~ Armand Gutierrez ~

Well, it’s that time of year again. This is the time of year when spring has officially begun and thoughts of skiing are giving way to golfing, mountain biking, hiking, and other activities. Of course, there is still snow up at Tahoe and spring skiing can be enjoyable. There’s nothing like cruisin’ down the slopes without all the bulky clothing, basking in the warm sunshine, and just enjoying what Mother Nature provides. Can you tell? My season isn’t over just yet.

It’s also time for our time-honored traditional democratic process to take place. That’s right. It’s time for NSC Board nominations and elections. This month you will receive notice to provide nominations for the Board. If there’s anybody you feel would be a good representative as a Board member then by all means, nominate that person. After nominations are received in April , the Board will confirm that those nominees will accept the nominations and be placed on the election ballot for May. Then, you will have the opportunity to vote on all the nominees, and the lucky winners will be announced at the June NSC Picnic. Volunteers are also greatly appreciated.

Did I say NSC Picnic? That’s right, folks. Mark your calendar for June 22^nd for our Post-Season Picnic event. This will be a potluck lunch where you provide your favorite dish and the Board will provide the beverages (beer, soda, water). We’ll also say goodbye to the old Board members and welcome the new Board members (that is, if there are any changes).  The picnic will once again be at Las Palmas Park in Sunnyvale – details to come…

On the heels of Morgan’s most excellent ski week trip to Steamboat, it will be difficult to arrange (as ex officio) next year’s ski trip with the champagne powder that you experienced (I’m still jealous). However, if you remember the snow ghosts of Big White and the excellent snow conditions, then get your passports in order for next year’s ski week at Sun Peaks Resort, BC.  In their words: “If you haven’t been here, You Have No Idea What You’re Missing”.

Sun Peaks, British Columbia

~Karen Soo, Trip Director ~

It’s upsetting to see our ski club dwindling down with such low membership. Three weekend trips were planned back in September of 2012 and everyone had plenty of notice of when we were going on our trips in 2013.

Doug W from MSSC and Tony M from NSC

We had 13 sign-ups for Trip 1.The first trip of the season had to be cancelled due to low sign-ups. We needed 30 people to make a weekend trip happen, thirty to break even. Prior to Trip 2’s departure, we had 15 signups. Emails were sent and phone calls were made. With Monterey Ski and Social Club’s gang of 11 sign-ups, we finally had 37 people for Trip 2.

Now I was left with another problem – We needed a bigger bus. The 36 passenger bus was too small. I made a few phone calls to Bonjour Transportation and we were able to get a 57 passenger bus. It cost everyone an additional $7.00 but it was worth it for the leg space and comfort.

With Amy Tsuhako as my co-trip leader, we left the bay area around 8:00pm due to an accident delay on 880 North. As usual, dinner was served on the bus. What was on the menu? Thai chicken green curry over rice with mango pudding as the dessert was served. We plugged in a DVD into the player,Flight with Denzel Washington, and we were on our way. Before you know it, we arrived at the Sands Hotel in Reno around 12:00am.

The Crew from Monterey

When we arrived at the Sands, everyone got their $5.00 casino voucher, the keys to their rooms, a quick introduction to their roommates and everyone scurried off to bed.

On Saturday morning, we departed at 7:30 am for Alpine Ski Resort. Amy and I collected the money for the group rate lift tickets on the bus and called to order the lift tickets. By the time we arrived at the parking lot, the Alpine sales coordinator came over and handed me the lift tickets. The tickets were distributed and we were on our way.

The skiing at Alpine Meadows was great. Sunny skies and plenty of snow. Most people skied the entire day and got back to the bus by 3:30pm. We had our après ski at the bus with drinks and plenty of snacks donated by the people who came on the trip. ~”Thank you” to those who brought home made goodies.

By the time we got back to the Sands, it was 6:00pm. We had an hour to get ready for 7:00 dinner. Where did we go for dinner? A group went out to the Vietnamese restaurant across the street from the hotel, Seafood Buffet at the El Dorado and Hash house A Go Go at Harrah’s.

Snow at Northstar

On Sunday morning, we went to Northstar Ski Resort. Thanks to Sidney Mar, I was able to secure 18 – $50.00 lift tickets from the Tahoe SAFE Alliance. (A local Tahoe charity) Those who signed up early on the trip were able to get this limited deal. Those who signed up late for the trip had to get their own lift tickets. This is not the usual case; the cost of these tickets was lower than the $70.00 group rate, a price we could not refuse.

The weather for Northstar was wet with a light drizzle at the parking lot. When we got to the summit, there was 6 inches of fresh snow and fresh tracks made.  It was fantastic plus it was still snowing on top.

Some people who opted out from skiing that Sunday morning went back to the bus, changed to their ski gear and came out again.

Après Ski at 3:30

It turned out to be a great day. Dennis Heffley from BAC came out to meet us. He brought his famous cookies filled with whole almonds, chocolate chips and apricots.

Dennis – Can I get the recipe? Or is this a secret family recipe?

