Nisei Ski Club

What was the man buying at the hardware store?

Answer: house number digits.  Each one costs 50 cents. (so any 3 digit number costs $1.50).

How to put 10 objects in 5 rows of 4 each?

Draw a 5 pointed star and put an object at the intersections of lines.  Now that wasn’t hard, was it?

A Bit Harder for this month: Find a 4 digit number that when multiplied by 4 is another 4 digit number with digits in reverse order of the first number.  (abcd x 4 = dcba) Now do it for a 5 digit number.  Only logic and time are required.

Ravens: An unkindness of ravens

Rhinos: A crash or herd of rhinos

Roebucks: A bevy of roebucks

Rooks: A building or clamor of rooks

Snipes: A walk or wisp of snipe

Sparrows: A host of sparrows

Squirrels: A dray of squirrels

Starlings: A murmuration of starlings

Trip 2 for Nisei skiers finds new friends on the snow-bus to Reno/Tahoe.

It takes an adventurous sort to make the commitment for spending a weekend on a loooonnnng bus ride… both ways over Donner Summit to the below-freezing enchantment of Lake Tahoe.  But, ahhhh, skiers have that destination-driven gene that makes them seek out the thrills of the hunt for perfect snow, steep trails, short lift lines, and good hot chocolate by the fireside at day’s end. Read the rest of this entry »

Whistler has been on my wish list of places to ski since I came to the States (ed. from England) in 1996 and after a fabulous week with NSC it is now on my list of places to return. Read the rest of this entry »

For Peg and I, joining the Nisei Ski Club (NSC) was one of the smartest decisions we’ve made in a while.  We joined because we enjoy skiing and we knew the NSC would be adventuring to a resort that would be hosting the Winter Olympics.  Some gentle nudging from my brother-in-law also played into our decision! Read the rest of this entry »

I know it seems early for most people, but it really is time to start thinking of who should be on your board of directors next year.  Actually, we should be thinking about it as soon as the previous elections are over.  We should always be on the lookout for people who are energetic and seem to know how to get things done.  If you are one of these people, think about volunteering yourself, as Allen Hu, David Jensen  and Frank Chang did last year.  We welcome new board members without experience and don’t consider it too bold to volunteer.  All we request is a desire to help your club in the following year and in return, you will get a new sense of satisfaction and new friendships with other board members.   So if you are one of these people or know someone who meets these qualifications, please step up and identify yourself.  We also need a few people to be on the nominations committee.Our by-laws state that at least one member who is not already
on the board serve on this committee. To express your interest in the board or to recommend a
potential board member, contact Alice Horio at vicepresident@niseiskiclub.org

My first trip with NSC was Squaw Valley – a new resort for me, one time Olympic host, a place I’d heard about through friends and the media. One thing I noticed was the high elevation – at 6200 ft the resort entrance was already pretty high up. When I reached the top of the Funitel where my lesson was held,  it was 8200 ft and overlooking the lake at the highest resort I’d visited aside from Heavenly. That day fog covered the Lake, making it appear mysterious. Some of the newcomers in my class had not realized that it was the Lake.

John, the instructor on my first day, taught us how to ski in low-, bumpy, and high-sloped terrain. I was excited and confident to be in the class. We learned to turn our uphill knee out Read the rest of this entry »

A man walks into a hardware store and picks up an item. He asks the clerk “How much for 1?” The clerk says “Fifty cents”. “How about for 36?” asks the man. “That would be $1.” says the clerk. “Well then, how much for 105?” asks the man. “That would cost $1.50.” says the clerk. What was the man trying to buy?

Too easy? Try this one:
Take 10 objects and place them so that they form 5 rows of 4 objects each. The rows will be all the same length and the spacing between adjacent objects is all the same.

Owls: A parliament of owls
Parrots: A company of parrots
Partridges: A covey of partridges
Peacock:A muster or ostentation of peacocks
Plovers: A wing or congregation of plovers
Pheasants: A bouquet or nide of pheasants
Rabbits: A nest of rabbits
Rattlesnakes: A rhumba of rattlesnakes

The Nisei Ski Club is offering you a special deal if you have never been on one of our bus trips and if have never been a member of NSC. If you bring your own roommate, then each of you will pay only $110 for one of our weekend bus trips (normally $145 for members and $160 for non-members). If you don’t have your own roommate, then we can assign one to you. Furthermore, if you decide to come back for a second or third trip, you will receive a free membership to NSC for the remainder of the year and you can sign up for the bus trips at the member rate. (Click “read more” below for more details).

