Armand Gutierrez, NSC President

Summer is giving way to fall and the next thing we know it will be winter. Are you ready for the upcoming ski season? With the warm temperatures I’m still busy with my summer activities and haven’t started thinking about the ski season, yet. If you need new equipment then starting in October is when the ski shops start having some sales for last year’s inventory. And then in late October/early November we have the annual SnowBomb shows in San Jose and San Francisco. These events offer great deals on ski/snowboard equipment, clothing and accessories, plus it’s like attending a great big party.

This month there are several events designed to get the membership together and have some fun and give some volunteer time to the community. Let’s get together for a fun evening at The Garret in Campbell for a Pizza Social, and then you can make a difference in the community with the Coastal Cleanup that is being organized by Judy Hom.

September Pizza Social – September 11th

Last year, we had an August Pizza Social at The Garret that was well attended, especially for a Thursday evening. This time we’ll have a September Pizza Social on Sunday, September 11th at The Garret (Campbell) so we can gather around, quaff a few ales, dine on outstanding pizza, and watch New England and Arizona battle it out on the turf. Although the game starts at 5:30 we can meet at 5:00 and still catch most of the game. If you’re planning on attending then let me know at president@niseiskiclub.org

SnowBomb Shows in October/November

Coming up in October and November are the annual SnowBomb ski shows in San Jose and San Francisco. I usually attend the San Jose event and Karen Soo and Curtis Otaguro attend the San Francisco event. We’re looking for additional volunteers to support the BAC booth at both locations. As a volunteer you get free admission to the SnowBomb event, talk with people about the various clubs that are part of BAC, and do some self-promoting of NSC. Arrive early, or stay later, and visit the other ski-related booths or perhaps pick up something at one of the retail booths that have discounted prices on ski gear. The San Jose event is October 29-30 and the San Francisco event is November 5-6. If interested, then drop me a line at president@niseiskiclub.org or Karen Soo at tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org.

Snowmass Ski Week 2017

The Snow mass trip is full with 54 signups. I originally targeted 44 people but was able to secure two additional 2-bedroom units. There is one new group of six that made their own air/lodging arrangements but they will still be part of the NSC group. A wait list will be created for those that are still interested in going on the Snowmass trip.

Judy Hom

This is a reminder that I am organizing an NSC team for Coastal Cleanup day on Saturday, September 17, 2016. I’ve picked Crown Beach in Alameda as our clean-up site. 10 spots are available. Send an email to cleanup2016@niseiskiclub.org to let me know if you want to participate. Lunch will be provided courtesy of NSC. For more information see the August Coastal Cleanup article.

Winston Fong

On August 27, a group went on the 7.5 mile Alum Rock hike lead by Dave Schultz. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were lucky that we hiked on the North Woodland and South Rim Trails, which were shaded. This was a fairly steep trail. If you fell, you would roll a couple hundred feet downhill. If you survived, you would surely have a bad case of poison oak. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining because we got some pretty good views of Silicon Valley. We saw some turkey vultures and Rick talked of hang gliding with them.

We saw a sign that said “Trail closed. Do not go beyond this point”. Dave said that he didn’t see anything when he hiked up here a couple of weeks ago. So, he told us to keep going and to ignore the sign! It turned out that the hillside had eroded and the trail was washed out with dirt. Okay, it wasn’t that big of a deal. We had to walk carefully 30 or 40 feet. This was our big adventure for the day. I guess that’s why we signed the NSC waiver.

I found out that Alum Rock Park was the place for the health nuts back in the late 1800s through the 1930s. It was famous for the health benefits of its mineral springs. I understand that there were 27 mineral springs and as many as 10,000 visitors on a Sunday afternoon. I didn’t see 27 minerals springs but I did see a few decomposing baths. Some baths were hidden by vegetation and you could still smell the sulfur.

At the end of the hike, we visited the Youth Science Institute (“YSI”). We saw live owls. The owls live at the YSI because they’re injured or handicapped. One was blind and another had an injured wing. We also saw stuffed animals like a mountain lion, bobcat, gray fox, badger, hawks, shorebirds, and ducks to name a few.

At the end of our hike, we enjoyed snacks at Dave’s house. Thanks for a fun time, Dave!

Our hike leader – Dave Schultz
	Panoramic view of Silicon Valley
Remnant of mineral bath	The whiteness of the water is from sulphur
Injured barn owl	Stuffed mountain lion