March ~ 三月 ~ Mars ~ Marzo ~ Март ~ มีนาคม

March marks the beginning of Daylight Savings time in the US (except for Arizona & Hawaii).  Move your clocks ahead at 2:00 am on March 11

First & Only Weekend Trip—If you weren’t on the Heavenly trip, you missed a GREAT trip.  If the fear of the lack of snow kept many of you from signing up this year, your fears were unfounded.  Click  here >>>Yvonne Battaglia’s (pictured here) trip report<<<.

Trip 2 to Squaw & Alpine has been cancelled due to lack of signups – too bad, as conditions are now FANTASTIC, but don’t DESPAIR!!!  You can may still be able to go on the Mammoth long weekend trip.  Click here >> for Karen’s article << about signing up at this late date.

Armand’s Korner—Membership Activity.  The month of February was quiet as there were no new members for the month. This is fairly typical as we get into the later months of the ski season.  Our current membership still stands at 73 members.

Chamonix Ski Week—What can I say? I’m getting excited about this trip. Curtis Otaguro and I leave on the 9^th and we are looking forward to some grande adventures in Chamonix. I’m particularly excited about skiing Valle Blanc, which is led by a tour guide from the top of the Aiguillle du Midi.  How’s my Français? Not as good as my German once was. My experience with French goes back to my junior college days where I lasted one semester.  Other than skiing, there are day trips to various locations (Geneva, Aosta, Annecy), which are mostly for the non-skiers. However, there is a day trip for skiers: Verbier (Switzerland). I’ve skied many resorts in Switzerland but Verbier will be a first for me. If interested, contact Armand :  membership@niseiskiclub.org

Is Mother Nature Having a Mindlife Crisis? – byline: Karen Soo—Trip Director

We all know that this year is not exacting a whopping year of 10+ feet of snow in the Tahoe area.  We can probably hang up our skis/ snowboards and call it done for the season. I spoke to some people at the resorts and the last time we had a dry spell was in the early 70’s and snow actually started dumping in March and April. I was skiing on Memorial Day last year and NSC member David Muira was skiing on the 4^th of July  weekend. Are we ever going to get a repeat performance? Is Mother Nature simply angry? Read the rest of Karen’s Director Report here >>> Director’s Report <<<

Spring Hikes—Join Hoyt on March 11 for the first hike of the season around Stevens Creek Reservoir— click  here >>>Hoyt’s flyer <<< for information.

Manju Recipe—by popular demand, Jackie Maruhashi has FINALLY divulged her family’s long kept über secret layered manju recipe.  Click  this >>> recipe link <<< and wish Jackie luck as she has gone into a protection program for fear of retribution by the MMRPC, the Maruhashi Manju Recipe Protection Coalition.

MORGAN—President & CHAMPION!!! Morgan has qualified & has been invited to the NASTAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS in Winter Park.  Morgan is seeking out sponsorship from Marmot!!! – Hint Hint – Karen!!

~ Yvonne Battaglia – Monterey Ski and Social Club ~

WOW ! What a trip!  I definitely did not feel like a newcomer on NSC Trip 1. Karen Soo and her co tour leader Tom Lee made me feel right at home. Karen is so efficient and she is also gracious.  I just fill in the blanks on the sign up form on the internet site and I was on my way to Heavenly Valley.  So what if all my friends at the Monterey Ski and Social Club were going to the golf tournament. I had seen a Warren Miller film and I was ready.

I recently learned that Nisei means second generation.  Now that it’s the year 2012, the members subsequent are generation of skiers. These people were good friends and they have a common bond:  the love for skiing.  Additionally, they welcome newcomers.  I had hit paydirt.  I was going to learn how to ski in a welcoming environment.

Comfort food is part of the deal.  It turns out Karen likes to cook for a large group.  The price for the weekend transportation, lodging,  dinner and drinks on a luxury bus.  This was not fast food, it was hearty and satisfying. It included my version of a happy hour.  Beer with dinner.

On our way to South Lake Tahoe, the bus’s engine indicator light went into red warning mode. Grady, our bus driver pulled the bus over in a parking lot to check things out.  How funny it was when the guy from In & Out burger came out to the bus to ask us for our order!  45 minutes later we changed buses and we were off, DVD in, heading for snow, once again. Obviously, this group rolls with the punches, and we arrived at the Blue Lake Inn at 3am.  It’s just not like this group to complain.

We were up at 8 am.  Yes, there was some snow.  The gondola was only a block away.  Karen and Tom, purchased lift tickets for the group and a voucher for skiing lessons and equipment rental for me, the sole rookie.  The process seemed easy for her, even though thousands of dollars changed hands.

I did not see them again until that evening.  I was off to learn everything from snow plowing to stopping.  Heavenly had some very good instructors and a new lodge.  I was skiing in no time.  I did manage to fall on my tail bone. No cast for me though.   The tail bone injury wouldn’t really hurt until later.  It was interesting how I remembered things about skiing, I had learned from my teenage years.

