by Armand Gutierrez, President

Welcome to the Chinese Year of the Tiger! Yes, the Chinese New Year started February 1^st and celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on February 15th. People born in the year of the Tiger (1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, etc.) are often considered to be courageous and active people who love a good challenge and an adventurous life.

 2022 NSC Ski Week to Steamboat, CO

Our ski-week was filled with sunshine and blue skies for the whole week and no fresh powder. I must be a jinx because this is my third time to Steamboat and that elusive champagne powder was nowhere on the mountain for me. However, everyone had a great time schussing down the slopes, congregating for lunch, and savoring the cuisine that Steamboat had to offer. The Farewell Dinner at the Ore House provided us with excellent service and outstanding appetizers and entrees. Perhaps the only downer of the week was when all the 49er fans witnessed the breakdown and collapse of their favorite team attempting to gain a foothold into Superbowl LVI. Those Niner Rally Towels handed out by United Airlines at SFO turned into Crying Towels. As a sixth-seed for the playoffs, the Niners did well this year. Well, there’s always next year.

QotM:  It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.

by Judy Bracken, Newsletter Editor

There were five of us Nisei renegades who chose to attend the Far West Ski Association sponsored ski week to Snowmass/Aspen this year. The group nearly took over the resort condos with about 300 FWSA members, including 70 or so from the Bay Area Council, so quite a few familiar faces if one has attended other FWSA events.

Similar to the Steamboat area, for most days we enjoyed brilliant blue skies with snow-top covered 14,000 foot Rocky Mountain peaks as far as the eye could see. One difference is that we did have fresh powder, albeit just 4-6 inches, but enough to make the heart leap and the skis sing over the velvety smooth light snow. The snow cover was not the usual 8-10 feet known in Colorado, but there was enough coverage and cold air to keep the snow crisp and squeaky. Grooming was exceptional. While we spent most of our time at the 3,132 acres of Snowmass resort, days were spent at the smaller Aspen and Aspen Highlands Resorts as well. Our guide at Aspen Highlands described the 1000 step hike up a knife-edge ridge at 12,000 feet to the Highland Bowl, a magnificent bowl filled with double black powdery runs. He said it was a feat not to miss if possible, however none of our group found it possible!

One day we woke to a frosty -19 degrees. Many took that day off, but the die hard skiers piled on our extra layers and braved the cold. This was the kind of day to take several warm-up stops in the many lodges around the mountain, and two or more hikes to the five mile Long Shot run from top to bottom. It might have made it to 7 or 8 degrees that day. As with last year’s FWSA trip, the only group gathering was the outdoor picnic at the Spider Sabich picnic area. We were given debit and gift cards to use in lieu of the group dinners. They did hold the council races this year, and I believe the Bay Area Council won the most points.

All in all, while we missed our fellow NSC members at Steamboat, it was a wonderful trip to another part of Colorado.