THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUB NEWSLETTER

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUB IS A NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONISSUE 162April 2017 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 new membership chair-

person Ellen Locke (760-231-8821) who will mail a member-ship application 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 ActivitiesThe next Don Diego Ski Club meeting,Thursday, April 20 at the Offshore Tavern& Grill starting at 5:00 PM.See map on the last page for location.

May 7: End of Season PartyOpen to all members. Location TBD

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Hello Don Diego!The March trip to Mammoth was a happyending to the 2017 ski season: gloriousweather, great skiing, evenings of fun,and the fellowship of our old and newfriends in Don Diego. Now we enter thefinal stretch of the season: The Aprilmeeting will feature an inspiring guestspeaker, awards for some longtime mem-bers, and the election of Board membersfor 2017-2018. This meeting will be held

at 5pm on Thursday, April 20 at our new meeting location, theOffshore Tavern & Grill.

I am writing this letter on March 26 to give Editor Karl Cikstetime to format the newsletter. I have just sent an e-mail blast tothe Club members, requesting volunteers for the position ofSecretary. I hope we have at least one volunteer by the time youread this, but if not, you will be hearing from me again. We needa Secretary to keep the Club running, and we need someone tostep forward to offer a few hours a month to do the job.

The End of Season Party is scheduled for the afternoon ofSunday, May 7 at a location to be announced. It’s always fun.Mark your calendar and plan to attend.

Thanks and please let me know your ideas for making your Clubbetter,

Ed Offstein - DDSC President

FROM OUR MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMANIt’s been a busy year for DDSC member-ship. Our current membership is at 110and of that number 21 are new membersfor 2016/2017. Thank you to all whorenewed and welcome to all the newmembers.

Our mid-week ski trips are through forthis year, however non-skiing activitiesare still being planned for the remainderof 2017. Mark your calendar for ournext club meeting which will be held April 20th at the Off-shore Tavern & Grill located at 2253 Morena Blvd, San Die-go. The meeting begins at 5p.m.

May 7, 2017 is the tentative date for the end of the ski seasonparty. Location and time will be announced within the nextfew weeks. And don’t forget the annual summer picnic, dateand location to be announced soon.See you at the next meeting.

Ellen Locke, Membership

Some scenicpics from the

MarchMammoth

Midweek skitrip showing therecord snowfall

Top of Chair14 The Cornice from the top of Stump Alley

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBSKI CHATTER Page 2

Sun Peaks - Fastest Growing Town in BC: The Sun PeaksMountain Resort Municipality, home to Sun Peaks ski resortreported the largest growth of all incorporated municipalitiesand cities in British Columbia with a 66% population in-crease. Recent Canada Census information reflects that fromMay 2011 to May 2016 Canada’s population grew at a rate of5% over this period and British Columbia’s growth was5.6%. The town of Sun Peaks went from a year-round popula-tion of 371 in 2011, to 616 people in 2016. While winter-timepopulation grows at the rate of 2,500 visitors per day, once skiseason is over, that drops down to a quiet average of under 700.

Mountain Collective Adds Two New Areas: Join the Moun-tain Collective for the 2017-2018 season, for the opportunity toski 16 world class destinations, for 32 days, with 50% off anyadditional days and NO black out days. Sugarbush and Snow-basin are the two newest resorts to join M.C. Check it out at:whatsnew@mountaincollective.com.

SIA Snow Show Wrap Up: The 63rd annual SIA Snow Show

(SnowSports Industries America) wrapped the 2017 SIA SnowShow on January 31st after a four-day event in Denver, Colora-do, followed by the On-Snow Demo at Copper Mountain. Near-ly 18,000 retailers, suppliers, representatives and wintersports industry folks came together for the world’s largestgathering of winter-specific business. At that show, Nick Sar-gent, President of SIA, announced that they’d signed a 10-yearextension with the City of Denver, and the Denver ConventionCenter, to bring the SIA show back each year until 2030. Nextyear’s event will be January 25-28, 2018.

Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows First to Say “Skiing UntilJuly 4th”: Andy Wirth said it, so it must be true. Andy com-mented on how much snow they’ve had this year, stating:“we’ve seen many feet of snow fall and, this is one for the rec-ords books. We’ve received more snow through early Marchthan in any other season since these mountains have been openfor skiing—more snow and intense weather than has been see inover sixty years. The snowfall this season has made for phe-nomenal skiing, and will have us skiing on July 4th”.

Some Ski Industry News (reprinted from the FAR WEST NEWS FLASH)

March 2017 Mammoth MidweekTripby “Don Diego”

The weather gods smiled on our March 5-10 mid-week trip toMammoth Mountain, California. Edand Ellen led a great midweek ski trip.Our bus took us from San Diego upHighway 395 through the beautifulOwens Valley. Lake Crowley was stillfrozen and the top of the MammothMountain had a 28-foot snowpack.They dug down to show the signpost at11,000 feet (see the attached pics).

