Nisei Ski Club

The Tahoe region has received its first decent snowfall and several resorts have already indicated opening dates by the end of November. Weather forecasts look promising as low-pressure systems move in and provide us with rain in the bay area and snow up at Tahoe. Let’s hope Mother Nature comes through with plenty of snow this season.

Code of Conduct

At our last board meeting Brian Hess presented a draft of our new Code of Conduct and was reviewed by the board. The draft was well written and required a few minor changes. At our November board meeting we’ll be reviewing the final copy and then have it published by the December Newsletter.

BAC Winterfest Meeting

This was the 6^th annual winter festival held on Monday, 3 November, and was attended by board members Karen Soo, Curtis Otaguro, Frank Chang, and yours truly. The purpose of the winter festival is to meet with ski resort and industry reps, silent auction and raffle, and enjoy a great dinner with other BAC representatives from bay area ski clubs. Karen Soo won several of the raffle prizes while I got outbid on the Big White and Whitefish ski trips on the silent auction. We also met with reps from Sun Peaks, Whistler/Blackcomb, Mt. Bachelor, Telluride, Homewood, Squaw/Alpine, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Sugarbowl, and Mammoth.

1. Membership Activity

Normally October, and following months, doesn’t usually have new/returning members join but we did get one returning member that wanted to go on the Jackson Hole trip. Yes, there’s still some interest for Jackson Hole but that will probably come to an end now that we’ve passed the deadline for signups. Currently we have 91 members in the club.

I would like to welcome the following returning member:  Eden Wong

2. Jackson Hole Ski Week (24-31 January 2015)

With the latest signup we now have 74 intrepid skiers waiting for the chance to demonstrate their skiing abilities on the slopes of Jackson Hole (Corbet’s Couloir anyone?). Now that the deadline for signups has passed I don’t anticipate any more people signing up, plus the extra airline seats had to be released by the end of October. Although there is room in some of the condos getting an airline seat may be difficult at this time (but still possible). Here are some interesting facts about our trip:

• 41 people departing from SFO
• 33 people opted for Land Only (but some are also departing SFO)
• 3 people are driving
• Out of state members: Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, Nevada, British Columbia, and Mexico

Arrangements for our Farewell Dinner are in progress and I hope to be receiving the souvenir gifts soon so that they can be embroidered with our NSC logo. I’m also planning on having an Orientation Meeting at my house either in December (13^th or 14^th) or January (10^th or 11^th) so keep those weekends available.

Don’t forget to download the Jackson Hole mobile app called JH Tapped. This app provides a comprehensive all-season guide to Jackson Hole and includes webcams, trail maps, weather conditions, and lift status just to name a few. You can download this app for your tablet or smartphone from the Jackson Hole website (http://www.jacksonhole.com). Click on “mobile app” in the top row for a complete description and how to download.

The leaves are starting to change their colors. The air is getting cooler. Football season is on. A good indication that fall is here and the best part… The Giants are heading to the World Series. It’s time to start planning our 2015 weekend trips.

Putting all the holiday obstacles aside (Presidents Day weekend, Daylight Savings, Easter Break) I had narrowed down the weekend dates for 2015. We will have 2 weekend trips. We need 35 people to make our weekend trips happen.

Trip 1 – February 27 – March 1^st (Alpine / Northstar)

Trip 2 – March 13 – 15 (Squaw Valley / Sugar bowl)

Due to rising cost of gas these days, the cost of the weekend trips will go up slightly. We will do our best to keep the prices down.

The weeklong trip to Jackson Hole led by Armand G is at its full capacity with 74 people on the trip.   If you are interested in going, we can only put you on the waiting list.

There are a couple of ski shows coming up in the bay area. Snow Bomb Festival will be held at the following areas.  http://www.snowbomb.com/ski-board-festivals/

• Fort Mason during the weekend of Nov 1 and 2
• San Jose Convention Center weekend of Nov 8^th and 9^th
• Sacramento – Cal Expo Center Nov 15 -16

If you like to attend these shows for free and get the freebies with it. You only need to volunteer for 2 to 3 hours and promote the clubs who are members of BAC. More info to follow.

New Benefits: Nisei Ski Club is a member of the Bay Area Ski Council, which is a member of the Far West Ski Association. With this being said, Sugar Bowl will offer a free CORE pass ($20.00 Value) to all club members who show FWSA membership cards for the 2014-2015 season. I will distribute these cards at the Jackson Hole weeklong trip and weekend trips.

The core pass will help you save on your lift ticket purchases and skip the ticket lines.

All Daily CORE tickets include free membership in the CORE Rewards Program, offering special perks, deals and discounts. Plus Daily CORE pas holders enjoy direct-to-lift convenience so you’ll never have to wait in a ticket line again!

