GREETINGS DON DIEGO MEMBERS

Hi skiers. After a successful ski season in2015 we look forward to next year. We’ll skiat Mammoth Mountain again. See the detailson page 2. Set aside those dates. Carolyn,Gunter, Christa, Ed, and Ellen will lead ourtrips with the assistance of Christine Kiffman.The Torrey Pines Ski Club is coming with usagain in January and March. Pray for snow,but if it’s a little thin, don’t worry. Mammothhas magnificent snowmaking capability. Wetake our own bus and stay at the very niceBest Western High Sierra Hotel in MammothLakes.

In April a large group hiked with Sabine around Lake Murray andafterward 20 of us held a nice picnic in Win and Ann Wuttke’s backyard near the lake. Sabine’s weekly hikes remain popular and we canhold after-hike picnics again.

On May 16 we go to the Downtown Café, 182 East Main in El Cajonfor our club post-season party. All members are invited for a free feastlike last year. Be sure to RSVP to Dale at dshannon69@cox.net

The Far West Ski Association convention will be in held in San Diegothis year from June 4–7. Contact Eileen Weiner or search fwsa.org fordetails. On August 9 at noon or earlier, Leslie Pally will set up our pot-luck picnic at the regular location on Mission Bay at Bahia Point.Thanks, Leslie, for volunteering. Come early and help Leslie guard ourpicnic table.

We’ll hold a pre-season club feast at the Admiral Baker golf courseclubhouse patio on September 3 at 5:00 PM. It should be fun. In themeantime, enjoy your summer, hike with Sabine, and look forward toskiing with friends again in 2016.

Come to the last meeting of the season at Boomerangs on May 7 before5:30 to order food and drink and to meet your new board members.

Pete Michael - DDSC President

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUB NEWSLETTER

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUB IS A NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONISSUE 145May 2015 HTTP://WWW.SKIDONDIEGO.ORG

SKI CHATTER

Nonmembers are always welcome at club meetings. Member-ship applications are available there and you may join and getyour membership card right away. Membership applicationsalso can be downloaded from the club web site:

www.skidondiego.org

Or if you desire, you may contact our membership chairman,

Noni Henning (619-437-8941), who will mail a membershipapplication to you.

The yearly club dues are $30 for a single membership ($45 fora family membership) and you obtain the newsletter from ourweb site. For an additional $10.00, the newsletter will bemailed to you.

M E M B E R S H I P I N F O R M A T I O N

Upcoming Activities

The next Don Diego Ski Club meeting,Thursday, May 7 at Boomerangs,4577 Clairemont Drive, starting at 5:30PM.

May 7, 14, 21, 28 - Local hikes/walks:See page 5 for the details.

May 16 - DDSC Post-season Party:All members invited. From 4:00 to 6:00 PM at the Downtown Café at182 East Main in El Cajon. Food will be provided along with onedrink per member.

June 4 thru 7 - FWSA Convention:Far West Ski Association Convention in San Diego. See the flier onpage 6.

June 27 - San Diego Padres Baseball:Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks. See flier on page 6 for details.

August 9 - Club picnic at Mission, Bahia Point:Organized by Leslie Pally. Help Leslie at Pallygirl1@cox.net

September 3 - 1st DDSC meeting for the new ski season:At the Admiral Baker golf course clubhouse.

FROM OUR MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMANOur trip leaders are already planning the three2016 Mid-week Mammoth Ski Trips. Theyhave all been excellent leaders on past trips andthey’ll do a terrific job for you again this up-coming season. I’m confident you will give allour trip leaders your enthusiastic support asyou always do. We’ll be staying at our favoritespot, The Best Western Hotel, with great ac-commodations and a staff who aims to please.

Your membership is vital to the continuation ofthe Don Diego Ski Club. Please come to the meetings, take an interestin the club activities and do what you can to help your board membersand directors make good decisions on behalf of our club. Your inputand opinions are important, needed and wanted.

Noni Henning, Membership

Please Note:SKI CHATTER will be taking a summer hiatus. There will not be a

June, July, or August issue; the next issue will be the Septemberissue (available at the end of August). Please check our websitefor current club information. Club activities will also be an-nounced via e-mail blasts to the membership.

