Welcome to December!  Snow is here and we’re excited for the ski season to start.  Below are the links to articles for this month. See you on the slopes!

President’s Message by Armand Gutierrez

The Top 4 Reasons to Wear a Helmet on the Slopes by Deanna Power

Mondo Bizarro by Hoyt Nelson

Pass Holder First Tracks

Please know that anyone is welcome to submit articles at any time.  Just email them to jwaldobracken@gmail.com

by Armand Gutierrez

Next to Thanksgiving perhaps the Christmas season is my favorite time of the year. There’s nothing like listening to Christmas music (old standards and new versions), watching the neighbors put up Christmas lights and decorations, and everyone getting into that Christmas spirit that permeates the atmosphere. And then again, it also means that the ski season is starting and the white slopes of Tahoe will once again become my playground. This is when Mother Nature does some of her best work, laying down a carpet of endless snowflakes and transforming the hillsides and mountain vistas into a true winter wonderland.

Upcoming Events
Pre-Season Ski Potluck Dinner – Saturday December 8th
This potluck dinner is designed to get everyone excited about the upcoming ski season and the ski-week to Big Sky in January. Everyone is encouraged to wear a ski outfit, either your best, worst, or anything in-between, and provide a dish that will tantalize the taste buds. Rick Dumlao and his wife Patt have graciously offered their home in Union City to host what I hope will become an annual event. An Evite has been sent out so please RSVP so we can get an accurate headcount, and the club will provide beverages so all you have to bring is a tantalizing dish.

Big Sky Ski Week 2019
The Big Sky trip is a month away and there is time to get in some skiing up at Tahoe before the trip, although most resorts have limited lifts/trails open at this time. The Big Sky Orientation meeting will be held on Saturday, January 5th so mark your calendars. This will be an opportunity to meet other members on the trip, socialize a bit, and pick-up the souvenir gift. The Big Sky pamphlet will be distributed by email since the Orientation meeting and our trip departure are very close. An Evite will be sent out in December that provides all the details. If you don’t receive an Evite then let me know at president@niseiskiclub.org. Also, Karen Soo is coordinating the potluck dinner and will be sending out an email listing your condo mates so you can get a head start on putting together your potluck menu. This trip is getting closer and closer and hopefully everyone is preparing for the upcoming ski season. Big Sky has received quite a bit of snowfall and the expected temps are in the teens and low 20’s, so start packing your warm ski outfits. Kristin Thornquist is organizing a Yellowstone National Park Tour for Wednesday, January 23rd. If you’re interested then send her email at kthornquist@sbcglobal.net.

Christmas Greetings
This has been a good year for NSC with the popular Vail Trip, the annual picnic Membership Meeting, and the NSC 60th Anniversary Dinner. On behalf of the NSC board I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

by Deanna Power

While the number of people opting to wear a helmet on the slopes has increased significantly throughout the last decade, there are still many people who don’t wear helmets. While most resorts do not make wearing a helmet mandatory, medical professionals recommend wearing a helmet on the slopes because of the impact it can make on the outcome of an accident. There are several advantages to wearing a helmet when skiing or snowboarding, so there is no reason for you to not wear one when participating in alpine sports.

The Statistics

While there is an excellent safety record for snowboarding and skiing overall, there are inherent risks that come with any dangerous sport. When you wear a helmet, you can improve your safety and decrease the risks of you being seriously injured in an accident. The most recent data provided from helmet studies reveal that skiers and snowboarders are understanding the benefits of wearing a helmet. According to a study conducted by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), 67% of those who ski or snowboard wear helmets while participating in alpine sports.

The study shows that the use of helmets reduces the risks of suffering a head injury anywhere from 30% to 50%, but that decrease is usually limited to the less serious head injuries. Just because you wear a helmet, you shouldn’t participate in risky behavior because there has not been a significant reduction in the number of fatalities on the slopes during the last 9 years.

Four Reasons Why You Should Wear a Helmet

There are multiple advantages to wearing a helmet. Here are just a few:
1. Safety. Research shows that while helmets may not completely prevent head injuries, they can significantly impact the severity of the injury and the outcome of the accident. Most injuries occur when a skier strikes an inanimate object, such as a rock, tree, or the ground. Helmets can play a significant role in reducing the severity of the impact and reduce the trauma that your head suffers.

2. Warmth. Being out on the slopes can be cold. Because the body loses most of its heat through the head, a helmet can be beneficial in keeping you warm. Helmets act as insulators and will keep your head warm.

3. It can hold your goggles in place. When you are skiing, you want to wear goggles to protect your eyes. A helmet can help you keep your goggles in place so you can see better when you are out on the slopes.

4. There are many reasons to wear a helmet, but an important one is that you set a good example. When children and adults see other people wearing helmets on the slopes, they pay attention. You wearing a helmet can lead others to wear a helmet and protect themselves as well.