Please email Karen Soo at tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org for more information.

Oy Vey, it’s been a hot start to October. With local temperatures reaching the 90s, it has been hard to think about snow sports, but never fear, winter will arrive.  Outdoor and ski/snowboard stores are actively bringing in snow equipment and clothing.

Speaking of snow gear, the annual SnowBomb festivals will be held in San Francisco’s Fort Mason on November 1-2 followed by the San Jose Convention Center event on November 8-9, concluding in Sacramento on November 15-16.  The SnowBomb festivals are a treasure trove of resort and gear information as well as gear and clothing for sale.

Want to attend for free?  Did I say FREE???, then see President Armand’s October President’s Message for details on volunteering to get a free admission!

MEMBERSHIP and JACKSON HOLE – Want to know how large our memebership has become? Want to see whom are the lastest new members? Updates on Jackson Hole?  Well don’t miss Armand’s October Membership and Jackson Hole Reports.

ROCKRIDGE HIKE RESCHEDULED

New Date Oct 26, 2014

ROCKRIDGE Hike – and last but not least, don’t forget the upcoming Rockridge hike in the Oakland Hills stairway hike on October 26.  See : October 26 Rockridge Hike  for details.

NON NSC EVENTS:

• HOCKEY – San Jose Sharks vs Vancouver Canucks on November 6.
  Ticket purchase deadline is looming – October 9 ticket deadline
  Details in the BAC announcement:  2014 BAC Sharks Game 

  For more info, contact Dennis Heffley (bac.president@skibac.org) or 925-998-4415

• Far West Ski Association 2015 Whistler trip  – for those of you not going on the Jackson Hole trip, consider the FWSA Whistler trip from January 31 through February  7, 2015.  Actually, it would be possible to do BOTH trips as they only overlap by 1 day!
  Details here in : Whistler BAC Flyer – Complete

Happy Halloween to All!

Google 2013 Halloween Doodle

~ President Armand Gutierrez ~

Fall is here and despite the warm-to-hot weather in the Bay Area, there have been winter-like conditions at the various ski resorts in Tahoe, Colorado, and Wyoming (think Jackson Hole). Although the early snowfall has only been a slight dusting of that fine, white powder at least it’s a start for what hopefully will be a good winter season. It’s too early to predict and even the weather-gurus can’t seem to agree whether El Niño will be a factor or not.

BAC Focus Meeting

Last month’s BAC meeting was a Focus Meeting on how to make our clubs stronger. Dennis Heffley, BAC President, gave a presentation on how to make clubs stronger, identify our strengths and weaknesses, and, surprisingly, to concentrate on attracting the 30-40 year olds for membership. Why the 30-40 year olds and not younger? Well, it turns out that the younger generation is busy with securing good jobs, trying to afford an apartment/condo, and generally have less disposable income. This makes sense because after graduating college my focus was on getting a job and finding an affordable place to live. Of course, back then finding an affordable place to live was much easier than it is today.

Snowbomb Festival

The annual Snowbomb Festival is coming to town and if you have a chance to go then this is the place to see new equipment, ski/snowboard gear, and winter clothing. The first Snowbomb will be at Ft. Mason on 1-2 November, and the second Snowbomb at the San Jose Convention Center on 8-9 November.  If you would like to attend for free then all you have to do is volunteer to work at the BAC booth at either location. Working the booth consists of talking to people about joining a ski club (like NSC), answering questions about FWSA/BAC, and getting to know volunteers from other ski clubs. If you’re interested in being a volunteer then contact either me (president@niseiskiclub.org) or Karen Soo (tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org).

~ Da Prez, Armand Gutierrez ~

Membership Activity

Like August, membership in September dropped off quite a bit as most members joined in the previous months. However, there was one returning member and one former member that that signed up for the Jackson Hole trip.  Currently we have 90 members.

I would like to welcome the following members:

• Ken Kato
• Mike Ryall

Jackson Hole Ski Week (24-31 January 2015)

Interest in Jackson Hole is still there and we now have 73 signups. Currently, I’m making arrangements for our Farewell Dinner and finalizing our condo arrangements. To get everyone stoked on Jackson Hole there is a free mobile app called JH Tapped. This app provides a comprehensive all-season guide to Jackson Hole and includes webcams, trail maps, dining, weather conditions, and lift status just to name a few.

You can download this app for your tablet or smartphone from the Jackson Hole website (http://www.jacksonhole.com). Click on “mobile app” in the top row for a complete description and how to download. Jackson Hole has started to receive some snowfall so check out the webcams.

