by Armand Gutierrez, President  

Last month the Tahoe region experienced its first dusting of snow (all melted by now) and now we are all waiting for the rainy season to begin. Long-range forecast is for La Niña to provide a normal snowfall this season in the Tahoe region, and above normal snowfall in the northwest and Canada. And, of course, it’s also time for the witches, ghosts, goblins, and creatures of the night to come out to celebrate Halloween. Before the ski season starts there are still a number of non-ski events coming up:

• 11-19 October, Eastern Canada Trip with Jeanne Katsuro at the helm
• 9 November, Saturday – Pickle ball Event with Tina Woo/Jeanne Katsuro

Membership Report

There were four returning and one new member for the month of September and that brings us to a total of 81 members.  Membership signups usually increase from signups for the ski week, but it’s not expected to get any more ski trips signups at this late date. However, there may be more new signups in the coming months for the 2025 France trip.

Ski Pros Avalanche Sale

Remember the Snow Bomb shows that offered sales on ski gear, clothing, and accessories? Well, Snow Bomb gradually went away, but now there is Ski Pros. Ski Pros offers a variety of products similar to the Snow Bomb shows. So, if you’re interested getting new gear this year then think about attending the Ski Pros Avalanche Sale going on in October and November. Here are links to the various shows:

San Francisco — Oct 5-6 — https://theavalanchesale.com/event/san-francisco/?_kx=X8jM4lfhGbvrtbKBIeElNJfUwciS6owFtd49zr9Qc74.Xnteyk

San Jose — Oct 18-20 — https://theavalanchesale.com/event/san-jose/

Sacramento — Nov 22-24 — https://theavalanchesale.com/event/sacramento/

Uncrowded Ski Resorts

 I don’t know where this is but I sure would not want to be in that line. So, if you want to ski with space to breathe, carve your own path, and short lift lines then here are the top nine resorts to visit:

1. Beaver Creek, CO
2. Telluride, CO
3. Lake Louise, AB
4. Arapahoe Basin, CO
5. Big White, CO
6. Grand Targhee, WY
7. Whitefish, MT
8. Sun Peaks, BC
9. Kirkwood, CA

IKON/EPIC Pass Update

Here is some information regarding the Ikon/Epic passes for this season:

• October 9, Epic Passes increase in price.
• October 10, Ikon Passes increase in price.

Not sure about which pass to get? OnTheSnow (an online magazine) provides a section on ski pass comparisons to help you decide which pass to get if you haven’t done so yet. Click here https://www.onthesnow.com/news/ski-pass-comparison-ikon-pass-vs-epic-pass/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=09_26_24 to review the Ikon Pass vs. Epic Pass comparisons.

2025 NSC Ski Week

The Sun Peaks ski trip is full with 22 people occupying six condos. Final payments are due October 15^th, so get your checks out. Sports America has posted the Epic/Ikon links for the 2024-2025 season and is offering a 6.5% trip rebate (based on pass price) if you purchase the passes from Sports America and go on the Sun Peaks trip:

Use this for Epic passes: https://www.sportsamerica.com/epic-nisei

Use this for Ikon passes: https://www.sportsamerica.com/ikon-nisei

Password: snow

Questions: contact president@niseiskiclub.org

QotM: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.

by Tina Woo, NSC Member

What and Why Pickleball?

Over the last few years, pickleball has been rising in popularity.  Pickleball is considered one of the fastest-growing sports in the US.  But, what is pickleball exactly and why is it so popular?

Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines tennis, badminton and ping-pong using a paddle and a plastic ball with holes (called a wiffle ball).  It’s a game for players of all ages and skill levels.  It’s a great introductory sport.  It can also be challenging, fast-paced and competitive.

Why is Pickleball so popular? 

•  It’s ideal for all skill levels
• Pickleball is a social activity
• Pickleball is healthy
• Short learning curve, appeal to all ages and fitness levels, low costs

Want to learn more about pickleball?  Come and join us for a Nisei Ski Club pickleball event on Saturday, November  9 from 9-11 am at the Sunnyvale Tennis Center. For those who can’t make it, please plan to join us for lunch.

by Tina Woo, , Board Member

BEAT LA!   BEAT LA!   BEAT LA!