With major dumps this year there arecurrently three big cornices on Mam-moth Mountain. The grooming squadknocked “roads” through to Cornice

Bowl and Scotty’s to al-low skiers to pass throughwithout jumping off theedge; and skiers onDave’s Run who didn’twant to free-fall, had theoption of skiing past thecornice and come down“Chicken Dave’s.”

We enjoyed dinner onMonday and wine andcheese on Wednesday at our Best Western Hotel; then we wentto happy hour at Rafters on Thursday. After skiing on Friday ourbus brought us back safely to San Diego before 10:00 PM.

I look forward to skiing again with club members. I have a feel-ing there will be a normal snowfall in 2018. You read it herefirst.

Signpost last summer

Signpost this past March atsunset

My Mammoth Midweek Ski Tripby Karl Cikste

The March Midweek trip to Mammoth was a celebratory occa-sion for me since I had missed the January and February trips

due to my surgery last December. I’mhappy to report that I survived theweek’s activities with no lastingaftereffects.

The January and February trips weremostly a skiing bust due to adverseweather conditions so apparently Idid not miss much. The weatherforecast for the March trip predictedgood conditions for the week and thatturned out to be accurate for the most

part. We arrived at our Best Western lodgings in cold, windy,and snowy conditions but on schedule despite having to put onchains halfway up the Sherwin Grade. More than a dozen of usthen braved the cold and walked to the Liberty Sports Bar &Grill (previously Perry’s Italian restaurant) for an excellent even-ing meal.

The next morning (Monday) there was blue sky (something notseen at Mammoth in quite a while) and no wind as we got on thebus to go to the Main Lodge. The upper mountain however wasexperiencing 60 mph gusts and was completely shut down andwould remain so for the rest of the day. The only chairs operat-ing were at Eagle and Canyon Lodge on the protected lowermountain. Our bus then took us to Eagle Lodge where I experi-enced a wave of nostalgia from the old Mammoth. The lift line atChair 15 extended onto the slope and took almost a half hour -just like in the “old” days. The other operating chairs had a simi-lar predicament. Riding up Chair 4 (Roller Coaster) I saw noskiers on the downhill slopes, yet there was a huge lift line at thechair. I had the slope all to myself. Weird! Where were all these

(Continued on page 4)

SKI CHATTER THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBPage 3

SAN DIEGO ALPINE LEAGUEOur next meeting will be held on April 132017 at Giovannis. Our race dates for theseason have virtually fallen apart. Theraces for January and February have beencancelled. See below:

February 18, 2017 race clinic only atMammoth

March 19, 2017 SOCALS Giant Slalom atMammoth. The format will be four races in one day.

March 31- April 2, 2017 Far West Championships at Mammoth

The Alpine League/Council Board Induction will be May 5,2017 at Giovannis with our silent auction.

COUNCILFar West is offering some very nice ski packages for the winnerof the three awards offered: Safety is a week in Telluride; Envi-ronmental is a week in Aspen and History is a week in Steam-boat for two people. All applications are due to the Far West byMarch 20, 2017. These presentations can be as simple as to“what to do with empty water bottles. All of the information ison the Far West website www.fwsa.org. Someone in our clubcould have a very nice ski week. All we need is participation.All submissions are due March 26, 2017.

Far West has changed the Travel Expo for the 2017 convention.They will only have two individuals per club participate. 2017Far West Convention in Boise, Idaho, June 7-11, 2017 promisesto be a lot of fun. Contact me if you are interested.

Council is changing the format for our Winter Gala to a moreinformal event, possibly a casino night. The date is November 4,2017. The location, time and cost TBD.

Chris Gill, President of Council, is planning another meetingwith club presidents/travel meeting on My 15, 2017. Chris willsend out the time and place later.

ACTIVITIESCouncil’s Summer Happy Hour will be on July 19 2017. Loca-tion and time TBD.

Council Holiday Happy Hour-Save The Date: December 20,2017 at Tom Hams Lighthouse from 4:00-6:00 PM.

TRAVELThe Annual Council trip to Aspen will be December 7-12, 2017.Save The Date.

The Province bike trip is: April 22-29, 2017 and the Loire Cha-teau trip is April 29-May 3, 2017. SOLD OUT at 41 people.

The Council boat trip to Croatia: September 21-30, 2017. Thepre-trip to Dubrovnik is April 22-29 2017. This trip is sold out.Contact Eileen Sanford eileensanford660@gmail.com.