Again, we had après ski at the end of the day. For dinner, we tried something different.I know that the tour leaders were supposed to provide dinner but you know what? Amy and I did not have time to do this. We decided to order out at Ikeda’s in Auburn. Tom Lee helped out with everyone’s order and call in the order at Ikeda’s.

Walking Billboard for
Marmot

We had 4 people, charging 4 groups of receipts. The food was bagged and the names and amount was put on every bag. The only problem that we ran into was that 2 bags were switched on their orders. All was cleared and everyone had a hot meal going home.

It was smooth sailing going home.  Grady, our great bus driver, worked wonders in getting us home on time.

An extra thank you to Greg Robinson – President of the Monterey Ski and Social Club for getting their 11 members onto our weekend trip. We had had a blast, plus it was a great way to get the 2 clubs together. We hope to continue this collaboration in 2014.

Uhh.. What happened to Trip 3? You have to wait and see.

~Ksenia Dyachkova & Bowen Gu ~

Ksenia and I are new to the Monterey area. We are here on a study program, working on our master thesis in Environmental studies. While we are staying here for only 3 months, we wanted to go to see Lake Tahoe.  It was a last minute decision to join the Nisei Ski Club and Monterey Ski and Social Club on their weekend ski trip.  We did not know what to expect from this trip. All we know was that a quick decision was made and there were more surprises during the trip itself. They are not ranked by their surprise level though.

During our limited stay in Monterey, Ksenia wanted to go to the mountains of California, but she had no idea, how to get there. The weekend trip with Nisei Ski Club was full of surprises both me and Ksenia.

Surprise 1: As students at the Monterey Institute of International Studies located in Monterey. Most of our time is spent on research on the computer. Ksenia was surfing the net and found information about a weekend bus trip sponsored by Nisei Ski Club (https://www.niseiskiclub.org/) on the Monterey-Ski an Social Club (http://www.montereyski.org/ ) website. She started to see if it was possible to join them on their upcoming weekend trip. Upon reading the trip description on the website, the bus departs from San Jose and she already lost hope that she could not make it. After sending a few emails to the trip director Karen Soo, Karen was kind enough able to help with the transportation   She was able to coordinate our rides to San Jose with members of the Monterey Ski and Social Club and we were able to get to San Jose for the start of our adventure. Thank you to Monterey members, Ted Hill and Bill Robinson for driving us is there.

Surprise 2: The trip was sooooooo well organized and all the club members are so friendly. As soon as we boarded the bus at San Jose, the two of us felt we were part of a big happy family. Once the bus departed, we knew that it was not an ordinary ski trip, but a trip filled with laughter, friendship, warmth and FUN. We truly appreciated the efforts of the trip leaders Karen Soo and Amy Tsuhako for their organization and the friendliness from its club members.

Surprise 3:  The accommodations at the Sands in Reno were more than sufficient.  Comfortable bedroom with 2 queen-size beds, hot shower, TV and Wi-Fi.  We were staying on the 12th floor and it was a bit noisy from the casino and club on the main floor. When we arrived, everyone was given a free Gambling card. With an initial deposit, we made $3.00 on the slot machines Yahoo!! 🙂

Surprise 4:  As an experienced snowboarder, Ksenia decided to take some skiing lessons at Alpine Meadows. With the experience she had from snowboarding, Ksenia was able to move up 3+ times in a day from level one. By the end of the day, she was skiing comfortably on the challenging runs.  Discounts for the all-day long classes were such a bargain; she had no hesitation to take a lesson!

Surprise 5: On Sunday, it was raining on the base and I decided to try my first attempt at SNOW SHOEING. The peacefulness of walking in the deep snow in the forest at Northstar was definitely different than the extreme excitement of skiing at Alpine Meadows on Saturday.

Surprise 6:  A little rain on Sunday scare a few members and many took the day off. Skiing at Northstar turned out to be absolutely the best.  Fresh tracks, moguls and fresh snow in between the trees. It was not raining on top and Northstar had 6 inches snow on the top summit. We also got our pictures taken by the Epic Mix Camera crew, provided by resort. The pictures were easily shared on Facebook for free!

Surprise 7: FOOD – While skiing and snowboarding is the most exciting and expected part of the trip, the dinner, breakfast and snacks were also impressive.  Even a vegetarian option was available on the bus. We had dinner with a few of the Nisei Ski members at the Hash House a Go Go at the Harrah’s (http://www.harrahsreno.com/restaurants/hash-house-a-go-go.html)

To our surprise to the both of us, the multicolored lemonade and the huge portions were more than enough to eat for the 2 of us after a full day of burning calories on the slopes.

To sum up in a simple way, it is a truly, truly FUN and memorable trip for two international students almost new to the US and totally new to the Nisei Ski Club.

A great big THANK YOU to all the members of Nisei Ski Club and Monterey Ski and Social Club for making our trip a memorable one.

If you were so unfortunate to have missed the Pinnacles National Monument hike on March 30th, here is a pictorial essay to soothe your sorrows.