The lodge was a great feature of my skiing adventure.  They had great refreshments, and you’re in the good company of skiers of all levels.  And the ever present ski movies in the background.  How ironic I would be watching the golf tournament in Monterey as I had lunch.

Some of the NSC members and I had dinner together in a nice local restaurant, called Freshies. http://www.freshiestahoe.com/  We talked about our day skiing among other things. This is a diverse crowd with many different interests.  We rewarded Grady our trusted navigator and driver with a well deserved dinner.  Some people allowed themselves a fried fish taco. After all, they did burn a few calories during a full day of skiing.

We recalled how there were flurries that day, but gorgeous scenery, and some good skiing.  Some of us took part in the night life.  Some went back to the motel to sleep, like my room mate Jenni Kanenda. Jenni was gracious and good.  She provided me with this very smelly, mentholated, ointment to provide relief for aches and pains.  Ironically, she would later injure her tail bone too.  A fine pair we would turn out to be. Later we would divide up the soaps and creams provided by the motel for our kids.

The take home message is this is a fun, gracious, incredible group of people with a passion for skiing. I pray the lack of snow this year, and the economy doesn’t affect the success of this club.  Anyone considering a ski club should give this group a try.  I credit them with my ability to say “I am a skier!”

~ Karen Soo – NSC Trip Director ~

We all know that this year is not exacting a whopping year of 10+ feet of snow in the Tahoe area.  We can probably hang up our skis/ snowboards and call it done for the season. I spoke to some people at the resorts and the last time we had a dry spell was in the early 70’s and snow actually started dumping in March and April. I was skiing on Memorial Day last year and NSC member David Miura was skiing on the 4^th of July weekend. Are we ever going to get a repeat performance? Is Mother Nature simply angry?

With 20 Nisei Ski Club members, Trip 1 to Heavenly did not cancel. This is our first trip of the season and we were all ready to go. Great food was served on the bus and we had great company. On our way to Sacramento, the bus engine light turned on and Grady felt the bus was not going to make it up the hill. Another bus had to be called in from Stockton and there was slight delay. We rolled into the Blue Lake Inn around 2:30am. At least there was no early spot time. We were only 1 ½ block walk from the Heavenly Gondola. Breakfast was served from the hotel and all I had to do in the morning was to get the lift tickets from guest services.

We met and left the hotel around 9:30am.  Most of us skied together on the groom runs because most of the black diamonds runs were closed. This is simply fine, since it was our first ski trip of the season. We need to wake up those legs carefully and not get hurt while doing so. The Blue Lake Inn was kind enough to give NSC a 2 bedroom suite. We had our après ski party there. There was plenty of beer and snacks.

Since I’m not a fan of Tahoe’s casino food or the casino buffet I decided to go to my favorite South Lake Tahoe restaurant called Freshies. http://www.freshiestahoe.com/

So many people are finding out about this gem that there’s usually an hour wait. At 6:00pm,  we got 12 people interested in going to Freshies.  How are we going to get there? I asked Grady, our bus driver to join us for dinner and see if he can drive the 12 of us there. He had no problem with this plan. There was plenty of parking for the bus and we only waited 45 minutes for our tables. We all sat separately because Freshies is a small place. The group treated Grady for dinner. A thank you for taking us, plus he is such a cool guy.

The next day, everyone checked out of their rooms and met for a full day of skiing.

Basically all of us skied the full day and returned for après ski at the suite at the end of the day. We departed at 5:00pm.

The drive home was smooth and quick. Some chatted about their day and some took a nice nap while we rolled down the hill on Highway 50. We served dinner rather quickly since there were only 20^th of us. It definitely makes my tour leading job easier.

We took home some great memories of skiing together.

We have to cancel Trip 2 due to lack of sign ups. The Mammoth trip is still happening, March 23 – March 27, 2012.  The bus is not full so we can try to accommodate last minute hop-ons. Of course this is not the order of how we run our ski trips. Everyone is hurting for business so these accommodations can be made.

I hear snow is falling this week. So you know where I’ll be. I’m going to wear test some Marmot clothing and enjoy the runs. Ciao!!!

Billions have begged for Jackie Maruhashi’s LAYERED MANJU recipe.  Her manju was a phenomenal hit at the Sun Valley potluck.  So, by popular demand, here’s her über scret recipe!  Happy baking—remember, practice SAFE baking – do NOT bake while naked.

Layered MANJU
~ from Chef Jackie Maruhashi ~

½ lb. butter
2 ½ Cups flour
¼ Cup sugar
¼ Teaspoon salt
¼ Cup + 2 Tablespoons condensed milk
1 can Koshi or Tsubushi (Red Bean)
1 egg (beat & brush on top of dough)

1. Cream butter
2. Combine dry ingredients & mix with butter alternating with condensed milk.
3. Divide dough in half & place half in 8”x8” pyrex dish.
4. Evenly spoon red bean on top of tough
5. Crumble remaining dough on top of the red bean.
6. Brush top with beaten egg.
7. Preheat oven & bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until done

Chef Jackie’s Tip: – I doubled the recipe for the Sun Valley potluck but did not double the red bean paste since I like the recipe with only a hint of red bean.