by Armand Gutierrez, President

April is here and that means the ski season is coming to an end. Heavenly Valley is extending their closing date to April 24^th, Kirkwood to May 1^st, and Palisades/Alpine have not posted any extension dates. Given the current snow conditions it would be a big surprise if Palisades opens for their annual 4^th of July ski event. Northstar has not posted a closing date but it is expected to be on or before April 10^th.

Board Nominations & Elections

Well, it’s that time again for holding our board nominations and elections for the 2022-2023 season, and an email for making your nominations for the board will soon find its way to your inbox.  This year there are three open board positions: Newsletter Editor and two regular board member positions. As you know, volunteers run this club, without them NSC would cease to exist, and it has been in existence for over 60 years! You are encouraged to take this opportunity to nominate an individual for one, or more, of the board positions. All individuals that accept the nomination(s) will go through an election process in May, and final results will be announced in the June Newsletter. Normally the results would be announced at the annual June picnic, but this year the picnic will be held in July. Many of you have served on the board in the past, and your efforts were greatly appreciated. Perhaps you would like to join the board again. For those that have never served, then now is the time to consider a board position. It’s an opportunity to provide new ideas and useful experiences, and it’s fun!

2023 NSC Ski Week to Breckenridge, Colorado

Next year’s ski week will be at Breckenridge, CO tentatively from 28 January – 4 February, 2023. Breckenridge is an Epic Pass destination so you can pick up an Epic Pass for the next season. Once again, Sports America will be offering the Epic/Ikon Pass promotion-trip rebate for anyone that goes on the trip and purchases a pass through Sports America.

For 2022-23 Breckenridge will be on the Epic Pass, and is also good for Northstar, Heavenly Valley and Kirkwood. Here is what you need to know about the Ikon and Epic Passes for the Breckenridge trip:

• Purchase an Ikon Pass (Palisades/Alpine) from Sports America and receive a:
  • $30 trip discount for an Ikon Base Pass, or 
  • $50 trip discount for an Ikon Pass.
  • Go to this link to purchase: : www.sportsamerica.com/ikon-nisei.
  • The Ikon Pass or Ikon Base Pass cannot be used at Breckenridge.

• Purchase an Epic Pass (Northstar, Heavenly, Kirkwood) from Sports America and receive a:
  • $30 trip discount for an Epic Local Pass, or 
  • $50 trip discount for an Epic Pass
  • Purchase by April 21 and get 10 Buddy Passes
  • Go to this link to purchase: www.sportsamerica.com/epic-nisei.
  • Unlimited access to Breckenridge (Epic Local) or 5 days at Breckenridge (Epic Tahoe Local)

• Purchase both the Ikon/Epic passes and you will receive a combination trip discount based on the type of passes you purchase.

If you have any questions about either of the passes then drop me a line at president@niseiskiclub.org.

QotM: The artist does not draw what he sees, but what he has to make others see – Edgar Degas

by Tina Woo, Membership Chair

This year our family decided to purchase the Mountain Collective ski pass.  This pass enables skiing at 22 locations for two to three days.  For the price of $539, this includes skiing a total of 44 days with no blackout dates, if you don’t mind travel planning.  Domestic locations include Mammoth and Palisades in California, Alta, Snowbird, Snowbasin in Utah, Arapahoe Basin, Aspen Snowmass in Colorado, Sun Valley in Idaho and Taos in New Mexico.  International locations include Mt. Buller in Australia, Niseko United in Japan, Thredbo in Australia, Valle Nevado in Chile, Chamonix Mont-Blanc in France, Panorama, Banff Sunshine, Revelstoke  and Sun Peaks in British Columbia, Canada.  Needless to say, there is quite the variety.

We decided to head to some Northwest ski areas: Big Sky in Montana, Grand Targhee in Idaho and Jackson Hole in Wyoming.  Luckily, my son-in-law, Mike, doesn’t mind driving, and made the four-hour drive from Jackson, Wyoming to Bozeman, Montana to begin our ski trip. Our group included children ages 6 and 8 who are very accomplished skiers (better than me)!

