Welcome to Daylight Savings Time 2014!

Enjoy the extra sunlight hours!

The сочи Olympics are over and congrats to all the competitors, American and others.

Lots of ski & snowboarding news this month.  First off, we have President Armand’s Membership and Sun Peaks report  and President’s March Message  which includes highlights of the Sun Peaks week trip. Armand and Curtis are in Zermatt, Switzerland this week skiing with Far West Ski Association of which Nisei is a member, and by the transitive property, so are you!  I expect a full report from our Swiss Matterhorn skiers next month’s newsletter.

NSC Sun Peaks Members with Olympian Nancy Greene
Photo credit : Bill Pseudonym

Sun Peaks

Speaking of Sun Peaks…. David “Lambo” Miura has provided us with this Pulitzer Prize caliber report, perchance that’s a bit hyperbolic, how about Great Bathroom reading worthy report, the “Lambo Sun Peaks Report”.

It’s been rumored that anytime Armand leads a trip, someone gets injured. Well…. I’ll let you read Dave’s report and see the pictures and you can see if this is a fair assessment.

Skiing Français

Your’s truly, your intrepid N.E., spent a week at Serre Chevalier in the French Alpes in mid February.  Luckily for me, it had snowed considerably just before I arrived, so there was an abundance of deep snow.  Lots of “hors piste”, trees and out of bounds skiing with a guide was done. Just to whet your appetite for Alpes skiing, here are some mountain stats: 63 lifts & a vertical drop of 5,249 feet.  That’s almost twice that of Squaw Valley’s 2389′ and more than Jackson Hole’s 4105′ – Did I mention Jackson Hole???? See Armand’s President’s message for the big red tram connection! And, I don’t mean Heavenly Valley’s tram.

Grady and 2/3s of the Langs

Tahoe Weekend Trip (Feb 28-Mar 2)

“Social” Club

Last weekend, 30 some odd ( and I do mean “ODD“) Nisei and Monterey Drinking and Social MSSC Link), endured a 7  hour plus bus ride to Reno on Friday night due to the lots of traffic and chain controls – Thank You Grady!!!. Fortunately, there was plenty of food and drinks (particularly beer) on board as well as scintillating conversation with acquaintances, new and old.  Tour leaders, Karen Soo, NSC Trip Director, and Amy Lew (no relationship) as always, outdid themselves with scrumptious dinners and breakfasts.Saturday, we skied and rode on surprising good snow coverage at Alpine Meadows.  We had such a good time, one or two members stayed on the mountain until, I believe, the lifts closed!

Sunday, we went to Northstar which, except for the lowest elevation runs, also had good coverage, albeit sometimes icy as there it was snowing at the upper elevations and sometimes raining at the lower slopes.  Nonetheless, we had a wonderful weekend playing in the snow! Sooooo, those of you who didn’t go, you missed a snowtastic weekend.

Bill “Pseudonym” L. took the following  pictures  [Photos Link ] and videos [Videos Link].

April 6 – Saint Joseph’s Hill Hike –

Last but not least, don’t forget about Hoyt’s Saint Joseph’s Hill hike on April 6.

Great views of Lexington Reservoir to the West at the start and a sweeping view of the Santa Clara Valley to the East at the top.  There will still be monkey flowers, Scotch broom and remnants from the vineyards that supplied sacramental wine for the Novitiate in Los Gatos many years ago.

For details, see Hoyt’s hike description.

~ Until next month – “Happy Trails to you” …~

~ the Grand Poobah, President Armand Gutierrez ~

As we are now entering March, the ski season is beginning to wind down for many. Ski shops are starting their “clearance sales”, and we just completed our NSC Weekend trip to Alpine Meadows and Northstar. But, that doesn’t mean the ski season is over. If Mother Nature cooperates perhaps there will be more rain in the Bay Area and snow in Tahoe, so don’t put your skis away just yet. I’ll be joining fellow NSCers on the FWSA Zermatt Ski Week from 6-15 March and hopefully return to Tahoe for a few more ski trips.

Sun Peaks Ski Week

The NSC Ski Week at Sun Peaks was a great trip and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the three mountains that offered a variety of runs. This was new territory for everyone as this was the first time NSC had visited Sun Peaks. One of the highlights of the trip was skiing with Canadian Olympian (1968 Winter Olympics, gold and silver medalist) Nancy Greene.

Olympian Nancy Greene

Every Sunday she invites skiers to join her on an informal tour of the mountain, and most of the NSC members were there to join her on the first day of skiing. Incidentally, Nancy is 70 years old, a Canadian Senator for British Columbia, and I’m sure she could out ski most anyone in our group. During the week we finally figured out the shortest route to the ski lifts (Morissey was the closest) and the shortest route back to the condos. Additional details of the trip can be found on the Sun Peaks Ski Week Report and David Miura’s Sun Peaks Report.

