Nisei Ski Club

Karen Soo – Trip Director

Happy New Year! Kung Hey Fat Choy! The holidays are over, I’m back from my business trip to Hong Kong and now we welcome the Year of the Dragon. According to Chinese Five Element Astrology Calendar, 2012 is the Year of Water Dragon.

Chinese astrology is a balance theory of Five Elements. Each animal can be converted into Five Elements. Dragon contains Earth, Water and Wood. It’s a source of water and it is also called the water dam in Chinese astrology. Since water of 2012 comes with Dragon, it implied water from the sky makes a dam over-flow. Therefore 2012 is a strong water year. Read the rest of this entry »

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.

~ 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 »

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 »

~ Morgan Hua ~

For the Sun Valley trip,  I have 16 seats left.  6 airline seats flying out of SFO remain.   If you’re interested in this trip, there’s only two months left to signup.  Signup Deadline is Nov. 8, 2011.
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.

Go to the EVENTS link for trip details or click >> HERE <<

On July 16, many NSC members  volunteered their time in support of theMountain View Obon Festival beer booth.  Grant Joo, the chairman of the beer booth  gave his gratitude to all of you with the following letter:

Please thank all of the volunteers who helped on Saturday and Sunday at the Mt. View Obon beer booth.  It was a pleasure to meet new volunteers and to see returning volunteers.  It is without a doubt that the success of the beer booth each year is Read the rest of this entry »

I’m Baacck..

~Karen Soo – Trip Director~

After 3 years of volunteering behind the scenes with NSC, I’m back as your 2011 -2012 Trip Director.

Who can think of cold weather in August?

The West Coast is waiting for their summer, the East Coast is melting with high temperatures and before you know it, snowfall will start covering the hills of Lake Tahoe.

I started the early stages of planning our ski trips for the 2012 season, so what are our plans for next year? Read the rest of this entry »

~ 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 »

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

They say time flies when you’re having fun.  Well, it’s been a quick NSC season and I’d like to thank the hard working volunteers, especially the officers and board members of this NSC year. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

Photos by Bill Lee

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 »

A man’s home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.

Dijon vu – the same mustard as before.

Practice safe eating – always use condiments.

Shotgun wedding – A case of wife or death. Read the rest of this entry »

Photos by Karen Soo