~ Morgan Hua ~

For the Sun Valley trip, I currently have 21 signups.  4 SFO seats out of 10 are already taken.

If you want to book your own air, you can take the Land Only package for $890.  We have paid for a charter bus to take all of us from BOI to Sun Valley.  Your Land Only package includes this bus.  If your flight misses this bus, then you are responsible for your own transportation from the airport to Sun Valley.

Our last group flight arrives at BOI on Jan 21, 2012, 1:36pm.  Our first departing flight from BOI is on Jan 28, 2012, 12:35pm.  If you purchase a LAND ONLY package and you want to catch NSC’s chartered bus, you must arrive at BOI no later than the last club booked flight which is scheduled to arrive at 1:36 pm on Jan. 21, 2012.

If you are booking your own flight, you may want to fly directly into SUN instead of BOI.

If you change your mind about airfare, contact me before November that is when I must release our unused airfare seats.

From Armand’s Desk, Armand Gutierrez

Membership Activity

The NSC continues grow on pace with last year. At the end of July we have 55 members, which compares with 53 members at the end of July 2010. As we get closer to ski season (yes, it will be here before you know it), there should be an increase in membership, especially around the October time frame when everyone starts getting excited about skiing and the weekend ski trips. Also please welcome the following new members: Mary Jang, Carolynn Honey, and Rick Dumlao

Chamonix Ski Week

When I first read about FWSA planning a ski week in Chamonix, France, it became apparent that this was a trip in my destiny. Why? For starters, I’ve been yearning to return to the Alps (Swiss, Austrian, or French) to explore the many ski resorts that Europe has to offer. I say “return” because I had the enviable position of living in Germany for two winter seasons. And yes, during those two seasons a weekend trip to Switzerland or Austria happened about twice a month. My only trip to France was to Tignes/Val d’Isere (a one week trip), and to Corvatsch, Italy on a weekend trip. And now I get to add Chamonix to the list.

Although the trip is in March there should still be good ski conditions. But I’m not only going for the skiing. There’s the Aiguille du Midi, which is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. If you’re afraid of heights then this is not the place for you.

I’m looking forward to the international flavor of European ski resorts. And I’m not talking about the food, although that is certainly another consideration. The international flavor of hearing people speaking so many different languages is a delight to the senses.

If you’ve never been to Europe for a week of skiing, then this is a golden opportunity. Yes, it is more expensive than the NSC ski week trips, but then what price can you put on a trip to Europe if you’ve never been there? So far, my fellow skier, Curtis Otaguro, will be joining me on this trip. If you’re interested or have any questions, then you know whom to call.

Byline: Karen “Gilligan” Soo

Seven NCS members and guests ventured out to San Francisco Bay on July 23 for a day of salmon fishing.  With 2 doses of Dramamine in my system and my motion sickness band on my wrist, I was ready to go. Most of us got up as early as 4:00am to meet at 5:00am at the Emeryville Marina where Tom Ryugo and I met our fellow castaways.

Everyone checked in, handed over $5.00 for the “Biggest Catch” cash pot, and we were on our way.

Read the rest of this entry »

For the Sun Valley trip, I have 10 signups in hand already.  4 SFO seats out of 10 are already taken.  If you want to book your own air, you can take the Land Only package for $890.  We have paid for a charter bus to take all of us from BOI to Sun Valley.  Your Land Only package includes this bus.  If your flight misses this bus, then you are responsible for your own transportation from the airport to Sun Valley.  Our last flight arrives at BOI on Jan 21, 2012, 1:36pm.  Our first departing flight from BOI is on Jan 28, 2012, 12:35pm.  If you change your mind about airfare, contact me before September, that is when I must release our airfare seats and any cancellations or changes will cost you money.

For those who wanted airfare, I will contact you separately about your legal name for the airline tickets.

You must be a NSC member to go on the Sun Valley trip.  Armand, our membership chair, prefers that you send a separate membership form and check to him, but for your convenience, I will take the membership form and fee when you send in your first payment.

We will be at Sun Valley during Theme Week.  I don’t have details yet, but there are supposed to be free parties and events at that time.

That’s all for now.

Good news.  Dan Lew has volunteered to be the Newsletter Editor.  Dan, Thank You.

Frank Chang returns as Treasurer for a 3rd term.  NSC has term limits, but since no one was elected Treasurer this year, Frank graciously agreed to stay on as Treasurer for another term.

I’d like to thank members of last year’s board:  Alice Horio, Charles Akers, David Jensen, Frank Chang, Hoyt Nelson, Armand Gutierez, Joel Hayashida, Allen Hu, Brian Hess, Karen Soo, David Tom, and Greg Wong.  NSC is an all volunteer organization and without the hard work of these people and others, we wouldn’t exist.  All of  these people have been on the board for many years, even decades.   Thank you, thank you,  thank you.

