Armand Gutierrez, NSC President

I first joined NSC back in 2002 in order to go on the 2003 Vail trip. Being a newcomer I didn’t know any of the members but that didn’t last long. As the years passed, I found myself more involved with the club – first as a board member, then membership chairman, and eventually as president. Throughout those years, I met a lot of great people, great skiers, and in particular, one individual that caught my attention – Hi Fujii. It’s ironic that you can see, talk, and meet with people on quite a few occasions, but never really get to know them. When I attended Hi’s memorial service at the end of August, I learned more about this amazing individual in two hours than I had ever learned about him in all my previous years with the club. There were numerous stories about his fishing and skiing adventures, the Over-The-Hill Gang, and, of course, fond remembrances from his family. It would have been great to know all this about Hi before he passed, but sadly that option is no longer available. At the reception that followed I had the pleasure of meeting some of his old buddies who are truly going to miss him, as will I. Hi Fujii is no longer with us, but his legacy with the club and fond remembrances will never be forgotten.

August Pizza Social

Our first Pizza Social was a fun time for all those who attended. It was a small group (8-9 people) and we had one potential new member show up to meet some NSC members and learn about the club. We feasted on pizza, quaffed some ales, and had a lively discussion about skiing, baseball, the Niners, and some politics. If you missed out on this event because of where you live then drop me a line at (president@niseiskiclub.org) for a suggestion on where to have the next pizza social (e.g., east bay, mid-peninsula?).

Park City/Canyons Ski Week 2016

The Park City/Canyons trip is moving along well and so far we have 37 signups. I am expecting four more people to signup, which will bring us to 41. Although we have lodging reservations for 40 people additional condos are available, so if you haven’t signed up now is the time to do so.

Hoyt Nelson

It’s the end of an era with the passing of one of our club’s founding fathers, Hayami “Hi” Fujii. Hi was born in Berkeley and earned his degree in engineering at Cal Berkeley. After returning from the American internment center in Utah he started his first job at HP in engineering sales, where he stayed for 42 years until his retirement.

A little more than 50 years ago, Hi, Sam Yamoto, Tats Sumida and a few other Japanese Americans associated with the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) got together for a few ski trips to the Sierras and decided to form what is now called the Nisei Ski Club. Sam gave ski lessons to Hi and others, which impressed Hi so much that he was successfully talked into becoming the first elected president of the club for the 1966-67 season (the year this writer first joined the club). The club quickly grew in just a few years to over 400 members and frequently ran three buses on trips to Tahoe with pickups in San Jose, Berkeley and Sacramento. Soon, weeklong trips to destinations like Aspen, Vail and even out of the country were added. Summer activities included camping, fishing, water skiing, dances, parties and many other activities. Hi and a few other members brought their ski boats for our yearly water ski trips to Lake Berryessa and on many local fishing trips. On the weeklong club trip to Sun Valley in January 1969, Hi and Phyllis (Matsuo) were engaged and have been married ever since. Hi became a lifetime NSC member in the 1990s and was active on the club board of directors until 2014. Besides skiing, Hi was an avid fisherman (making many local and yearly trips to Alaska), handball, running, long-running poker games with friends, and was an active member in his church. At the club picnic in 2014, Hi finally hung up his skis and donated them to the club for a younger skier in need of them. Several months ago, Hi had heart surgery and went to a rest home for recuperation. After a month or so, he transferred to his home in Cupertino where he stayed until his passing on the morning of August 8, 2015.

He is survived by his wife, Phyllis; sisters Vickie Yumoto and Michiko Uchida; son Roger and Elaine (daughter-in-law); and daughter Barbara. We will all miss him and hope his skiing the fluffy clouds of paradise will be as happy as on Utah’s powder. Hi’s memorial service was held on Friday, August 28, at the Wesley United Methodist Church in San Jose.