Karen Soo is finalizing work on the souvenir gifts, so be sure to make your selection as soon as possible to ensure you get the right color/size.

~ by Freeman Wong ~
(with a few edits by Hoyt)

Sacramento Group

We five from Sacramento met Hoyt and about 15 other Nisei Ski Club members and friends at the Sutro Baths Visitor Center in San Francisco. We planned to hike to the old Sutro mansion site across the road, but since the fog was too thick for good views, we hiked down to the bath ruins before starting the headlands hike.  The weather was cool and the fog layer was just high enough to reveal most of the views along the headlands – perfect weather for a hike.

We took a spur off the main trail down to a labyrinth for some fun. Some of us tried to follow the large labyrinth. I heard one person say she got dizzy
trying to get to the center but was very excited to get there.

We also hiked along El Camino Del Mar in the Sea Cliff district where we saw many multi-million dollar homes with views of the Golden gate Bridge from their backyards. We saw Robin Williams’ old home where fans had left flowers and candles in his memory.  As we stopped at the Palace of the Legion of Honor*  on the way back, we were lucky enough to see 60 plus vintage motor scooters drive up and park for a meeting to display their scooters in front of the museum.
(* editor’s note- did you know that the Palace of Legion of Honor is modeled after the  Musée National de la Légion d’honneur in Paris?)

Just before ending our four hour hike, we stopped at the USS San Francisco Naval Memorial where we saw part of a damaged warship and signs about its history in WW II.

Thanks to Hoyt Nelson for leading us on another scenic and informative hike. Looking forward to another one soon!

Welcome to the End of Summer / Back to School edition of the NSC monthly newsletter!

Lots in store this month for your reading pleasure.

From the President’s Desk

First off, we have our club president, Armand’s President’s Message and for an update on our current membership and the Jackson Hole trip. Speaking of the Jackson Hole trip, don’t forget to send you your final payments by September 15!!

Jackson Hole

For those of you whom have not been to Jackson Hole before, the town will offer lots of non-snow attractions.  I have fond memories of my two trips to Jackson Hole.  One of the attractions are the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar with its bar with embedded silver dollars! Here are a couple of pictures of the bar.  There’s no time like the present to brush up on your line dancing steps!

Another memorable attraction is the arch of antlers at the Jackson Hole town square.

~

Annual Picnic

We had another successful annal picnic and BBQ!  Melissa Wong (a.k.a. Fanatic A’s Fan) desribes the picnic and her fortuitous luck at the Left/Right/Center game that netted her almost $100!!!  Our ever present paparazzo, Bill Pseudonym, has supplied a plethora of pictures and a video of the Left/Right/Center game.  Read Melissa’s recounting and see Bill’s photographic oeuvre here: NSC Annual Picnic August 2014.

~

SJ SHARKS vs VANCOUVER CANUCKS

The first ever Bay Area Snow Sports Concil’s (BAC) San Jose Sharks Hockey night is coming up!!!

When : Thursday, November 6, 2014
Game Time : 7:30 pm
Where : San Hose Shark Tank,, AKA SAP Center , 525 W. Santa Clara St San Jose, Ca
Cost : $43 / ticket

Ticket Ordering DEADLINE : October 9, 2014

Details in the BAC Flyer:  2014 BAC Sharks Game FLyer 

For more info, contact Dennis Heffley (bac.president@skibac.org) or 925-998-4415

Sharks Home page: http://sharks.nhl.com/index.html

~Nota Bene – this is NOT an NSC event~

~

Far West Ski Association Whistler 2015 Trip

Just in case you didn’t get onto Armand’s Jackson Hole trip, here’s an invite from the Far West Ski Association (FWSA) to go to Whistler, British Columbia.

~Nota Bene – this is NOT an NSC event~

Hello Fellow BAC Skiers!

The FWSA Ski Week to Whistler BC is coming up next year, and it is going to be an AWESOME trip.  Whistler is the largest ski resort in North America with the longest runs, and a new “Peak to Peak” gondola connecting the twin peaks.  It is consistently rated the #1 Ski Resort in North American by Ski Magazine, so this will be a trip you do not want to miss.

We already have over 70 people from 8 different ski clubs in the BAC signed up, but we couldn’t help but notice that no one from your club is signed up!  We have attached the announcement flyer and a trip preference form here.  Could you please circulate these to your members and put them in your newsletter?  Thanks for helping get the word out.

~

49ers Levi’s Stadium Visit – Assessment of Interest~

Any one intersested in visitiong the new 49ers Levi’s stadium? Trip director, Karen Soo, would like to know.  If there is enough interest, she wll pusue the next steps for a visit.

If you are interested, let her know by dropping her an email at: tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org

That that that’s All Folks – until next month…