The board for 2011-2012 is smaller than previous years, but our membership is smaller too.  Last year we had 117 members.  Decades ago, we had peaked at 450 members.

This year, we don’t have a newsletter editor.  I will continue to post articles and pictures, and events on the website as this will be our way of communicating with the membership.    The only reason we offer a hardcopy option is that a small number of dedicated members do not have regular web access and need signup forms mailed to them via the US mail.  For a fee, I will just periodically print out the website articles and signup forms and mail it to them.  The PDF version of the newsletter will cease to exist.

Karen Soo has a tentative schedule for the next season, it includes 2 weekend bus trips and 1 long weekend  trip to Mammoth.  I have the weeklong trip scheduled already to Sun Valley for Jan 21-28, 2012. The price is $1200.  At the end of this month, there will be Post-Season/Thank You BBQ Lunch at my house.

If I don’t see you at the Post-Season Event, I’ll see you at the slopes or at a different event.

Morgan

They say time flies when you’re having fun.  Well, it’s been a quick NSC season and I’d like to thank the hard working volunteers, especially the officers and board members of this NSC year. Read the rest of this entry »

John and Amy

The Nisei Ski Club put together yet another fabulous and well-organized weekend.  Great friends, terrific food, lots of laughs, combined with great snow and truly perfect ski weather.  40 folks joined us on this trip up to Squaw Valley on Saturday and Northstar on Sunday.  Three MSSC members participated, Elaine Giampietro, Maria Palazzolo (new MSSC Member) and Amy Williams, along with a new friend John McDonald from Capitola.

Gratefully, good weather was on our side, thus arriving at The Sands, Reno around midnight.  So much saner than the 4:30 AM arrival on Trip #3.  Once again, our intrepid bus driver, Grady, got us there safely and swiftly.  A variety of videos on board, trivia games and conversation seem to hasten the ride.  Talk about organization.  Terrific food evidently made with love and the best ingredients provided substance.  Plenty of liquid refreshments also helped!

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day.  Many of us went up to Squaw Valley for skiing and snowboarding, a few remained in Reno for retail therapy and pampering.  Elaine’s long time friend from Cape Cod hooked up both Saturday and Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »

Photos by Bill Lee

This was the NSC Potluck weekend.  Unlike the previous trip two weeks earlier, the roads were clear, so the trip went quickly.  The back of the bus is where the party was happening. As usual, that’s where most of the members of the Monterey Ski and Social Club sat – coincidence? – You decide.  Grady was our driver again and he did an excellent job of getting us to our various destinations, quickly and most importantly safely.

After eating dinner on the bus, we were able to watch a movie on board. On the previous trip, the video player wasn’t working.  Also working this time was the light in the bus lavatory, which made using the facilities much easier.  After arriving at the Sands in Reno about 12:15 am, most people went straight to bed.

The next morning, the bus left at a bright and way too early time of 7:45am.  After breakfast was served on the bus and money for lift tickets was collected, we arrived at Squaw Valley at about 8:30am. We were soon on the slopes.

After a full day of skiing and an après ski spread back at the bus, we headed back to Reno.  After showering and getting changed, it was time for the NSC potluck dinner. The event was held in a couple of NSC members hotel rooms.  There were variety types of food and everyone ate their fill. There were plenty of leftovers for a couple of days of lunch! Read the rest of this entry »

A man’s home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.

Dijon vu – the same mustard as before.

Practice safe eating – always use condiments.

Shotgun wedding – A case of wife or death. Read the rest of this entry »

Photos by Karen Soo

Pictures by Bob Kikuchi.  Click on Image to see full-size picture.

As everyone knows by now, Japan has suffered a major catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.  All our hopes and prayers go out to them in their time of need.  The people of Japan prepared extremely well and their response has been exceptional, but this event is greater than anyone could have imagined.  Their needs are great and we should help as much as we can.  Short of flying over there (and possibly being part of the problem rather than part of the solution) our best means of support is to donate money.  The following are a few of the places to donate.  I’m sure you can find more through Google, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

NSC: How long have you been skiing? How did you start?

In my senior year at college, my roommates got me to try skiing.  They showed me how to snowplow for a few minutes and then left.  I spent much of that afternoon on the bunny slopes trying to get up while little kids whizzed past spraying snow all over me.

NSC: How did you hear of NSC? What convinced you to join?

