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December, 2022
EXECUTIVE ORGANIZATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
– Toby Kravet – 808-224-1065
Vice
President - Anita Hodges
Treasurer - Jonathan Carr
Secretary - Stewart Taggart
Michiro Iwanaga
Alan Teramura
Caroline Sluyter
Mike Tsutsui
Karl See
Nelson Dang
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Newsletter Editor
Toby Kravet
(Click on Contacts for e mail addresses)
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
Every Monday evening (except on holidays and, of course, during Hawaii Ski Week), at 4:30 PM, a group of ski club members and their friends play tennis at Keehi Lagoon Courts, off Lagoon Drive. Stay in shape and enjoy a "careful social hour" afterwards.
November 24 (Thanksgiving Thursday) Traditional Volunteer Activity, feeding the needy, at Blaisdell Center (11:00 AM - 1:30 PM) and pre-event potluck for everyone in the Club (9:30 AM - 11:00 AM).
December 10 (Saturday) (5:00 PM) Following a two year hiatus due to COVID (what else?) Sam Wright is inviting us back to the Esplanade in Hawaii Kai for our traditional holiday party (See below).
January 7 (Saturday) (5:00 PM) Pre-Trip Party for Big Sky at the home of Judy (Sobin) and Jeff (Lilley), 748 Kalanipuu St., Hawaii Kai. This is sort of just town the street from the Esplanade where we had our Christmas Party. Although a Pre-Trip Party for Big Sky, the entire club is invited. (See below)
January 13 (Friday) O-F-F T-O B-I-G S-K-Y (HAWAII SKI WEEK)
February 4 (Saturday) (5:00 PM) Pre-Trip Party for both Japan ski trips at the Esplanade in Hawaii Kai and, as with the Big Sky Pre-Trip Party, the entire club is invited. (See below)
February 11(Saturday) OFF TO NISEKO
February 18 (Saturday) OFF TO RUSUTSU
March 2 (Thursday) General Membership Meeting at Mangiamo, Navy Marine Golf Course.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE:
As I sit down to finish the December Newsletter on Sunday morning, November 20, Mammoth Mountain, in California, has been open since November 5; Snowbasin, in Utah, has been open since November 18, the earliest opening on record; Big Sky, where we are going less than seven weeks from now, will be opening November 24, just four days away; Niseko will be opening on December 2; and Rusutsu is planning to open on December 17. The ski season IS upon us.
At the risk of embarrassing him, I want to give a hearty shout out to Alan Teramura, our Trips Committee Chair, for all the work he continues to do to keep our trips going. This year has had a number of hiccups, especially with Japan, owing to Hawaiian Airlines cancelling their flights, the Sapporo Snow Festival happening earlier than expected (we can't go to the festival after all), and changing COVID policies. I've often said that the Trips Committee Chair is the hardest working person in the Club and this year has not only been no exception but it's had more than the usual share of challenges.
As of our Zoom Board Meeting last Thursday evening, we have 111 active members and 47 who were members last year but didn't renew. If you meant to renew but haven't yet done so, now is the time as, before the end of the year, we will be removing non-renewers from our emailing list. If removed, you can continue to follow Club activities by accessing the Newsletter on our website, www.hawaiisnowskiclub.com , but you will not be getting announcements, etc. Hope to see your name back on the list.
Have a nice Thanksgiving holiday.
TOBY
UPCOMING SKI CLUB ACTIVITIES:
TRADITIONAL THANKSGIVING VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY
SERVING AN EARLY THANKSGIVING DINNER TO THE NEEDY
AND PRE-EVENT POTLUCK
Blaisdell Center
777
Ward Ave.
November 24 (Thursday)
9:30 AM
- 11:00 AM for Pre Event Potluck
11:00 AM - 1:30 PM for Volunteer Activity,
This is the 48th Annual Salvation Army Thanksgiving Day
Dinner served at the Blaisdell Center and, will be, at least, the 27th year that
the Hawaii Ski Club has joined with over 1000 community members from a variety
of civic groups and schools volunteering to make this event special for those
people who are less fortunate. This is an event where “it feels better to give
than receive.” You’ll enjoy your family Thanksgiving dinner more after you have
served meals to the elderly and poor of our community.
Although our club volunteers
for only 1.5 hours on Thanksgiving morning, we have a pre-event tailgate potluck outside the auditorium, in the grassy
area between the parking structure and the arena, for all club members. This is an annual
tradition where we enjoy the fellowship of other ski club members before we
serve dinner. Every club member is invited to join this tailgate even if you are
unable to volunteer inside the auditorium.