August/September 2018 possibly Australia and New Zealand

April 2018 possible bike trip Amsterdam to Bruge.

Far West Ski Week 2018 Banff, Canada, contact Alan Godwinalan@skiclub.us

DON’T FORGET FAR WEST CONVENTION IN BOISE, ID.JUNE 7-11, 2017. LOTS OF FUN, LOTS OF LEARNING. Iunderstand Southwest has some decent airfares-check it out.

Our next meeting is Monday, April 3, 2017

SAN DIEGO COUNCIL of SKI CLUBS REPORT by Eileen Weiner

President Ed Offstein 760-231-8821Past President Pete Michael 858-560-8520Vice President Eileen Weiner 858-334-8876Secretary Christine KiffmannTreasurer Kathy Hendrickson

Directors at Rose EmryLarge Dan Henry

Karl CiksteLeslie Pally

Membership Ellen Locke 760-231-8821

Advertising Anne Heye 858-279-8178Council Rep Eileen Weiner 858-334-8876Sunshine Rep Anne Heye 858-279-8178Historian Helen Harris 619-283-8559Racing 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

Club Founders Joe Harris Bruce Barr

O f f i c e r s a n d D i r e c t o r s (2016 - 2017)

Racing UpdateThe weather finally cooperated and allowed four GS races to berun on Terry’s at Mammoth on Sunday, March 19. This effec-tively was the full racing season compressed into one day. Theracers from the San Diego Alpine League come from primarilythree clubs: North Island, San Diego, and Don Diego and they

emerged as the winners in both the Rokka League and SOCALSchampionships, taking home two trophies. DDSC provided threeracers for these auspicious events: Carl Cobb, Martin Wascher,and new racer Lynn Hull. The Far West Championships arecoming up April 1, 2 at Mammoth and the San Diego racersshould do very well assuming the weather remains good.

SKI CHATTER Page 4 THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUB

skiers coming from or going to? Fortunately these lift lines dissi-pated after lunch and I was able to put in some enjoyable runs.

The next three days provided some bluebird weather conditions –blue skies, no wind, and much warmer. I had intended to takesome action videos but left my new Sony camcorder back in SanDiego. Bummer! Another “senior” moment? But I did have myregular Nikon and consoled myself taking actions stills and scenicshots.

Thursday was an especially beautiful day and I had the pleasureof meeting up and skiing all morning with Sam Hayakawa, agood friend from my Rokka Ski Camp/Racing days. I hadn’tseen Sam in almost two years so it was really great to catch upand relive some of our past racing exploits. We rode up Chair 23where I wanted I take some scenic shots at the top. This offerssome of the best scenery in any ski area in the US. DDSC mem-

bers Roy and Cesar(the super daring duoof the week) werethere also and Samtook our picture withthe Ritter Range inthe background. Heand I then skied the“backside” twice.This normally is notmy favorite area(except for the scen-

ery) but it was unexpectedly enjoyable - fun cruiser runs on ex-cellently groomed snow. I did this again after lunch with myDDSC buddies but it was better in the morning.

Fortunately I had brought out my camera on Thursday and notwaited to do so on Friday which was overcast the entire day. Nota good day for scenic shots at the top. The skiing was fine onceyou got used to the flatter light. We quit skiing around lunchtimeand rendezvoused at the Yodler before boarding our bus for thereturn trip to San Diego. This was an excellent midweek ski tripand many thanks to trip leaders Ed and Ellen for making it so.

(“My Ski Week”, continued from page 2) Gravy Chute groomed!!The record snowfall in January and February atMammoth covered all the boulders and rocks on

this slope and provided snowcat access forgrooming—probably the first time ever.

Some aprés ski activity from Mammoth Midweek #3

at the Yodler

at the Pizza Party

at the Yodler

Roy, Cesar, and Karl at the top

SKI CHATTER THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBPage 5

John B and the ladies

Roy, Chuck, and Sig

Helmut, Paula, and Cesar

John G

Ed

EllenCarolyn

Helmut

Roy

Jon

Cindy shadowing Shannon

Paula

Cindy

Christine

Some pics fromMammoth Midweek #3

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBSKI CHATTER Page 6

HIKING/FITNESSOur esteemed Hikemaster (andCouncil Woman of the Year) sus-tained a non-skiing knee injury atMammoth last week. Here's an up-date from Sabine:

As you all know, I was injured atMammoth and not on the slopes. Just

a spot of black ice was enough to break my knee cap.

Here is what I am doing for some minimal amount of fitness,while I am laid up in bed. First day after surgery I wiggled mytoes a lot, and went to the bathroom on my crutches. The sec-ond day the same, but I added some upper body exercises froma sitting position (arms, shoulders and neck), just a fewminutes a few times a day. As the pain gets more manageable Iwill add some more of the same. By the weekend I will go upand down the stairs on my butt, to reach the kitchen level,maybe twice a day. Also good exercise.