I broke my leg in 2003 when my 9 year old ski bindings didn’t release. I bought new shaped skis for safety, but they were so much more fun to ski on, I started looking for a way to ski more often.  I reviewed websites of every ski club in the Bay Area and picked NSC which seemed to have the best program.  Not having a 4WD and wanting to meet more people to ski with, bus trips were perfect for me. Read the rest of this entry »

A few months ago, I met Jennifer Kaneda through a common friend. The three of us started talking about skiing over lunch and Jenni mentioned the Nisei Ski Club (NSC) and their weekend trips. What got my attention was the fact that the bus leaves at 6:30pm on Friday night. Unlike the other clubs who leaves at 4AM on Saturday morning. And by the way, I love my sleep. Read the rest of this entry »

This trip began with a threat of stormy weather.  The Bay Area was under a constant media blitz of potential blizzard, or at least snow on every mound of earth if not down to sea level.  As it was, the blizzard in the Bay Area was a bust.  But the storm did materialize for NSC’s bus trip Friday night.

The bus was filled with happy NSC skiers, guests and our contingent from the Monterey Ski Club.  A wonderful dinner of ground beef and peas over rice and real homemade mango pudding for dessert provided by Karen was enjoyed by all.  Unfortunately the bus’ DVD player would not cooperate, so the long bus ride was without the added entertainment.  Read the rest of this entry »

1. 3M and GOODYEAR (The new company will be called MMM Good.)

2. HONEYWELL, IMASCO and HOME OIL (The new company will be called Honey, I’m Home.)

3. DENISON MINES, ALLIANCE and METAL MINING (The new company will be called Mine, All Mine.)

4. ZIPPO MFG., AUDI, DOFASCO and DAKOTA MINING (The new company will be called Zip Audi Do-Da.)

5. W.R.GRACE CO., FULLER BRUSH CO., MARY KAY COSMETICS, and HALE BUSINESS SYSTEMS (The new company will be called Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.)

6. POLYGRAM RECORDS, WARNER BROS. and KEEBLER (The new company will be called Poly-Warner-Cracker.)

7. KNOT’S BERRY FARM & THE NAT. ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN (The new company will be called Knot Now.)

1. The Von Trapps established The Trapp Family Lodge in 1950 with 27 rooms at Stowe, VT.

2. Eastern Boilerplate refers to a crust of ice on top of snow which frequently occurs at the low elevations on many Eastern US ski slopes.

3. The first American resort to stage a winter Olympics was Lake Placid, NY.

4. Ullr is the Norse god of Winter.

5. Vertical gate combinations on a race course are referred to as flushes.

6. Sonny Bono ran into a tree at Heavenly Valley.

Picture by Monterey Ski and Social Club.

Photos by Bob Kikuchi

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Pictures by Bill Lee.   Click on individual pictures to see full-sized image.

Everybody’s favorite volunteer activity is coming sooner than you think.  We need lots of folks to procure, cook and prepare our famous Chinese chicken salad and lots more to sell and otherwise put on the biggest NSC moneymaker of the year.  We will meet Sat. AM May 30 at the Mtn. View Buddhist Church (575 N Shoreline Blvd.) and Sun all day at the SJ Buddhist Church lot (640 N 5th St.)  Come and renew old friendships while you help your club. Contact Alice Horio at vicepresident@niseiskiclub.org for details and to sign up for a shift on either or both days.

50 NSC members just returned from our weeklong trip to Keystone, CO.  We hit the best snow in 14 years according to the locals.  Even during the trip, members were already asking where we’re going next year.  This year was a La Niña year, which according to the experts stacked storms in the Pacific and pound the Northwest and Northern Rockies this winter.  Talking to people on the lift chair, there wasn’t enough snow in Taos or Telluride, but plenty at Vail and Keystone.  According to weather reports, La Niña will be over by this summer.

Banff was brought up by members as possible destination, but due to the fluctuating Canadian exchange rate travel agencies are reluctant to lock in prices.  When we went to Whistler last year, Joel had problems locking in a price.  We could book the trip, but the price wasn’t guaranteed.   Just like how airlines can add a fuel surcharge if the price of jet fuel goes up, travel agencies wanted the right to increase the price if the US dollar dropped against the Canadian dollar.  A bit outrageous.

I’m thinking of three options: Mammoth, Sun Valley, or Jackson Hole.

FWSA is also going to Jackson Hole in 2012 on the last week of January.  So, if we go to Jackson Hole, we may join the FWSA trip.

If you have a destination suggestion, please contact me:  president@niseiskiclub.org

I’ve added a new page on the website listing all the past weeklong trips: NSC Presidents and Weeklong Trips

Click on each image to see the full size image:

Mozart at top of Dercum Mountain

Cat Dancer at top of North Peak

Spill Way at top of North Peak

Snow Fort at top of Dercum Mountain

Top of Outback looking down the North Bowl side

If you have pictures or links to your photo album you want to share with others who went on the Keystone trip, send them to me at president@niseiskiclub.org and I’ll post them on the website.