~ President Armand Gutierrez ~

Membership Activity

There was no activity for March. Since the club season is coming to an end any new memberships will probably take place in May.

Jackson Hole Ski Week (January 24-31, 2015)

The last time NSC was at Jackson Hole was Feb 24 – Mar 3, 2001 when Douglas Higashi took NSC with 64 participants. A Thank-You to Judy Hom for sending me the brochure from that trip, which lists a schedule of events, condo list, rental info, etc. Perhaps some of those participants would be interested in a reunion at Jackson Hole next year?

Arrangements for the Jackson Hole ski trip are well on its way. Due to the early and enormous airline bookings by travel agents I was unable to secure any seats at a reasonable price. So, in order to level the playing field I’ll be working with Matt Hollis from Sports America. Flight arrangements have been made so the next order of business will be to secure lodging and ground transportation. Stay tuned for the JH flyer coming soon in the newsletter.

Karen Soo – Trip Director

Is your ski season over yet?  I know we barely had fresh snow in the months of January and February but don’t call it quits yet. Take those skis and snowboards out of the closet. The Tahoe area is finally bombed with fresh snow this past week. Most of the Tahoe resorts reported 1-2 feet of new snow.

In February, thirty Nisei Ski Club members went on their annual weekend trip to Alpine and Northstar. We thank our 7 members from Monterey Ski and Social club for coming along for the ride. We had Grady as our driver and a new bus service. For the most part, we had good conditions and we had a great time skiing together. Thank you Amy Tsuhako for being my co-tour leader. We had plenty of food, drinks, snacks and good company.

The San Jose group had a new departure site. Due to a new property management, we are no longer allowed to park over night at Fourth Street Bowl. Thanks to Jennifer Kaneda, 17 of our members were able to park in a secure location near the Specialty Bakery at North 1^st Street and Trimble Road.

Nisei Ski Club had a successful trip to Sun Peaks where our President, Armand Gutierrez, guided 23 people. He’s doing a repeat performance on planning at trip to Jackson Hole for the 2015 week trip. If you never been on a week long trip, it’s good to save up your vacation days and take advantage of it.  There’s plenty of people to ski with and a good way to know your fellow members.

What does the future holds for us? Do I plan 1 or 2 trips for next year? Well I guess its all depends on the snowfall and how many of you are can go on both trips.

There’s still a few more weeks before the resorts close. So let me know if anyone wants to go to Tahoe for the weekend.

By Rick Dumlao

The California Senior Winter Games is held every year at Bear

Valley Ski Resort and I’ve been participating for about four years now.  I enjoy it with lots of other “mature” skiers and snowboarders and you don’t have to be good skier or a competitive skier.  If you are an intermediate or better skier over 50 years old, then you can do this!  The age divisions are in 5-year increments starting at 50 years old, and the oldest competitor this year was 74.  The divisions are split up for men and women, and the events are giant slalom, slalom, and dual side by side slalom.  All of these races occur over the two days of the weekend.

This year I managed to win a gold medal in the giant slalom, but then got eliminated in the dual side by side slalom.  I like the format of the races because you’re up against people your own age and you don’t have to compete against some hot-shot kid in his/her 30’s or 40’s.  There is usually a lot of joking around at the top of the course while waiting your turn to run the course.  At the award ceremonies, you get to stand on the podium for a picture suitable for hanging on the refrigerator, and bragging rights amongst your fellow skiers/boarders.   The races are fun, you meet lots of like-aged and like-minded people, and you get to challenge yourself and ability, which is always good for improving your skiing/boarding.  If you decide to go next year, bring your families and friends for support to cheer you on and make it an enjoyable weekend.

OK gang, tax filing deadline is almost upon us – get those number 2 pencils sharpened!

Mother Nature is teasing us again!  After a very dry winter, the last couple of weeks has seen a generous dumping of snow in the Sierras!  So, it’s not too late to bash some bumps, shred some runs and schuss the slopes.  Who wudda thunk!!??

Presidential Affairs

Speaking of spring skiing and riding, President Armand skied in late March and makes reference to “Magical March” in his monthly President’s Message.