Board Nominations

Now that it’s March it’s time to think about Board Nominations for the 2014-15 season. If anyone has an interest in joining the board for the next season and has questions about what it entails then just drop a note to any of the current board members, or perhaps you have someone in mind to nominate for the board. Please keep in mind that the Nisei Ski Club relies on volunteers to be on the board and undertake the running of the club. It’s not all work and no play. Board meetings are fairly informal and afterwards we usually go out for lunch and talk about skiing or upcoming club events.

~ Presidente Armand Gutierrez ~

Membership Activity

Like January there was little activity for February, although we did get one new member that needed to join NSC so he can be on the FWSA trip to Zermatt, Switzerland. Our membership currently stands at 52 members.

Sun Peaks Ski Week

The Sun Peaks ski week was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone that went. Although there was not as much snow as I had hoped for, there were several days with new powder on the ground, one morning that had a freezing rain that froze on our goggles, and plenty of days with blue skies and shadows on the ground. The weather was very cooperative and temperatures where in the low-mid teens most of the time with a few days in the 20’s. This, in contrast to the previous two weeks when temps where in the below zero range.

After our introductory tour of the mountain on the first morning, the group did ski with Canadian Olympian Nancy Greene as she showed us the mountain and gave us a few tips on where the best snow was to be found. There was one injury one the trip where David Uyeda, on his last day of skiing, successfully handled a black diamond mogul run only to fall onto the cat track at the bottom and suffer a dislocated shoulder. The Farewell Dinner on Friday was held at the Cahilty Creek Bar & Grill and everyone enjoyed the dinner offerings as well the complementary first round of libations thanks to the boys in Condo 40.

I would like to thank every one of the Sun Peaks participants for the great gifts (winter fleece pullover, Sun Peaks T-shirt, and a 49er jacket) bestowed upon me at the dinner and rest assured they will be used often. This was a memorable trip for me as I think I managed to ski with just about everyone on the trip at one time or another.

Many people are inquring: “where are we going next year?” Well, looks like a return trip to Jackson Hole is in the stars since NSC last graced the slopes there in 2001.

~ byline: David “Lambo” Miura ~

Twenty-four intrepid skiers led by President Armand Gutierrez traveled to Sun Peaks Resort in eastern British Columbia, Canada for a week of skiing. The flights to Kelowna were uneventful (other than Gary Yee’s flight that got cancelled, forcing him to arrive a day later) as was the slightly heated bus ride to the resort. When we first arrived, it was terribly cold but the weather warmed up during the week.

Sun Peaks is composed of three mountains, and many took advantage of the free Mountain Host Tours divided into ability levels and led by local volunteers. On our first day of skiing we took advantage of the Host Tour in the morning, and in the afternoon we had the opportunity to ski with the resort’s celebrity champion, Olympic gold & silver medal winner Nancy Greene. She is a sitting Senator representing British Columbia in the Canadian Parliament and travels weekly between Sun Peaks and Ottawa. But don’t be fooled by this enthusiastic little 70-year-old lady. She skis very, very fast!

Unlike the sunny conditions that greeted us the day before, Monday was cold and overcast with a steady snowfall. What was most unusual about that day was the new experience of having ice coat one’s goggles after a few seconds of skiing. Everybody had to stop frequently to scrape the ice off with their fingernails, or for our richer members, with their platinum credit cards.

In the evenings, several condo groups ventured out to try the local restaurants in the village. People gave positive reviews for Powder Hounds (German), Cahilty Creek Bar & Brill, Oya (Japanese), Mountain High Pizza, and Bottom’s Bar & Grill (a favorite watering-hole), but thumbs down to Bella Italia (Italian). The mid-mountain Sunburst Lodge and Bento’s Day Lodge at the bottom of the hill both served fresh and delicious cinnamon buns that were so big that four people could easily share one.

Can You Find Frank & Lansing?

This year, instead of a custom Marmot fleece pullover with the NSC logo, Karen Soo arranged for people to be able to choose between that and something else from the catalog. Frank Chang and Lansing Lee both chose a yellow daypack, and with their grey helmets, blue jackets, and black pants, they looked like brothers skiing down the mountain. Judy Hom and Winston Fong joined us for the first time in many years, and it was a welcome sight to see Winston’s bright trademark yellow jumpsuit on the slopes.

Before Treatment

After Re-Setting

Armand claims that there is always at least one injury on the trips that he leads, and unfortunately that was the case at Sun Peaks. A group of skiers made their way down the Agitator (a black diamond mogul run between Static Cling and Spin Cycle), and David Uyeda successfully negotiated the bumps but then at the bottom fell onto the cat track and dislocated his shoulder. After being examined at First Aid, he was transported to Kamloops to have everything put back into place. Thanks to Roland Lee, who accompanied David to the hospital and back.

Before we knew it, Friday had arrived and we were enjoying our farewell banquet at Cahilty Creek Bar & Grill. Armand announced that the club is considering going to Jackson Hole next year, which was well received. Thanks to Armand for leading a successful trip, to Karen Soo for securing the trip souvenirs, and to all of the NSC board members for their support.

For more pics – click this link : Sun Peaks Pictures