SKI CHATTER Page 2

VAIL RESORTS PURCHASING ÅUSTRALIA’SPERISHER SKI RESORTVail Resorts is acquiring Australia’s Perisher Ski Resort in NewSouth Wales for approximately $136 million in a deal thatshould close in the fourth quarter of this year. Perisher is thelargest ski resort in Australia -- and in the southern hemisphere -- with 3,000 acres, 47 lifts, five terrain parks, more than 100groomed trails and 62 miles of X-C trails. The deal includes theski areas of Perisher Valley, Smiggin Holes, Blue Cow andGuthega and it’s close to the country’s largest cities -- Sydney,Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra.According to a Ski Area Management Magazine article, BobKatz, chairman and CEO of Vail Resorts, said “The acquisitionof our first international mountain resort is a significant mile-stone for our company. This acquisition is part of Vail Resorts’continued strategy to drive season pass sales and build loyaltywith guests from around the world. Australia is one of the mostimportant international markets for ski resorts across the North-ern Hemisphere, generating an estimated more than 1 millionskier visits annually to resorts in North America, Japan and Eu-rope. We see this as a ground-breaking acquisition that will dra-matically enhance the connection between our company andAustralian skiers and riders.”Perisher has re-opened season pass sales for its upcoming skiseason, set to open on June 6. Perisher’s “Freedom Pass” is cur-rently on sale for AU$749, and will include benefits substantial-

ly similar to Vail Resorts’ Epic Local Pass—with unlimited ski-ing and riding at most Vail Resorts , and 10 days at Vail andBeaver Creek—subject to certain holiday restrictions.

NEW INDOOR SLOPE FOR MIAMI?Triple Five, the Canadian company that currently owns NewJersey’s as-yet unopened American Dream Mall where NorthAmerica’s first indoor snow ski slope was built seven years ago,has announced plans for a new and even larger American DreamMiami Mall, which will contain a second indoor snowslope. The 800-foot-long Miami indoor ski slope would bemodeled after the indoor slope in their New Jersey mall --which was at one point was called Xanadu -- and, although themall is still unfinished, it has now been under construction for15 years and is being built by its fourth owner. The Triple Fivecompany says that they hope to open the $4 billion Miami mallin 2017. The complex would be located on a 200 acre site nearInterstate 75 and would employ 25,000 people and contain morethan 500 retail shops.

NEW LIFT AT POWDERHORNPowderhorn Resort, near Grand Junction, Colorado, will replacetheir main Take Four quad lift with a detachable quad that willreduce the transit time form 17 to seven minutes to the top of theski area. The lift will also carry mountain bikes in the summer.

Some Ski Industry News (reprinted from the NATIONAL SKI CLUB NEWSFLASH)

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUB

The Italy bike and barge trip went offvery successfully. The Viking RhineCruise, set for August 21-29, 2015 isfull.

The next Council trip is to AspenDecember 10-17, 2015. This trip isalmost sold out, so if you wan to go,send $100 deposit to Mike Sanford toreserve your place.

Well, it’s all about the Convention these days. Thanks to thegenerosity of our ski club and the Council, Don Diego will besending five of our members as full delegates and Judy Porterwill be attending the meetings, Saturday Expo and lunch on Sat-urday. The Don Diego delegates are: Eileen Weiner, CarlCobb, Pete Michael, Ed Offstein and Ellen Locke. We all willbe attending meetings and listening to speakers and will bringwhat we learned back to the club.

There are several events that are free to all persons, especiallythe silent auction on Friday, June 5, starting at 6:30 with a no

host ski club social before starting at 5:30. Make an effort to go,as there will be great opportunities for trips and gear at reasona-ble prices. If you want to know more about what is going on goto www.fwsa.org.

I want to inform the membership that the son of Jennifer andEric Van Pelt (daughter and son-in-law of Ken Zorro from theNorth Island Ski Club) was diagnosed with CF shortly after hisbirth. In order to raise money, there will be several walks for thecure. To sign up for the walks go to http:/fightcf.cff.org/goto/RSVPforaCFCURE. If you would like to donate you can go tohttp://fightcf.cff.org/goto/jennifervanpelt. I am sure it will beappreciated.

