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January, 2015
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
EXECUTIVE ORGANIZATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President – Toby Kravet – 808-224-1065
Vice President – Jonathan Carr
Treasurer - Geoff Chu
Secretary - Paul Ferguson
Rene "Fergie" Ferguson
Roy Manzoku
Bill Hodges
Cathy Lau
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Club Historian
Jo Yee
Newsletter Editor
Toby Kravet
(Click on Contacts for e mail addresses)
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
Additional events, such as concerts, hikes, excursions, may be added. Watch your email for possible updates.
Every Monday evening (except on holidays): 4:30 P.M. A group of ski
club members and their friends play
tennis at Keehi Lagoon courts, off Lagoon
Drive. Stay in shape and share refreshments afterwards!
January 8 (Thursday) 6 P.M. General Membership Meeting at Seven Palms. Please note that this is the second Thursday rather than the first Thursday of the month.
January 15 (Thursday) 5:30 P.M. Board Meeting at Henry Louis.
January 23 (Friday) Pre Ski Week Party at Geoff's condominium in Waikiki (See Below).
January 30 (Friday) Off to the "Biggest Island" for Hawaii Ski Week, 2015 at Steamboat
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE:
As I sit down to "pen" my last message of 2014, on Monday, December 22, Steamboat is reporting a 46" base, 6" of new snow, and it's snowing. Steamboat has a lot more snow than many of the other areas in the western U.S., and this is very encouraging for a great Hawaii Ski Week, only six weeks away. I wish I were going but-------. By the time you "Steamboaters" come back to Honolulu, I will be gone, myself,----to Utah: To Salt Lake City where I will be purchasing custom ski boots to fit around and compensate for some of the "sequelae" of my skiing accident fourteen months ago. YES! My doctor told me, just three weeks ago, that I can ski this season. I would have tried to see if I could still get on the Steamboat trip, but I do need the new boots first, and I didn't want to make a special trip just to get them.
I want to thank Sam Wright, again, for inviting us to her condominium in Hawaii Kai for our annual Christmas party and to Geoff for letting us use his in Waikiki for our upcoming Pre Ski Week Party. Unfortunately, this may be the last time we are able to conveniently go to Geoff's as all indications point to disappearance of the free parking a few months from now. Suggestions for (and invitations to) alternate locations for future Ski Club gatherings are welcomed.
I wish all of you a happy and safe holiday season and hope to see you at the first General Membership Meeting of 2015 at Seven Palms.
A hui hou,
TOBY
UPCOMING SKI CLUB ACTIVITIES:
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Seven Palms Bar and
Grill
Navy-Marine Golf Course Club House
943
Valkenburgh St., Honolulu, Hawaii
January 8, (Thursday) 6:00 P.M.
Come to our first General Membership Meeting of 2015 at Seven Palms. This is being scheduled for the second Thursday of the month, rather than the usual first Thursday, because the first Thursday is-----guess what day? Come early, before 5:30 P.M., if you want to get the Sunset Special dinner price.
TOBY
PRE SKI WEEK PARTY
ALOHA TOWERS CONDOMINIUM, DIAMOND HEAD TOWER
2215 ALOHA DRIVE, WAIKIKI
January 23 (Friday)
Time TBA
All ski club members are invited to the Pre-Ski Week Party on January 23, at Geoff Chu's condominium complex where we have held it for, at least, the past two years. This is also where we have had our last few October Kick-Off parties. For those of you who haven't been there, Aloha Drive is a right hand turn off Lewers on the block between Kuhio Ave. and Ala Wai Blvd. in Waikiki. Parking will be available in a nearby lot on the Ocean side of Lewers and just a two block walk to the party: We will be asking you to RSVP closer to the date of the party so we can provide you with a map and a parking permit (Don't RSVP now). The Club will provide the food as well as the informational packets for those going on the trip. You, however, will need to bring your own beverage of choice.
TOBY
HAWAII SKI WEEK 2015
AT STEAMBOAT
The Hawaii Ski Club is going to Steamboat
Resort ( http://www.steamboat.com ) in
Colorado for the 2015 Hawaii Ski Week, January 30 – February 7, 2015. The
Steamboat ski area comprises 2,965 skiable acres with a vertical drop of 3,668
feet. The elevation of the village at the base of the gondola is 6,900 feet.
They average 385 inches of snow per year. The ski terrain is described as 14%
beginner, 42% intermediate and 44% expert. They started a night skiing program
in 2014. You can explore the mountain with the Ambassador ski guides, Director
of Skiing Billy Kidd, mogul expert Nelson Carmichael (yeah, right), or with the
Over the Hill Gang (that sounds more like it). They have a First Tracks program
for the day that all the powder is there for the taking.
In addition to
skiing, the resort offers snowshoeing (including a guided, gourmet snowshoe
luncheon), sleigh rides, snowmobiling, tubing, etc. The town of Steamboat
Springs is 3 miles away by free shuttle. The town is cowboy themed, and they do
things like tow skiers down the streets behind horses. In town and nearby there
are two different natural hot springs, which might make for a fun excursion.