Did you miss the Sun Peaks trip?  Don’t miss the next week trip to Jackson Hole in the Grand Tetons.  Armand is industriously planning next year’s trip.  Read about it here in his  ” Membership and Jackson Hole”   report describing the plans for next year’s return to Jackson Hole after a 14 year absence.

Jackson Hole website: http://www.jacksonhole.com/

Why are your skis and snowboards tucked away in the closet? ~ Karen Soo, Trip Director ~

Is your ski season over yet?  I know we barely had fresh snow in the month of January and February.  Don’t call it quits yet. Take those skis and snowboard out of the closet. The Tahoe area is finally bombed with fresh snow this past week. Most of the Tahoe resorts reported 1-2 feet of snow….

 Read the rest of Karen’s article here :  << April 2014 Trip Director’s article >>

SENIOR GAMES

Are you a “mature” skier or snowboarder, but junenile at heart?  Want to show your younger cohorts that you can still rip it up???  Well, each year, there are Senior Winter Games held  at Bear Valley ski area.  For the past few years, NSC member, Rick Dumlao has been shredding the light fantastic (apologies to John Milton) at the games.  This year was no exception.  Check out his reportage here : << 2014 California Winter Senior Games >>.

Cherry Blossom Festival San Francisco – April 12-13; 19-20

This year marks the 47th anniversary of San Francisco’s Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival.

From the festival’s website  ( sfcherryblossom.org/WP/ ):

 This year’s Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival® will be held on Saturday and Sunday April 12-13 and April 19-20, 2014. All are welcome to join in the festivities as we celebrate Japanese and Japanese American culture in San Francisco’s Japantown!

The festival will be held on Post Street between Laguna and Fillmore Streets. There will be food booths, cultural performances, martial arts, live bands, the annual Queen Program, and more. The Grand Parade will be held on Sunday, April 20, beginning at City Hall and concluding in Japantown.

Until next month…
N.E.

~ President Armand Gutierrez ~

April is here and this usually means the end of a ski season and the start of baseball, biking, hiking, camping, golf, and other spring activities. My last visit to Tahoe was at the end of March, with many people calling it “Magical March” because Mother Nature indeed blessed the Tahoe region with a good snowfall and fresh powder!

BAC recognizes NSC! Although the Sun Peaks trip has passed, the April BAC Newsletter is showcasing our Sun Peaks trip. You can view it here :  BAC0414newsletter .

Board Nominations/Elections

At our March board meeting we discussed the upcoming nominations/elections for the next season. Although our policies provide for nominations/elections, it has become apparent that this process has not been fully implemented in the past few years. There have been no nominations or write-ins and then the election slate is comprised of just the incumbents. Although being on the board is strictly a volunteer effort we’ve managed to retain the current board members for several seasons due to their commitment to running the club. Well, it appears that the 2014-15 season is no different and the current board members have all indicated they would serve again and that nominations/elections would not be formally held this year.  However, we do encourage all of you to be more active members by serving on the board or tour leading a ski trip or other activity. It would be reasonable to assume that some members might want to be nominated or elected. Therefore, if anyone has an interest in joining the board for the next season then just drop a note to any of the current board members.

Code of Conduct for NSC

I’ve been participating in several FWSA functions over the past few years, including their international ski week trips, and as I learn more about how FWSA functions, I noticed that they have a Code of Conduct (CoC) that attendees of their ski trips must abide by. I discussed this with an FWSA member and she told me that the Code of Conduct was put in place so that all members that are part of a FWSA-sponsored event would adhere to the Code of Conduct and any “bad behavior” that could reflect negatively on FWSA could result in being barred from any future FWSA-sponsored events. Although NSC is comprised of good-natured people that are willing to help others and exemplify good behavior on NSC-sponsored trips, the board came to the conclusion that perhaps we should adopt our own Code of Conduct to ensure that all members are aware that any “bad behavior” that could reflect negatively on NSC could result in being barred from NSC-sponsored events. Brian Hess is working on a draft proposal, patterned after the FWSA CoC, and the board will be reviewing it at future board meetings. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding an NSC Code of Conduct please contact me (  president@niseiskiclub.org ) or any board member.