The Council had their elections and it is the same as last year.Tom Bundgard - PresidentChris Gill - Vice PresidentEileen Sanford - Past PresidentDebbie Schroeder - SecretaryStew Smith - Treasurer

The next Council meeting will be May 6, 2015

SAN DIEGO COUNCIL of SKI CLUBS REPORTby Eileen Weiner

Planned Ski Trip dates for Don Diego Ski Club for the 2016 Season:Mammoth Midweek #1: Jan. 10—15, 2016 Trip Leader: Carolyn Blumenthal

Mammoth Midweek #2: Feb. 7—12, 2016 Trip Leaders: Gunter Schrecker & Christa Mueller

Mammoth Midweek #3: March 6—11, 2016 Trip Leaders: Ed Offstein & Ellen Locke

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBSKI CHATTER Page 3

I joined the club at the beginningof this year to sign up for theMarch Mammoth Midweek trip.I know Ed and Ellen (MMW#3trip leaders) from my member-ship in another club. I wanted toparticipate. It was worth it! Ialso skied in February with theclub, another good trip. I like thearrangements and find peoplevery friendly. Sabine’s hiking

trails on Thursday mornings are a lot of fun also.

I live in the San Carlos area of San Diego. I retired last yearfrom managing a dialysis facility. I used to run in the morningsbefore work, but now since retiring it’s just walking and a littlejogging, sometimes Cowles Mountain. Funny how retiring makesone lazier even if there never seems to be more time.

I arrived in San Diego on July 10th 1980 early in the morning,saw the gray sky and hazy surroundings, and I thought “Oh myGod, what have I done!” You see, I came from Hawaii where Ihad graduated from the university and worked as an RN for fouryears. I was used to blue sky and an easy going lifestyle. Frankly,I was homesick for years! I still don’t like the dry air here andmiss the rainbows of Hawaii.

I was born and raised in a small country village in Finland, afarmer’s daughter. I had no desire to move to United States. Ilike the way they run the country so much better in Finland. Youprobably know that Denmark has been the winner in the WordDatabase of Happiness several times, and other Scandinaviancountries come close. Those countries take care of the populationbasic needs, the health care, the education, and other necessities.Enough nostalgia! We do have pretty awesome weather here inSan Diego and I like the people, so I think I’ll stay for now.

So how did I get transplanted from Finland to Honolulu? It is

quite simple really. I was young, I loved jazz, still do, and wentto a Pori jazz festival with my 16 year old niece. Oh yes, we were10 children, I was number 8, so my sister’s daughter isn’t muchyounger than myself. We had a blast. And I met this awesome,handsome 20 year old guy from Hawaii with blue eyes and mostidealistic outlook of life! I was swept off my feet. We met in Julyand he stayed until February. That’s when I took a leave of ab-sence from my job and we went to Hawaii, for just a few months.We got married there and traveled back to Europe, as he was stillrestless. We worked in a kibbutz in Israel for four months, metinteresting people, went to Utrecht, Holland, for winter, workedodd jobs. We finally arrived in Finland for the summer to organ-ize my immigration visa, and came home to Honolulu in the fallto start school. I’ll save you from the personal details of a brokenmarriage but this Hawaiian haole is still my close and lovedfriend, although he now lives and works in New Zealand.

I have a wonderful, large family in Finland where I visit aboutevery other year. My family visits me too. They like my saunawhich I built a couple of years ago.

As for my interests, I am a volunteer for Voices for Children,CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) as they call us. Itrained last fall when I found that I had time to do some work tobenefit others. I’m also active in House of Finland in BalboaPark, and sing in our Finnish church choir. I became an Elk lastfall, although I have to confess that the main attraction here wasthe Honolulu lodge where I used to have Sunday dinners andsometime midnight swims. Now I can go there as a memberwhen I visit Honolulu. It is on the beach close to Diamond Head.I also am a member in the Sierra Club and took a great trip withthem hiking Machu Picchu a couple of years ago. Yes there aresome other clubs which I belong to also, so no wonder the timegoes by so fast!

Life wouldn’t be right for me without skiing, hiking, bikingwalking, and all that outdoor bliss. Aloha!