Highlights:

• Big Sky includes 5,800 acres of skiable terrain and vertical of 4,350 feet.   They boast a 6-person chair (“Swift Current) and America’s first 8-person high speed chair (Ramcharger) which are fully automatic with snow bubbles, heated seats, headrests, footrests and speaker systems for emergency communications.   All disengage when unloading from the chairs.  They need those heated seats, as the day after we left, the temperature was a frigid -17 degrees!  

• Grand Targhee is a smaller, quaint venue with 2600 total acres, a 2270 foot vertical drop and 5 lifts. Chair names include Fred’s Mountain, Peaked Mountain and Mary’s Nipple. They boast 500 inches of snowfall per year, which makes it known for its plentiful powder.  

• What can I say? Jackson Hole is Jackson Hole, a world class resort for boarders and skiers.  It is a large venue with over 130 trails, more expert and intermediate trails.  It’s on the radar for the FWSA domestic trip next year.

• We managed to find an Asian fusion restaurant, Ameriasia Bistro in Victor, Idaho where we dined on Pancit, Nasi Goreng and Lechon!

contributed by Tina Woo, Membership Chair

Tina has put together a list of some fun events, many of which are free, in the San Jose and San Francisco area. Read on!

• Saturday, April 9, noon to 2 pm or longer**.  Free Pizza and Pickle Ball at Santa Clara Bay Club, 3250 Central Expressway. Come and learn about this popular sport and get a chance to play.

** Please rsvp to membership@niseiskiclub.org. Click on the link above to see a flyer.

Not to worry if you can’t make it, next Pizza & Pickle Ball is Saturday, May 14, same time

Helpful information about the sport of pickle ball:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTvPYdKZqO0

• April 9-10 and April 16-17: The 55^th Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival, San Francisco with traditional music, dance, cultural events and Japanese culinary treats.

• Saturday, April 16 from 10 am to noon.  Spring Family Festival, Santana Row across from Left Bank

• Sunday, April 24 from 9 -11 am, Yu-Ai Kai Japantown 5K Fun Run/Walk https://www.pinwheel.us/register/index/Yu-Ai-Kai-2022-Japantown-5K-Run-Walk?sid=95b94ba86cf444078a041033b893f232

• Sunday, April 24 from 10 am to 5 pm, Nikkei  Matsuri Festival, San Jose Japantown

• Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1: Cupertino 38^th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival, Memorial Park, Quinlan and Senior Center, Free Parking at De Anza College, Lots A&B www.CupertinoCBF.org

Free San Francisco and Beyond Activities

• Union Square Spring Concert Series, March 12-May 28 from 1-4 pm
• First Sundays of the Month: Asian Art Museum
• First Tuesdays of the Month:  De Young Museum, Legion of Honor, Conservatory of Flowers, Botanical Gardens.  All in Golden Gate Park.
• Wednesday, April 13: Free Admission 9-10 am, Japanese Tea Garden
• First Fridays of the Month: Jewish Museum
• Free National Parks Days: Saturday, April 16, Thursday, August 4, Friday, November 11

Free San Francisco City Guides:  https://sfcityguides.org Whether your interest includes history of San Francisco, art and architecture, landmarks, stairways and views, neighborhoods, check the schedule for current listings.  Tours are typically 1 to 2 hours.

by Armand Gutierrez, President

The ski season hasn’t measured up to great expectations. Lots of snow in December, and then January and February brought little to very little snow. So, now that the ski season is half-over, let’s hope that Mother Nature blesses us with good snow conditions in March.

2023 NSC Ski Week

It’s time to start thinking about our NSC ski week for next season and I’m counting on a return to a fully normal season. I was thinking about a return trip to Sun Peaks (Canada), but perhaps it’s better to wait until 2024 and not have to deal with possible COVID testing requirements when returning to the States. Next year’s trip is still up in the air, so if you have any preferences then drop me a line at president@niseiskiclub.org.

