One of this year’s Newbies,
Rick S. Dumlao
As a brand new member of the Nisei Club this year, I signed up for the Sun Valley trip as well as the trip to Mammoth Mountain. I managed to avoid writing about the Sun Valley trip, but I feel I owe at least a few words now that I’ve been on two trips with the club. I can’t say enough about the positive and friendly people of Nisei Ski Club.
I had a great time in Sun Valley with good snow that managed to dumped in the area just before our arrival. There were club members arriving from as far away as New Mexico and Hawaii. The mountain tour we had as a group was beneficial especially for a big resort. There was something on the mountain for everyone as the club has a variety of ages and skills. I’m impressed with the skill and positive attitude of the more mature members. Because of my personal interest in flying, I was surprised to see some guys were launching Para gliders right off the ski runs. I’ll have to come back in the summer with my hang glider. As a group, we had lunches on the mountain, sleigh rides, dinners and even saw a movie. The only misadventure was the “ice box express” bus ride to the airport going home. However, thanks to Morgan our fearless trip leader, we were surprised with an unexpected refund check from the bus company.
Mammoth Mountain was another fun trip to go on. A saw a few familiar faces and met some new 
people on the trip. A smaller group came on this trip, but most came from the Bay Area, a few from Southern California, Oregon and Hawaii. We had five straight days on the mountains of Kirkwood, Mammoth Mountain, and Sugar Bowl. We had a variety of conditions from sunny days, snowy surfaces with icy layers underneath, howling winds in blizzard conditions, and overcast days with wonderful powder runs. The skiing (snowboarding in my case) was very good. Meeting and getting to know new people are always fun. Special thanks to Karen Soo for her organizational and leadership skills. She kept everything running smoothly. And kudos to the condo leaders and others who contributed to planning the breakfasts and snacks during the trip. Overall the experience was most enjoyable. I look forward to future trips with Nisei Ski Club.