Meet Our Members: Anneli Ford(Here’s Anneli’s input in her own words)

Here are a couple of interesting pics form this past ski season at Mammoth

Gunter checking out the racing ski gear inthe Best Western conference room

Sig’s head atop thehelmets and gloves

SKI CHATTER THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBPage 4

Improve the Clubby Don Diego

Offer your energy and enthusiasm and make Don Diego a funclub. Spread the duties and we’ll all benefit. Here are somethoughts that come to mind:

Set up a summer barbecue. Schedule and set up anAugust event in Mission Bay Park.

Lead tours. Discover and lead interesting tours.

Hold a holiday party. Arrange for the club to enjoy its annualChristmas dinner.

Enjoy the company of others. Hold a party in your back yard.

Take photos. Share them with skiers and with Karl’s newsletter.

Arrange lunches, happy hours, and dinners. Make the clubmore interesting.

Participate in club activities. Have fun and strengthen the club.

Form your own task force. Schedule an event even if few at-tend.

Assist ski trip leaders. Move food and drinks to the bus andhelp out at Mammoth.

Lead ski trips to Mammoth Mountain. We ski. This is whatwe do.

Invite skiers to join the club. Distribute brochures and tell ski-ers about Don Diego.

Help with legal matters. Provide advice on legal and insurancematters.

Ski with new members. Show them the mountain. Show themthe valley.

Assist the officers. Help with day to day tasks including mail-ings, email lists, book keeping and accounting,financial investment strategies, newsletter, backups at meetings

Run for office. Rotate the officers to keep the club healthy.

Arrange for programs at meetings. Find interesting speakers.

Write for the newsletter. Provide Karl with interesting articlesfor Ski Chatter.

Help the San Diego ski council. Volunteer at conventions andski shows.

Lead charitable activities. Give back to the skiing community.

Lead active events. Lead a hike, paddle, golf, bike ride, or ten-nis event.

Race. Improve your skiing and ski for Don Diego atAlpine League races at Mammoth.

Introduce cross country skiing. Take members and guests onNordic skiing and snowshoe outings at Tamarack Lodge inMammoth Lakes.

Go to a baseball game. Come to Carl Cobb’s annual Padresgame and tailgate.

Set up events at Mammoth. Suggest restaurants and theaterevents and invite everyone.

Pete Michael 05/01

Ray McIntyre 05/02

Roberte Bentrott 05/02

Sandra Harris 05/04

Noni Henning 05/07

Chuck Orley 05/08

David Bloch 05/13

Les Piehl 05/20

Bea Stoyla 05/28

May Birthdays

Hector Smith 08/10

Bonnie Fritts 08/19

Lou Shrinkle 08/19

Janet Tremaine 08/24

Bill Henning 08/25

Susan Straub 08/26

Bruce Barr 08/30

August Birthdays

Larry Pickering 06/17

Win Wuttke 06/18

Judy Porter 06/24

Connie Saindon 06/29

June Birthdays

Sig Mikuteit 07/09

Cindy Benner 07/10

Joanna Cikste 07/10

Don Rau 07/15

Sally Heilpern 07/20

Bob Ingram 07/27

Rose Emry 07/28

Sabine Alberti 07/28

July Birthdays

Racing ReportDDSC participates in ski racing at Mammoth Mountain as partof the San Diego Alpine League which currently includes partic-ipation from the North Island Ski Club and the San Diego SkiClub. This San Diego League races as a sub-league of theRokka League which comprises several ski clubs from the LAarea. A San Diego racer can win two medals for the same race -one from Rokka and another from San Diego.

On a typical racing weekend, San Diego may have 20 to 30racers participating. Even though DDSC was down to two rac-ers for this past season , Martin Wascher and Carl Cobb, theycontributed to the overall success of the San Diego League.

In the SoCalcs Championships held on March 8, Martin tookfirst place in his class in both the slalom and GS races whileCarl took a first in slalom and then a second in GS for his class.San Diego as a whole took 1st place in Rokka and individuallytook 1st in the SoCalcs Championships. Rokka came in 2nd.

In the FWSA Championships held on March 28, 29 Martin was2nd in the GS race while Carl took 2nd in both the slalom andGS races in his class. Their contribution put San Diego Leaguein 2nd place with total points; Rokka League took 1st place thistime. There were 6 other leagues participating in these champi-onships

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBSKI CHATTER Page 5

Hello Don Diego Hikers and guests!We hike on Thursdays.