Board Nominations

Now that it’s March, it’s time to think about Board Nominations for the 2022-23 season. If anyone has an interest in joining the board for the next season and has questions about what it entails, then just drop a note to any of the current board members, or perhaps you have someone in mind to nominate for the board. Please keep in mind that the Nisei Ski Club relies on volunteers to be on the board and undertake the running of the club. It’s not all work and no play. Board meetings this year have been online using Zoom, but we did have one face-to-face meeting that started out as a Happy Hour session but morphed into a Board meeting. It is a convenience to attend a Zoom board meeting from the comfort of home, but I do miss the face-to-face interaction and the lunches afterward.

QotM:  A lie has many variations, the truth none – African proverb

by Judy Bracken, Newsletter Editor

Unsurpassed views, bluebird days, skiing on glaciers, top notch dining…what more could you want out of a ski trip to the Austrian Alps? We found plenty more, but a word to the wise—this is not a trip for the faint of heart.  First there was the long flight, including layovers for some, and then many hours wait at the Munich airport to gather the group travelers coming from various areas of the US.  Then there was the 4 hour bus trip to Solden, winding through alpine roads with construction and holiday traffic delays thrown in (it was a big ski week for many European countries).  Then there is the first day at the resort, trying to sort out our tickets and pushing through surprisingly long lines to get on lifts and gondolas.  And of course, the jet lag that follows us throughout the week.  Finally, we got down to the nitty gritty, the whole reason we endured this arduous journey, the point of it all—to ski in the Alps!

And what a joyful ski adventure we had!  Swooshing through wide open, perfectly groomed slopes with mountains towering over us, feeling like ants skiing at top speed through long valleys and swaths of glowing white trails.  We enjoyed a mountain tour the first day, set up by our trip leader Debbie Stewart, who had divided us into groups based on our stated abilities.  My group was the Snow Warriors, and we ended up skiing with most of those people the entire week.  Our group consisted of of 6-10 compatible skiers, aging from 28 to 85 years old!  The runs have numbers instead of names, so we needed to study the map carefully to avoid getting lost.  Austria, as here in California, has not had a plentiful snow year, and the snow quality could have been better.  However, they have really good grooming machines and each day we had smooth surfaced, although at times icy, runs.  Fortunately, visibility was not a problem and when we ended up at the top of the topmost gondola, we could see for miles, even as far as the Dolomites Range in Italy.   

One day, we took a short bus ride and skied at the Gurgl Ski Area, which was divided into two areas called Hochgurgl and Obergurgl.  There was a horizontal gondola connecting the two sides, much like at Whistler/Blackcomb.   This area had wonderful ski huts spaced about the mountains, complete with full restaurant service.  We loved the goulash soup and the apple strudel with vanilla sauce.  And no meal was complete without beer!

Some of us attended an optional day trip to see the Swarovski Factory, where sparkly crystals are made for jewelry and many other purposes.  While we found out nothing about the process of making the crystals (apparently, it is a secret), we saw many beautiful and creative displays, set in 17 themed rooms.  There was a Hollywood room, with displays of Michael Jackson’s white glove, Elton Johns’ red suspendered trousers, Marilyn Monroe’s dress in which she sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. Kennedy,” and Judy Garland’s ruby red slippers.  All had used the Swarovski crystals to create apparel with lots of sparkle and “bling.”  Other rooms had  themes such as love, peace, and nature.  The grief chandelier, a gorgeous revolving glass light, allowed a meditation on loss and endings.  After the museum, we spent some time touring and shopping in Innsbruck, and some enjoyed lunch in a typical Austrian restaurant.  

Our hotel was a ten minute walk from the gondola, and included our breakfasts and dinners every night.  It was a wonderful buffet, with pastries, cheeses, salads and several different entrees and desserts from which to choose each night.  We were able to have a couple of happy hour gatherings with the FWSA group during the week.  The hotel also had a pool and saunas, which were usually full of families with children this holiday week.  Of course, you could escape that by going into the “no clothing allowed” sauna and steam room.

Debbie Stewart did an excellent job organizing this trip with its many different changes due to the pandemic.  She arranged a Covid test for us the day before we left, which is required to get back to the US.  All were negative except one person, and unfortunately, that person will have to quarantine in Austria until completely well and has a negative test.  There were others that went on to the Black Forest extension trip, and I have word that others may have Covid symptoms as well.  It’s a reminder that this pandemic is still with us, and precautions need to be taken despite the change in mandates and regulations.  