Choosing a Helmet

When you select a helmet, you want to choose the right helmet for your needs. You want to get a helmet that properly fits. This means that when you strap it on, you don’t want it to shift when you tilt from side to side. There are helmets of different styles and designs. Some helmets are more lightweight than others, but they are usually more expensive. Select a helmet that feels comfortable so you can get a lot of use out from it. If you choose to wear a helmet, you’ll be going a long way in protecting yourself while skiing or snowboarding.

*This article was not written by an attorney, and it’s always your choice as to whether you want to wear a helmet. Just keep in mind that if you wear a helmet, you could be saving lives!

by Hoyt Nelson

I grew up in rural Connecticut where the New York style pizza was pretty good, but there was no other ethnic food than Chinese, and that was nothing more than “Chung King” chow mein in cans from the grocery store. There was a “real” Chinese restaurant about 30 miles away in a town curiously named Canton, but the food there was a disgrace to that name.

We’ve all heard, and possibly sampled things like chocolate-covered ants, Rocky Mountain “oysters” (sheep testicles) and sheep eyeballs, and I found there are very few limits on what some people will eat to satisfy their hunger. Moving to California in 1962 opened my eyes and mouth to the bounty which has only exploded into the richness we see today. In the early 1970s, I bought small cans of whale and rattlesnake meat and found them tasty. Soon after, I bought a book called the “San Francisco Underground Gourmet”. Over the course of several years I sampled more than 50 restaurants from every manner of cuisine, including places like Chez Nick – a combination of French, Russian and The Khyber Pass which in 1969, claimed to be the only Afghan restaurant in the western hemisphere. One of the few places in the book that I missed (before it closed up) was a place in the Haight called “The Magnolia Thunderpussy”, whose specialty was pineapple thunderpussy. (The owner was actually woman who called herself Magnolia Thunderpussy.) Other than pineapple, I regret that I never found out what else was in it.

I took the next step at a Peruvian restaurant in San Jose (not Isabella’s on Winchester which I now visit every couple of months) where I ate a couple of grass hoppers, but found them little more than salt and crunch.

Many years later, my wife Nancy ate a scorpion in China on a business trip and reported that it tasted pretty much like grasshopper.

In 1972, I spent 6 months in Europe. In particular, the snails in France were delicious. I’m told that the French snails are the same variety as our US snails, but you have to be careful since US snails frequently have a taste of snail bait (poison). Also, I’ve heard the French put the snails on a corn starch diet for 2 weeks before eating them to clear out any of their usual food from their systems (snails are not picky eaters).

In Scotland, I learned about haggis (sheep organs and oatmeal stuffed into a sheep stomach) but never saw it on a menu and we didn’t ask. 

Further north in Sweden, there is a gelatinous “dish” of (usually cod) fish that has soaked in water for a week or 2 and then preserved in lye (sodium hydroxide). I worked with a Swede in the mid 80s who actually ate it while camping by himself above the Arctic Circle but unfortunately we never saw it on the menu.

While hiking the Inca trail in Peru in 1986, I noticed an occasional house out in the middle of nowhere with a white cloth attached to a 10 foot pole. May is harvest time below the equator and I learned this “flag” was a sign that chicha was for sale there. It’s a slightly fermented corn drink, whose fermentation is hastened by spitting in it. (I’m told there’s a similar drink in the Amazon jungle which people blow their noses into the fresh juice to do the same thing.) I didn’t stop at one of these places in the hills, but did run into a chicha seller at a train station (sitting there with a bucket of the stuff and a glass). (The local custom is to spill a few drops on the ground before drinking as an offering to Mother Earth). It tasted pretty good and I now find chicha on the menu of many local Peruvian restaurants (although it’s not fermented).

While at work in the late ‘90s, a Filipino technician brought in a delicacy called balut for lunch (means “wrapped” in Tagalog). It’s a fertilized duck egg that has been soaked in soy sauce and buried in the ground for a couple of weeks. Partially developed claws and beaks are visible, but not yet hardened. Nobody (including me) had the guts to sample one.

In a restaurant just off Stevens Creek Blvd. in San Jose there is a dish labeled “Stinky tofu” on the menu. We had heard of such a dish, and here was our chance to sample it. It did smell pretty terrible, but once you got it past your nose, it wasn’t all that bad (we actually finished the portion).

Finally, there’s a dish (we heard about from 3 different sources) from southern China called “The 3 Screamings”. It involves newborn baby rats. You pick one up with your chopsticks and it screams for its mother. Then you swish it around in soy sauce and the salty sauce gets in its eyes so it screams again. Finally, as you bite down, it screams one last time. There is even worse, which I will not describe here. If you must know, see me in private.

Heavenly Mountain is offering fresh first tracks every Monday at 8:30am for pass holders. You can access first tracks from any base area that is open. See our Nisei Ski Club Facebook page for more details.