Frank Chang

On Friday August 28^th, twenty or so NSC members attended “A Memorial Service Celebrating the Life of Hayami ‘Hi’ Fujii”, a founding father of the club and its first president. The Wesley United Methodist Church was full – a testament to how Hi touched the lives of so many. Several people shared “Personal Remembrances”, including family members, past co-workers from HP, fishing and poker buddies, and our own fearless leader Armand, representing the NSC. It was a hot day and the crowded church was warmer than usual. And yet, everyone seemed to enjoy listening intently to countless stories celebrating Hi’s interesting and full life. Armand’s ski stories definitely brought a smile to the NSC members in the audience. I think we all appreciate how lucky we are to share in the legacy that Hi has left.

One of Hi Fujii’s enduring legacies is the Nisei Ski Club. Over 50 years ago, Hi and his friends formed the Nisei Ski Club with the objective of promoting the sport of skiing, friendship, and fun within the community.  This club has created many lasting friendships and memories. Yes, there’s some secret sauce that has made this club special.

Not only did Hi meet his wife Phyllis through the club but I also met my husband Winston through the club. Winston likes to say that Nisei Ski Club is secretly a matchmaking club and he might be right. We counted 30 couples who have met through the club and married but we’re sure the couple count is in the hundreds. If there weren’t a Nisei Ski Club, many of us would have never met. Thanks, Hi!

I met Hi in the late 1990s when he was active in the club again. He attended many of the weeklong trips like the Steamboat Springs trip in 2005 and the Panorama trip in 2007.

NSC Presidents – Steamboat Springs (2005)

Pajama party night – Panorama Trip (2007)

Hi and Tom organized the club’s yearly salmon fishing trip for many years. Until these trips, some of us (like me) had never gone salmon fishing before. Thanks to them, I caught my first wild salmon.

Hi and Tom organized yearly fishing trips

Besides skiing and fishing, Hi helped the club with its year-round activities. For many years, NSC used to make Chinese chicken salad to sell at Nikkei Matsuri. Winston remembers meeting Hi at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple. Winston picked up the chicken and Hi picked up the lettuce. Hi had to drive all the way to Tanimura & Antle Farms in Salinas and back — easily a 160 mile round-trip! That says a lot about Hi.

Hi delivered the lettuce for making NSC’s Chinese chicken salad

Stewardship of the club has been passed on but the club holds steadfast to its original principles. Hi’s objective of creating a club to promote the love of snow sports, friendship, and fun in the community still holds true. We are lucky to share in the legacy that Hi has left and we will miss him greatly.

 Hoyt Nelson

It was a pretty hot day for San Francisco, but because of its elevation, shadiness on Mt. Davidson trails and the fact that we were done before the temperature peaked, all 7 of us agreed we were better off than in San Jose.   Homes and gardens in this district are generally beautiful, but not over the top (as in the Sea Cliff area). We were treated to lots of fuchsias, forget-me-nots and other flowers not normally found in the wild along the steep trails. Unfortunately, ivy vines have nearly killed many of the trees along the way. The 103 ft. concrete cross at the top was awesome, but the view (normally one of the best in the city) was somewhat obscured by smoke from the forest fires north of San Francisco. After finishing, we walked by many interesting restaurants along nearby W. Portal Ave. before settling on Fres ca (Peruvian tapas, etc). Not many had tried Peruvian fruit drink – chicha, but I persuaded us to get a pitcher – which all agreed was just right after a hike. It wasn’t until we got a few miles south on the way home that we realized how much hotter it was back home.

Hoyt Nelson

On July 12th, eleven club members and friends met at the base of the grand Pacheco stairs on a balmy day in San Francisco. We trooped by many grand and beautifully landscaped (except for the many brown lawns – in honor of our drought) followed by neat homes from the 1040s to 1960s. From Golden Gates Heights Park, we got good views looking west over the Sunset neighborhood and ocean, but even more 270 degree sweeping views to the north over Golden Gate Park from Grandview Park. The highlight however was the magnificent Moraga stairs with its sweeping vertical diorama of sea creatures, under land animals, under birds, under stars and the sun at the top. The hike was sprinkled with more than a dozen stairways which primed us for a delicious dim sum lunch nearby on Irving between 26/27th Avenues. A few of us also shopped for more food across the street.