There is so much more to tell about this trip, but you will just have to go yourself sometime to experience European skiing.  Next year, the FWSA trip will be in Zermatt, Switzerland, home of the Matterhorn.  Check it out on the FWSA website.

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.

by Armand Gutierrez, President

2021 is behind us, and apparently a lot of people are happy to put it behind us and bring in 2022 with great expectations. The COVID pandemic has not disappeared from our conscious minds, and probably never will in 2022 since we are constantly bombarded with reminders. On the bright side, Tahoe has been slammed with an abundance of Mother Nature’s best offering. The December record-breaking snowfall should provide us with plenty of skiing/riding for the upcoming months, and more if January and February also have decent snow dumps. Perhaps you missed out on last year’s season, so make it this year to get out and enjoy what we do best.

Passing of Past-President Stan Kakinami

Upon returning from New York (actually Long Island) one of my Zumba buddies mentioned that a past-president from Nisei had passed away but could not remember the name, other than it started with a K. After a little research on the Mercury News I found the obituary for Stan Kakinami, NSC president from 1972-1973. After reading the obituary I realized that he and I worked on the same project while at Lockheed back in 1978-81. We were both software engineers and that project sent me to Germany for 18 months to provide software support. While there I recall Stan coming to visit to deliver upgraded software for the system. The project eventually moved to Austin, Texas, and I stayed in Sunnyvale and Stan went to Austin. We also played softball together one season with others from the project. We weren’t very good because we lost every game, but just the same we had a fun time playing. For details on Stan here is a link to his obituary: 

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/mercurynews/name/stanley-kakinami-obituary?id=31908050

2022 NSC Ski Week to Steamboat, CO

By the end of the month we will be making our escape to the Winter Wonderland of Steamboat. Thanks to the recent snowstorms there will be an abundance of snowflakes in the form of that famous Champagne Powder that Steamboat is noted for. The Steamboat Orientation meeting is on Saturday, 8 January and the Evite has been sent out, so let me know if you did not receive the Evite (president@niseiskiclub.org). 

Please take note of these last minute reminders:

• If you’re planning on renting skis then you can get a 40% discount with Steamboat Sports at the following link: https://packages.steamboat.com/packages/package/61850/?code=Nisei_RENT
• Steamboat will be requiring masks for unvaccinated people, and encourages everyone to wear masks while indoors.
• Restaurants are requiring proof of vaccination, so be sure to bring your COVID card.

QotM: The harder the goodbye, the sweeter the hello. – Mike Baxter

by Judy Bracken, Newsletter Editor

What started out as a couple of days skiing before the holiday crowds hit ended up in an adventure that I’ve always wanted to experience–being “snowed in” in a cabin in the mountains. My partner Mark and I, with our two dogs, headed up to Truckee on December 19, not realizing that a monster storm was on the way. We had intended to drive back on Christmas Eve and celebrate the rest of the holidays in San Ramon. While Mark examined the weather forecasts, I skied Monday and Tuesday at Northstar and Palisades with my fellow NSC member Elaine. We soon realized that the storm was much bigger than expected and either we go back on the 22nd, or stay for the duration. The decision was made once I called my son and told him the situation, whereupon he decided to make a beeline for Truckee, where he could work from home, ski and hang with us for a few days.

On Wednesday 12/22, the first day of the storm, it began to rain. Oh no! I thought, they got it all wrong and it’s too warm to snow. Thankfully that night, the rain turned to snow, and it didn’t let up for the next five days. We shoveled the deck, we shoveled the berms on the driveway, we shoveled the steps to the front door, then rinse and repeat over and over. I was glad we were there to clear the decks or the snow might have buried the house completely! It was probably 10-12 feet overall. Although I have a driveway clearing service, they were often unable to get to all the houses and they even had one day where they ran out of fuel. The city snowplows were running out of places to move the snow and the roads, when they did get plowed, were becoming very narrow.