ANITA, TOBY
ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY
The
Esplanade, 500 Lunalillo Home Road
December 10 (Saturday) Time: 5:00 PM
Sylvia "Sam" Wright has come through yet again to get us the recreation room/terrace at her condo, The Esplanade, on Hawaii Kai Drive. This is both pot luck and BYOB. Also, if you want to participate (almost all do) in the traditional gift exchange, bring a grab bag gift with approximate value of $20.00. You will be given a raffle ticket, and when your number is called, have the option of choosing a gift from the "pile" or one that has already been chosen, thereby forcing the original chooser to choose from the pile again: This can get pretty funny, satisfying, or frustrating depending upon whether you are victor, victim, or spectator----at that particular moment. and victors can turn into victims at the next ticket pulled. Also, (Trumpets, please), this is the same date as the annual Hawaii Kai Christmas Boat Parade in which boats, adorned like Christmas trees, sail through the waterways, and we should be able to view it from outside the building. The party will probably be starting at 6:00 PM, but we may want to get there earlier due to others looking for parking to view the boat parade: Information on this will be provided ASAP. To get to the Esplanade, turn left off Kalanianaole Highway at Lunalillo Home Road, the last traffic light before the highway goes up the hill towards Hanauma Bay. Drive in the mountain direction .8 of a mile and look for the looming white building complex on the left. While parking is limited at the building (eleven guest stalls in the circle at the entrance) there is normally plenty of street parking available on the other side of the street and on side streets off the other side. The recreation area is right on the ground level beside the lobby.
TOBY
BIG SKY PRE-TRIP PARTY
748 KALANIPUU ST.
HAWAII KAI
96825
January 7 (Saturday) Time TBA
Mahalo to Jeff (Lilley) and Judy (Sobin) for sharing their home with us for the Big Sky Pre-Trip Party. The Club will provide the main course but it's BYOD (Bring your own dessert with extra to share) and BYOB (No translation necessary). Also, although it is the Pre-Trip Party for Hawaii Ski Week, 2023, the entire club is invited. To get to the house, turn off Kalanianaole Highway onto Lunalillo Home Road just like you did for the Christmas Party at the Esplanade, set your mileage counter, keep going past the Esplanade and you will ultimately find Kalanipuu St. on the left exactly 1.18 miles from where you turned off the highway, follow Kalanipuu St. as it veers to the right and parallels Lunalillo Home Road, and you will find the Lilley/Sobin manse on the left at 1.48 miles past where you originally turned off the highway. If you miss the turn, onto Kalanipuu St., you can take the next left, and it will take you through to Kalanipuu. See you there.
TOBY
JAPAN PRE-SKI TRIPS PARTY
The
Esplanade, 500 Lunalillo Home Road
February 4 (Saturday) Time: 5:00 PM
Mahalos aplenty to Sam Wright for, again, making her Recreation area available to the Club for the Japan Pre-Ski Trips Party. Unlike the Pre-Trip Party for Big Sky, the Club will not be providing the food: This is like the Christmas Party: Pot Luck as well BYOB. Just like the Big Sky Party, however, it is not limited to just members going to Japan: It's for the whole Club. Everyone can come and party. For directions, just see those given above for the Christmas Party.
TOBY
PAST SKI CLUB ACTIVITIES:
ANNUAL KICK-OFF
MEETING/COOKOUT
RAINBOW BAY MARINA
PEARL HARBOR
October 6 (Thursday)
Somewhere between 46 and 50 members (hard to count "moving targets"), new and old, came down to Rainbow Bay Marina on the first Thursday of October for our first "real" Kick-Off since the pandemic, and I was pleased to see so many new members come and introduce themselves to the "old guard." I would enumerate here all the new members who came, but I was too busy handing our raffle tickets and awarding gifts to the winners to remember. For those of you who didn't come, you lost out on the chance to win Starbucks gift cards or cash with some of the individual cash gifts close to the total of the annual membership fee. Mucho Mahalos to Geoff (Chu) for ordering the Chinese food and grilling the main course and Mike (Tsutsui) for picking up the pie and cake for dessert: Everything was delicious and, unlike our last event at Rainbow Bay Marina in July, almost all the food was consumed: No need for begging everyone to make up a plate to take home. Also, Mahalo to Bill Hodges for, again, booking the venue: You need to be in the military or a "vet" to get it. The only negative issue of the evening, for me, was navigating home afterwards with all the rail construction work proceeding and blocking me from going up Kamehameha Highway to get on the viaduct by the airport: I had to detour to Radford Drive and Salt Lake Blvd. and didn't recognize where I was for a short while. I wonder how many more of you had the same or a similar experience.
