly remember that trip because right after I somehow managed to get elected President. Yes, there were other memorable events, such as finding an anatomically correct snowman at the front door of our condo. And the food at the potluck was just amazing! If you’re considering Snowmass for next year then you might also want to look into getting the Mountain Collective Season Pass, which will be good for two days skiing at Aspen Snowmass, plus a third resort of your choice. Tentative date is January 28 – February 4.

Hi Fujii Tribute

As many of you know Hi Fujii, a founder of the Nisei Ski Club, passed away in August of last year. As a tribute the board decided to create a photo album of Hi’s involvement and participation in many of the NSC events. Hoyt Nelson, a longtime friend of Hi, spearheaded this effort and gathered as many photographs as he could, which took several months to collect. With the help of his wife Nancy, they created a photo album highlighting Hi’s NSC activities. On April 1^st, Hoyt and I visited Phyllis and presented her with the photo album as a tribute to her late husband. Needless to say, Phyllis was quite surprised and quite thankful for receiving such a tribute. I would like to thank Nancy and Hoyt Nelson for the many hours working and producing the photo album.

Armand Gutierrez, NSC President

Now is the time to pick up your season passes for the 2016-2017 season. There are three passes that you should consider: the Tahoe Local/Value Pass, the Squaw Tahoe Super Pass, and the Mountain Collective Pass.

The Tahoe Local Pass (Adult – $529) is a good deal if you plan on skiing at least five days at Northstar, Heavenly Valley, or Kirkwood. The Tahoe Value Pass (Adult – $449, Senior – $369) is an even better deal if you ski at least four days at Northstar, Heavenly, or Kirkwood. However, Saturday’s are excluded for Northstar and Kirkwood. The Tahoe Value Pass also offers a Senior pass (65+) that is the best overall deal for those that qualify. Purchase by April 10 and you also get six Buddy Passes. For details go to this website: Tahoe Local Pass.

The Tahoe Super Pass offers three levels of passes for skiing at Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Sierra-At-Tahoe, and Sugarbowl:

• Gold Level – (Adult – $829, Senior – $679, Super-Senior – $359)
• Silver Level – (Adult – $589, Senior – $439, Super-Senior – $269)
• Bronze Level – (Adult – $469, Senior – $379)

The various levels have restrictions and prices listed are good thru April 19. Details can be found at this website: Squaw Alpine Tahoe Super Pass.

The Mountain Collective Pass is a single pass that is good for 24 days of skiing at 12 different ski resorts (2 days at each resort), and the price is $379. However, they do limit the number of passes sold. The pass is good for Aspen Snowmass, Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows, and Mammoth (just to name a few). If you’re planning on going to Snowmass in 2017 then you should consider this option. For details go to this website: The Mountain Collective.

Karen Soo

With lift tickets costing $130 a pop at Heavenly and Squaw Valley, we’re always looking out for bargains related to the outdoor industry. Here’s one. All you have to be is 50 + and sign up at Seniors Skiing.

On the right hand side of their website, you can sign up for the Promotive deals. ProMotive.com is the online community for industry experts and influencers. It matches qualified ski members such as yourself with top brands offering exclusive discounts on all your favorite gear.

Go to the Seniors Skiing website and get a code to join the “snow influencers” group for Promotive. You then have to register for the Promotive website using the code. The discounts are pretty decent. Not all companies are listed in the group, but they do include Asics, Clif Bars, Fischer, Swix, Mountain Hardware, Camelbak, and Scott (skis only!). About 240+ companies (ski, biking, outdoors, etc.) are included in the group.

The membership is good for a year. I don’t know if they allow you to renew your membership after a year. We’ll find out later.

Happy Shopping!

Karen Soo, Trip Director
El Nino predictions came true with plenty of snow for the Lake Tahoe area. Nisei Ski Club had 36 sign-ups for trip 1 for the Heavenly weekend trip. For trip 2, we ended up short.  We had only 9 sign-ups and we were forced to cancel the bus trip.

What happened here? Good snow conditions were not enough and we needed more bodies. Maybe the weekend trip was too close to the returning trip from Park City. In any case, I was determined to get a trip going.

Six NSC members were willing to go up for the weekend. We had two cars to take everyone. I was able to secure NSC rates at the Sands Hotel in Reno. Discounted lift tickets were purchased from Sports Basement and Craigslist. Can you imagine me meeting all these strangers at my local Peet’s coffee shop in Alameda? So far they were all pretty cool — I haven’t met a psycho yet.

Following the tradition of a NSC trip, we served breakfast: egg, ham and cheese omelet with veggies wrapped in lavash bread. When you see me next time, ask me how I heated up the breakfasts.

The original Saturday plan was to go to Mt. Rose. Upon hearing the news of high winds and the possibility of upper mountains being closed, we decided to go to Diamond Peak. This is nice family resort plus it was my first time there. It’s an easy mountain but we think it’s pretty steep for beginners. Skiing down on one of the runs called the” Flume “run was challenging. We were hit with 50 mile per hour winds and corn snow was blasting our faces. There was no way we could fall because the force of the winds was just holding us up.

We skied a full day at Diamond Peak and afterwards we stopped off at Jim Sanchez and Janice Malena’s house (members of NSC). Jim is a ski instructor at Mt. Rose and we had our après snacks there. The high winds continued to howl around the area of his house.

On Sunday, high winds and a new snow storm were in the forecast. We opted to skip Squaw Valley and decided to drive home early. We stopped off for pies at Ikeda’s in Auburn. The snow was coming down and the roads were really icy. We got home safely and even though we only skied one day, we had a good time being together.

On the next day, I heard that the upper mountains of Squaw Valley closed due to high winds. They did not open up the lifts until 9:40am plus there were tons of people waiting in line. So, good move on our part.

Thanks to Curtis O. and David U. for having SUVs and being the designated drivers. It was good to have Tom L., Haruko N. and Edna K. (from Oregon) on the trip. We all had great time.

We will continue to make these last minute weekend car/ ski trips. If you are interested in driving or going up skiing on the NON NSC weekend trip. I encourage you to sign up for the rideNSC Yahoo Group. Please email me for information.

Hoyt Nelson

With the start of warm weather, my thoughts turn to bocce ball.  I don’t think we have enough people in the club to make a long term commitment for places like Campo di Bocce, but if anybody wants to get on a list for a game at other free locations, I will gladly organize it and supply the equipment.  Since I last talked to you about getting games started, I’ve been playing at the very nice courts at Lake Almaden in San Jose.  There are 4 first-come-first-served courts with bathrooms and water fountains within 100 feet.  Just send me desired times and your e-mail address if you are interested.  Any time you want a game, e-mail me and I will notify the rest on the list to see if anybody else wants to be included.

NSC bocce ball players

Hoyt will supply equipment

Sandy Kiyomura

In the February newsletter, I wrote about DSUSA, the ski school at Alpine Meadows which provides ski lessons to persons with disabilities. Disabled Sports is now called “Achieve Tahoe”,  and provides the same services as it has for the past 48 years.

As you may recall, I won a California Gold Pass which lets one ski at any California resort. It is fully transferable, so anyone can use it. Since I already had my Squaw and Epic passes, I lent out the pass in exchange for a donation to Achieve Tahoe. I am happy to announce that Nisei ski club has donated almost $1,000 to Achieve Tahoe. Thank you to all the members (and non-members) who contributed.

This is an example of how Nisei ski club has “given back” to the community. It was a “win-win” situation for all.