My son and I planned to ski on Christmas Eve, but when the power went out we realized we could not get the garage door opened (it’s a big door with a tall ceiling). However, I was surprised and happy when I saw that we had left the garage door open overnight! So we went on to Northstar, where we enjoyed a wonderful day of skiing in fresh powder on many runs. It was quite heavy snow that day, but as the days went by, the snow became lighter and fluffier. On Christmas Day the storm was in full force; we could not have skied even if we wanted to, as there was too much snow in the driveway and on the roads. I heard later that Northstar had closed at 2 that day due to low visibility.

Power outages were part of the snowed in experience. We had a 12-14 hour outage on Christmas Eve and one for 6-7 hours on Christmas Day, then there was one more long one on the 26th. Candlelight turned out to be soothing and relaxing, we had a good fireplace, and we were able to cook on our gas stovetop. My son tethered off his phone for internet usage. The tankless water heater didn’t work, so no baths or showers, but we were lucky to be mostly comfortable during those outages. If we got cold, we just went outside and shoveled snow!

We cross-country skied on the streets and snowshoed on the trails if we felt cabin fever for the few days that we were snowbound. The dogs were mystified by so much snow, but once they realized that snow and cold was everywhere outside, they made quick work of their “business.” On the day that I was finally able to take a hot bath, suddenly the house shook and shuddered. The dogs barked and I thought, “earthquake.” It turned out to be a huge 15 foot wide by 5 foot high cornice of snow that had fallen from the roof. It was a mini-version of a calving glacier!

We were waiting for I-80 to open on Tuesday, 12/28, and there was a break in the storm. Even though my Epic pass was blacked out, I just had to ski that day with all that fresh snow. So I carefully drove to Northstar, parked in the practically empty lots, bought a day pass and jumped on the gondola. Nearly every run was ungroomed, so I went to the steepest run I could find. Much to my dismay, I immediately got stuck, as the snow was too deep to move. The Backside and Lookout were closed and nothing was steep enough to get through the powder. Snowboarders fared much better than skiers, but even they were struggling. So I surrendered to the conditions and ended up enjoying some beautiful groomed runs on soft, fluffy, fresh snow. The air was clear, the crowds were minimal, and I was in heaven. Our adventure ended that day. We packed up and drove home the next morning, while many others were coming up. We can all be happy now that there is plentiful snow in the resorts, and we will have many more days of great skiing this season.

by Armand Gutierrez, President

Last month I posted the opening dates (19 Nov and 3 Dec) for Northstar, Heavenly, and Kirkwood (Palisades and Alpine didn’t have any postings). Well, apparently Mother Nature didn’t get the word about winter activities and those dates passed and the resorts didn’t open. Palisades did open for Halloween weekend but that was just a one-weekend event and skiing was fairly limited. I’ve been viewing the webcams for Tahoe resorts and it looks pretty bleak, and the warm temperatures are hindering snowmaking operations. Perhaps December will bring us that winter wonderland we’re all looking forward to for heading up to Tahoe and get the season started. On the other hand, Canadian resorts are open with plenty of snow and all lifts in operation.

On the topic of the state with the most ski resorts there was only on response, by Sheldon Sam, and he had the correct answer of the state of New York. What, you say? New York? What happened to Colorado or Utah? Turns out New York beat them all with 47 ski resorts.

2022 NSC Ski Week to Steamboat, CO

We’re counting down to our trip to Steamboat and here are some updates:

• If you’re planning on renting skis then you can get a 40% discount with Steamboat Sports at the following link: https://packages.steamboat.com/packages/package/61850/?code=Nisei_RENT
• Steamboat will be requiring masks for unvaccinated people, but does encourage everyone to wear masks while indoors.
• Restaurants are requiring proof of vaccination, so be sure to bring your COVID card.
• For up-to-date information go to this link: https://www.steamboat.com/the-trail-forward
• The NSC Orientation is currently scheduled for Saturday, 8 January, and an Evite will be sent out with details.

Christmas Greetings

On behalf of the NSC board I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. 

QotM: The best gifts are the ones not asked for. – Ed Alzate