Here’s a further update as of March 29:Today was my first doctor's visit after my surgery. I will not behiking for the next few months, but we should keep the hikinggoing, maybe not every week, but maybe twice a month or so.

I'm looking for volunteers to lead a hike (or more). You sendme your email, the (Thursday) date you want to do it and I'llsend out the announcement and the directions. Choose a hikeyou like ( e.g. Iron Mountain, Cowles Mtn., Lake Poway, Ra-mona Reservoir, PQ Canyon and Lake Hodges have severalhikes available, San Clemente Canyon, San Elijo lagoon orothers). Keith, Marina, and Karl have already volunteered inthe past.

Let's do it!

Please look for details for our Thursday Hikes in your emailbox and the Don Diego Meetup atwww.meetup.com/san-diego-skiers

Sabine, Your Hiking leader

Nancy Tatina 04/04

Rita Meier 04/04

Anne Heye 04/05

Issac Hansen 04/8

Barbra Daniels 04/15

Thalia Barr 04/17

Chris Armstrong 04/18

Judy Shannon 04/18

Sarah Lewis 04/19

Carole Lindsey 04/19

Helen Harris 04/22

Carolyn Blumenthal 04/22

Heidrun Faulconer 04/23

Carl Cobb 04/28

April Birthdays

Downloaded from www.seniorsskiing.com/

How Old Is “Too Old” To Start Skiing Or Boarding?by Rose Marie Cleese

What’s the cut-off age for starting to ski or snowboard? The an-swer is simple: you can take up—and keep—skiing or boarding atany age! You can never be too “over the hill.” It’s unanimous.Just as health experts have been saying for years about exerciseand fitness programs, ski industry experts say it’s never too lateto start, whether it’s downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross-country schussing, or snowshoeing. And never too old to stickwith it. As long as you don’t have a debilitating health issue thatyour doctor says is definitely a wintersports “no-go”, there’s noreason you can’t go out and do it. In fact, here are four reasons tostart or return to skiing later in life…

1. You’ll live longer. To be able to start or continue with skiingor snowboarding at an older age, you’ll HAVE to stay in shape.You’ll learn how to improve and maintain your balance, yourcardiovascular fitness, and your muscle strength—extending yourlife span in the process!

2. It’s easier than ever to learn. Thanks to huge improvementsin equipment, apparel, and ski run maintenance in recent years,it’s easier than ever to learn to ski or get back on the slopes. Skisare lighter; boots fit better and are warmer and more comfortable;waterproof outerwear is more breathable; many instructors havespecial training to teach skiers over 50; and the slopes getgroomed to perfection every night. If you’re a first timer, youwon’t have to unlearn any bad habits or old styles of skiing. Onthe flip side, if you’re a returning skier, you’ll need to learn howto adapt your skiing to maximize your experience on today’s to-tally reconfigured skis.

3. Being “of a certain age” has its perks. You’re likely in abetter position to afford wintersports than when you were young-er; conversely, you’ll be able to take advantage of the many sen-ior discounts on lift tickets that are offered by most ski resorts. Ifyou’re retired, putting in fewer hours at the office, or now work-ing as a consultant with your own hours, you’ll be able to skimidweek, when the slopes are wonderfully devoid of people andthe atmosphere more chill.

4. You’ll be off the couch enjoying fresh mountain air andspectacular views. Not only will your family, friends, and col-leagues be majorly impressed when they hear that you’re now orstill participating in a winter sport, you’ll get to enjoy one of themost sublime participant sports there is!

“Old” Timers: Then and Now

BOARD MEETING6:00 PM

@Denny’s

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23/30 24 25 26 27 28 29

April 2017

DD SKI CLUBMEETING5:00 PM @

Offshore Tavern &Grill

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

MAY HEADS UP

May 18 Club meeting at the OffshoreTavern & Grill

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)

UPCOMING TRAVEL EVENT

Trip to China: depart May, 2017(exact itinerary and price to be determined)

For information and/or to sign up, call CarlCobb (619) 222-5015 or

(619) 203-2062(NOTICE: This function is NOT a club sponsored event).

More pics from Mammoth Midweek #3

Christine and the boys

At the pizza party dessert

NEXT CLUB MEETING: Thursday, April 20, 2017@ Offshore Tavern & Grill (5:00 PM)

2253 Morena Blvd., San DiegoPlease note that this is at a new location.

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DONDIEGOSKICLUBNEWSLETTER2001CantaLomasElCajon,CA92019

SKICHATTERApril2017

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

See our club website for directionswww.skidondiego.org