Here are our hikes in May: 5/7 Penasquitos Canyon: to the Waterfall from Sorrento

Valley 5/14 Lake Hodges: from Hernandez Hideaway on Del Dios

Hwy 5/21 Boardwalk on San Dieguito Lagoon: from Del Mar 5/28 Black Mountain: from Penasquitos

Come join our merry group of hikers, get your heart rate up andhave fun! Join and RSVP at our Meetup page at:www.meetup.com/san-diego-skiers

As usual, look for the details in my email on the weekend beforeeach hike, or on our Meetup page. Please contact me with anyquestions.

Sabine Albertisabinalb@pacbell.net, 858-342-0338 cell

A “Blast” of a Party at Chris Houkom’s HouseOne of Chris Houkom’s specialties is creating glassware with artistic patterns using the sand blasting setup in her garage. Anotherspecialty is her cooking and food preparation. Last month she invited about two dozen DDSC members to partake of both thesespecialties. The food venue consisted of superbly prepared tamales with accompanying condiments followed by a scrumptiousdessert. Chris had prepared a number of clear wine glasses with a pattern of the Don Diego icon attached. A good number ofguests were then instructed in the art of sand blasting (transferring the pattern onto the glass). Amazingly almost all of us achievedgood results (see the pic below). Thanks Chris!

Finishedproduct

Some pics from the hikes last month

Sabine, Verena, andDale at Lake Murray

Patio picnic at Win’s housefollowing the Lake Murray

hike

DDSC hikers by LakeHodges

Chris inspecting/preparing a glass

SKI CHATTER THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBPage 6

O f f i c e r s a n d D i r e c t o r s

President Pete Michael 858-560-8520Past President Larry Pickering 858-755-6580Vice President Judy Porter 858-453-4453Secretary OpenTreasurer Dale Shannon 619-729-1620Directors at Noni Henning 619-437-8941Large Anne Heye 858-279-8178

Club Founders Joe Harris Bruce BarrAdvertising Anne Heye 858-279-8178Council Rep Eileen Weiner 858-334-8876

Sunshine Rep Anne Heye 858-279-8178Bicycling Carl Tatina 858-560-5963Golf MC Eastman 858-551-8252Historian Helen Harris 619-283-8559Membership Noni Henning 619-437-8941Racing Carl Cobb 619-222-5015Public Affairs Leslie PallyPublications Karl Cikste 619-442-2160Programs Judy Porter 858-453-4453Social Bonnie Fritts 858-836-1556Webmaster Karl Cikste 619-442-2160

Here’s a variation of “Where’s Waldo?”Where’s Don Diego?

BOARD MEETING6:00 PM

@Denny’s

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24/31 25 26 27 28 29 30

May 2015

DD SKI CLUBMEETING5:30 PM @

Boomerangs

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUB is a NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION and a MEMBER of the SAN DIEGO COUNCIL & FAR WEST SKI ASSOC.

Rent This Space!Put your business card

here for $55 for 6 issuesor $100 for 12 issues

Contact Anne HeyeAdvertising Director Editor

at (858) 279-8178

Check out these websites foradditional ski and club information:

www.skidondiego.org (Our website)

www.skisandiego.org (San Diego Council)

www.fwsa.org (Far West Ski Association)

www.skifederation.org (National Ski CouncilFederation)

Woolly beating Shannondown the slope

Here are some moments you might have missedduring the last Mammoth Midweek

...some heavy philosophical discussions at Tusks

DDSCPost-season party

@ the DowntownCafé in El Cajon

NEXT CLUB MEETING: Thursday, May 7, 2015

@ Boomerangs Restaurant4577 Clairemont Drive, 5:30 PM

DONDIEGOSKICLUBNEWSLETTER2001CantaLomasElCajon,CA92019

SKICHATTERMay2015

PHONE:(619)-442-2160*e-mailkcikste@cox.net*websitewww.skidondiego.org*DonDiegoisamemberoftheFarWestSkiAssociation

See our club website for directionswww.skidondiego.org