Our transportation and lodging is being booked by our familiar travel agent,
Ski.com.
Our flights are as follows:
United-383 S Depart: HNL
1/30/2015 10:55 pm Arrive: DEN 1/31/2015 08:30 am
United-328 W Depart: DEN
2/7/2015 11:30 am Arrive: HNL 2/7/2015 04:07 pm
We may change these
flights if we can obtain a reasonable and convenient flight into and out of
Hayden (HDN), Colorado, which is only a 35 minute bus ride from Steamboat. We
should find out about this in late May, when the airlines “load” the fares and
schedules to Hayden. Otherwise we will have to put up with the 3 ½ hr bus ride
to and from Denver. (I understand it is very scenic though).
We are
mainly staying in the Phoenix Condominium, which is a block away from the
gondola. The Phoenix (http://www.thephoenixatsteamboat.com) offers 2, 3 and 4
bedroom condos, two outdoor hot tubs, a heated, outdoor pool, free Wi-Fi,
exercise room, co-ed sauna, clubhouse and meeting rooms. The condos all have
fireplaces, a washer and dryer, and some sort of sleeping arrangement in the
living rooms. Many of the condos are on two levels. They have many more 4
bedroom condos with single bedding than 3 bedrooms, so consider the 4 bedroom
with larger common areas for your mini-groups.
For those of you who want
to stay in a hotel, we are offering the Ptarmigan Inn, which is two doors down
from the Phoenix. The Ptarmigan
(http://www.steamboat-lodging.com/about-the-ptarmigan-inn) is slope-side with
true ski/in ski/out access. They have an outdoor hot tub and pool, ski shop
(Christy’s) and a popular restaurant. The rooms feature one king or two queen
beds, free internet and a refrigerator. The Ptarmigan is $200 more per person
that the 2 bedroom units at the Phoenix. A daily breakfast buffet is available
for $80 for the week.
We will have the traditional ski club activities –
reception, pot luck, pizza party – and a few more that the Trip Committee may
dream up. On Sunday, February 1, 2015, your après ski experience can include
viewing of the XLIX Super Bowl between the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders.
The prices for all this are on the Registration Form which has
already been emailed to current members. If you have not received a form
please contact Jonathan (
jonathan@hawaiisnowskiclub.com ). If you are not a current member and wish
to join the Club, the membership form can be found on our website
(
www.hawaiisnowskiclub.com ). Please fill
out the Registration form carefully and mail it in with your first payment (due June 15). The
flights and rooms are limited so mail in your forms as soon as you can. Don’t
worry if you do not have roommates lined up yet; that can be worked out later.
If you cannot read or print the Registration Form, please contact Jonathan.
Trip insurance is available from our travel agent. It is possible to pay for
your trip with a credit card, but there is a 3% surcharge. Let Jonathan know if you want either of these options.
TRIP COMMITTEE
PAST SKI CLUB ACTIVITIES:
THANKSGIVING MEAL SERVICE
AT THE BLAISDELL CENTER
Fifteen ski club and family members helped the Salvation Army to serve lunch to people in need at the Blaisdell Center on Thanksgiving day, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1989. We had three people running containers of food to the serving line, three people cutting pies and delivering them to the serving line, and nine people (including an enthusiastic 16-year-old!) serving the meals to the guests. The guests were very appreciative for the meals and were treated to live Salvation Army entertainment.
ROY
Thanksgiving morning
was beautiful and even more beautiful was the array of food at the potluck
tailgate outside the Blaisdell. None of our volunteers went to work hungry
serving the needy. Fantastic fruits and salad, homemade dishes, superb pastries.
OK, so maybe the mimosa was mostly orange juice due to a communication screw-up.
Thanks to all the volunteers and the drop-ins. You made our 25th Anniversary of
service terrific.
WANDA
ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY
Approximately thirty members and guests made it to our annual Christmas party on Saturday evening, December 6 at the Esplanade in Hawaii Kai. The potluck food was diverse and ono and the gift exchange had its customary anticipation and drama. Two bottles of wine (single gift) kept getting picked off by one member after another, but yours truly's number was one of the last to get picked so guess who ended up with them? I'm not apologizing. Thank you again, Sam, for making the recreation area available to us. It's a great location, right on the marina and, hopefully, next year, we'll get it on the date of the Boat Parade (reservation already made).
TOBY
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
FREE TEE SHIRTS FOR NEW MEMBERSHIPS
Effective May 15, 2014, for a limited period of time, one free Ski Club tee shirt will be given to all new "Memberships," i.e. one per Membership, individual or family.
THE HAWAII SKI CLUB IS ON FACEBOOK
If you are on Facebook, add the HSC as a “friend.” You will be up-to-date with recent HSC activities that members upload. The HSC Facebook page has photos from members on ski trips and at Club activities. You can also include your personal photos and announcements relating to the club for all HSC members to view.
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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/