Read the rest of this entry »

I have good and bad news.

Bad news:  Sign ups for Trip #1 has been slow and we’ve only got about 22 sign ups so far.

Good news:  I spoke with David Jensen, our Trip Director, and we decided that Trip #1 will go.  We are a ski club and we should go skiing especially when there’s fresh snow in Tahoe.

As an incentive, Alpine Meadows has given us a lift ticket good for a future visit to Alpine Meadows.  We will be giving it away to one lucky attendee of Trip #1.  The voucher won’t be good for Trip #1, but we’re going to Alpine again for Trip #2 and you can use the voucher then or at any other time.

The deadline for sign ups have been extended so you can take advantage of this.

We’ve got lots of room on Trip #1.  Tell your friends to sign up ASAP.

The event went off without any troubles. The weather was perfect. The food was better than last time. We had the best seats in the house .and we got a free umbrella. The third race was named for Nisei Ski Club. We got a picture with the winning Jockey in the winner’s circle.

I started skiing in college during the mid 1970s. I was going to UC Davis the same time as Bill Killibrew, who was the son of the then owner of Heavenly. They had a $5 midweek ski deal for college students.  Needless to say I missed a few week days when powder & sunshine beckoned from the Sierra.

Right after college a friend of mine & I decided to take a ski safari in the Rockies.  We started out in Big Sky, Montana where some friends of his were working. Big Sky was an undeveloped ski area in 1978.  The snow was good but it was very cold.  We were typically skiing with air temps from -5 deg F to + 10 deg F & it was a big change from skiing in the Sierra. On New Year’s eve it was -30 deg F. I have never experienced such cold temps.

After a couple of weeks in Big Sky we migrated to Jackson Hole.  We hit great ski conditions with 6 to 12 inches of new snow every day. Nothing like skiing the Hobacks in prime powder conditions. Jackson is great mountain when Read the rest of this entry »

Bay Area Ski Bus has offered our members $10 off of the one-day trips and $15 off of the multi-day trips. When you sign-up there will be a box to type in a promo code.

Read the rest of this entry »

January 1 – New Year’s Day (Ganjitsu)
The second Monday in January – Adult’s Day (Seijin-no hi)
February 11 – National Founding Day (Kenkoku Kinen-no hi)

The New Year and Obon are the biggest events in the annual calendar. Families are expected to gather at the family home – no matter how scattered the members may be – to honor their ancestors. On the night of New Year’s Eve or the next day, they visit their local shrine (in Tokyo, the number of visitors to Meiji Shrine alone is in the millions). But there are usually no wild New Year countdown celebrations. In recent years, Christmas has become a big – at least in the commercial sense – event. Couples usually try to get together for a date on Christmas Eve. Read the rest of this entry »

Answers to last month’s puzzle:

(fill in the missing words) of these advertisements Read the rest of this entry »

1. It T T 2 to T: It takes 2 to Tango

2. There’s 10 B O B O T W There’s 10 bottles of beer on the wall

Read the rest of this entry »

Lark: An ascension or jubilation of larks

Leopards: A leap of leopards

Magpies: A tiding of magpies

Mallards: A sord of mallards

Martens: A richness of martens

Moles: A labour of moles

Mules: A barren or span of mules

1. Whistler-Blackcomb is in what province?

a. Vancouver

b. Alberta

c. British Columbia

d. Saskatchewan

2. Which of the following in NOT a Canadian beer?

a. Molson

b. Labatt

c. Big Bear

d. Sleeman

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• The first Winter Olympic Games were held in Chamonix, France in 1924.
• No country in the Southern Hemisphere has ever hosted a Winter Games.
• Only four athletes have ever won medals at both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games: Eddie Eagan (United States), Jacob Tullin Thams (Norway), Christa Luding-Rothenburger (East Germany), and Clara Hughes (Canada).
• The most medals won by any athletes at the Winter Olympic Games is 12 by cross-country skier Bjorn Dählie of Norway. Read the rest of this entry »

A group of 21 showed up for a fun day of races at Golden Gate Fields. We were greeted by our host and seated at our tables in the upper viewing boxes  The view was perfect. We could see the entire race track, the finish line and the viewing stables where they paraded the horses before the race. The buffet was already open and some of us went for breakfast, and then went back for lunch.. We waited for the lunch menu and studied the racing guide. Better hurry and make my pick.  Post time for the first race was at 10:30.

Read the rest of this entry »