TOBY
UPDATE ON SKI TRIPS FOR 2023:
BIG SKY, MONTANA
January 13-21, 2023
After a last minute cancellation, we now have 53 HSC members going to Big Sky, Montana. As a result, we have one double occupancy hotel room still available in the Huntley Lodge. Contact Linda Schewe at Lschewe@hawaii.rr.com before November 30 if you are interested in going. After this date the room will revert back to Big Sky Central Reservations. There will be a pre-trip party starting at 5 pm Saturday January 7, 2023 to provide participants with name tags, streamers, activities information and an update on trip details at the home of Judy Sobin and Jeff Lilly in Hawaii Kai. This will be a Hawaii Ski Club sponsored dinner and all members are invited to attend. More details to follow.
SAPPORO/NISEKO, JAPAN
February 11-19, 2023
We currently have 34 HSC members who are going this trip. Despite a recent and sudden cancellation of our non-stop reservations by Hawaiian Airlines, Linda Schewe was able to secure reservations with JAL with a connection through Haneda, Japan for everyone that wanted group airfare. For those who have booked their own flights please make certain that your arrival and departure times coincide with those of the group air so that you can join the group shuttle bus. If you make flight arrangements that don’t coincide with the group air, then you must make your own shuttle arrangements. There are still a few rooms available if someone wants to join us. See Linda Schewe’s email address above. A pre-trip potluck dinner will be held on Saturday February 4, 2023 at 5 pm at the Esplanade in Hawaii Kai. More details to follow.
RUSUTSU, JAPAN
February 18-26, 2023
We currently have 50 HSC members going on this trip, including 29 individuals who will be joining the group after first enjoying a week in Sapporo/Niseko. Rusutsu is one of our most popular trips, with two thirds of the group repeat visitors to Rusutsu from previous years. The airline situation was the same as described above for Niseko. Everyone who wanted the group air is now booked on JAL connecting though Haneda to Sapporo. A few rooms are also still available if you want to join us. A pre-trip potluck dinner will be held on Saturday February 4, 2023 at 5 pm at the Esplanade in Hawaii Kai. More details to follow.
ALAN
NATIONAL NEWS (From Far West Ski Association):
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN WINTER KICK-OFF PARTY
Mammoth Mountain was the first mountain to open this year, opening on Saturday, November 5th. The first ride up included the Banner Breakthrough, with Woolly, followed later in the morning with a Snow Dance-Off on the Tusks Deck. Prizes were given away to many who joined in.
U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD AND OUTSIDE REACH AN AGREEMENT
In a move that links America’s snowsports governing body and the country’s
largest creator of outdoor recreation media and services, U.S. Ski &
Snowboard and Outside Interactive, Inc., today announced a long-term
strategic partnership to create and broadcast snowsports content. For the
first time, FIS World Cup alpine, cross country, freestyle, snowboard, and
free-ski events held in the United States will be available to stream on all
Outside platforms, including OutsideOnline.com, S
NO-FRILLS RESORTS RISE TO THE TOP
After a couple rough seasons at the mega resorts, a new “SKI” survey shows that the overall trend is skiers and boarders seeking out the non-corporate ski areas. There is a new appreciation for smaller, no-frills ski areas. Survey responses indicate the trend toward a back-to-our-roots mentality, especially with core skiers who prioritize skiing and care less about nightlife or amenities.
Snowsport enthusiasts did not mince words about huge crowds and perceived “value," specifically regarding certain well-known large-scale resorts. “Value" is the top factor—pro and con—in the East and West. At both Grand Targhee and Powder Mountain, "value" was a core strength among readers, with Powder's "old school vibes" as well as great snow and varied terrain while being “light on skier amenities.“ Schweitzer was highlighted for lack of crowds and appeared to suffer little from the limited après and nightlife in its small village. The resort is “good for the ski, eat, sleep, repeat" crowd, according to one survey taker. A press release from Canada’s Banff Sunshine touted its #4 ranking—ahead of #5 Whistler Blackcomb—thanks to "zero lift lines" and "communal and intimate vibe." Other areas are likely to follow suit.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
HAWAII SKI CLUB IS ON FACEBOOK
Facebook is the best way to keep current on the Hawaii Ski Club. On your Facebook page on your computer, type "Hawaii Ski Club" into the search box on the top left. On your mobile device, tap the magnifying glass at the top to get the search box. Pictures from Ski Club activities and other items are posted as they are submitted. You can submit your own Ski Club pictures and other items you wish posted by emailing them to anita@hawaiisnowskiclub.com
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Contributions from the membership to future newsletters are encouraged and will be greatly appreciated: Please e mail them to Toby (see Contacts) no later than 9 calendar days from the end of the month. Thanx much.
Updated club info available at http://www.hawaiisnowskiclub.com and on our Facebook page.