Take me out to the ball game,

Take me out with the crowd;

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks,

I don’t care if I never get back.

Let me root, root, root for GIANTS (OR DODGERS),

If they don’t win, it’s a shame.

For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,  at the old ball game.

Do you love baseball?  Would you be interested in joining fellow Nisei Ski Club members in the classic battle between the SF Giants vs. LA Dodgers.  If so, please complete this survey.  How many tickets can we order for you?  Sunday, July 13, 2025 at SF Oracle Park.  Game time:  12:45 pm.

Name & Contact Info_________________________________

____ # of tickets you need? 

Please email Tina Woo for if you are interested at baseball@niseiskiclub.org

She would like to start the process of ordering tickets for the game.  View Reserved Section 313 beginning with Row 12.  Go Giants!  Go Dodgers! 

by Judy Hom, Board Member

I hosted a second mahjong event because Jeanne Katsuro and others told me that they were interested in playing and learning more about mahjong. This year, 12 people signed up. Like last year, this was a potluck in addition to mahjong. After all, you can’t play on an empty stomach. There was a yummy assortment of food: spam musubi, oyster sauce chicken wings, egg rolls, dim sum, mapo tofu and more.

At the break, Ida Koo delighted us with her Hawaiian shaved ice. Ida brought her heavy duty shaved ice machine, syrups, Azuki beans, condensed milk, and ice cream. It was amazing. The day was warm so the shaved ice was a delightful and welcome treat.

Okay, back to the mahjong. At this event, we concentrated on the Hong Kong style of play and scoring.

Jeanne challenged her intermediate table to win with a minimum of 3 fan. No chicken hands or gai woo for her table. There was lots of yelling, screaming, and laughing coming from her table. And, there were some awfully big hands. Curtis was the biggest winner with 8 fan self draw (ji mo!). Everyone had to pay him 384 chips.

At my beginner table, I shared my list of mahjong tidbits like not patting another player’s shoulder which gives them bad luck. David Tom decided to test that superstition and patted Bev Lee’s shoulders a few times. We learned how to count fan and used chips (no money) so people could see who was the big winner at our table. Everyone ended up pretty even so patting Bev’s shoulders didn’t do much harm.

Sarah Lowe did a wonderful coaching the newbies. Dean Santo and James Chan had some big hands at that table.

Even if they didn’t win a hand, everyone had a great time at the event. I got a lot of questions about scoring. I put together these scoring tables from Amy Lo’s “The Book of Mahjong” and Benny Constantino’s “Let’s Play Mahjong”.

Fan

Agree on table limits before playing. A common limit is 6 fan. Each fan is worth 2 points (or 2 chips).

Ji Mo

Ji mo (self win) earns an extra fan. Everyone is a loser and must pay double.

by Karen Soo, Newsletter Editor

Hey Fellow Chefs,

Halloween is just around the corner and before you know it, we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It’s almost scary how perfect these creepy witch finger cookies are as a Halloween treat. Buttery shortbread cookies are easy to make with green dye, and are finished with “bloody” raspberry jam and almond finger nails.

Bon Appetite – Julia Child and Karen Soo share the same birthday.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

 Servings 28 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar confectionery
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Almond extract
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon salt, if using salted butter
• 3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
• green food coloring few drops
• Raspberry Jam

Instructions

1. In a bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond and vanilla extract; beat in flour, baking powder and salt.  Add a few drops of green food coloring until it reaches your desired green.    Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2.  Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into one end for the nail. Squeeze in center to create knuckle shape; using a paring knife or toothpick, make several places to form knuckle.
3. Place on lightly greased baking sheets or parchment lined baking sheets. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for 3 minutes. 
4. Lift up almond; squeeze raspberry jam onto nail bed and press almond back into place, so the jam oozes out from underneath. Let cool. Makes about 28 large cigar size cookies.

Recipe Notes

1. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 or 5 days. They will keep for an extra day or so in the refrigerator, but will also likely dry out a bit.

2. To freeze, place the baked and cooled cookies all together in a plastic zipper bag. Squeeze out any excess air, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Have a safe Halloween – October 31, 2024

https://archive.org/details/hd-it-is-the-great-pumpkin-charlie-brown-1966