|
|
|
|
September, 2024
EXECUTIVE ORGANIZATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
– Toby Kravet – 808-224-1065
Vice
President - Anita Hodges
Treasurer - Jonathan Carr
Secretary - Sandra Robbins
Michiro Iwanaga
Alan Teramura
Caroline Sluyter
Mike Tsutsui
Karl See
Nicole De-Witt
-----------------------------------------
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.
August 29 (Thursday) 3:00 pm Pau Hana at Romano's Macaroni Grill,
September 5 (Thursday) 5:00 pm General Membership Meeting at Mangiamo.
October 3 (Thursday) 5:00 pm Annual membership year Kickoff Meeting at Rainbow Bay Marina.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE:
I returned from a 2 week ski trip to New Zealand Sunday morning, and despite the low snow levels this year, Icy conditions on 2 of the mountains, flat light some of the time, and a few bruises from falls I don't customarily make (because I don't usually ski when I can't see) I am still basically intact, it was a memorable trip, and can tell you all about it over some cold ones this coming Thursday at Macaroni Grill or our General Membership Meeting in September. Join me in welcoming new members Kathleen Rose, Victory Lonnquist, Michael Alper, Elvrine Zeevat-Chow, and Justin Barratt who joined only yesterday. Michael Alper, lives in Denver and, from my count, is our 13th mainland member. Please note that. unless you have joined since April 1 of this year, in which case you are good until September 30 of 2025, this is the time to renew your membership which can be easily done via the digital form accessible through our website. Even if you plan to pay by check at our Kickoff on October 3, please complete the online form. If you weren't there, as you can see from below, we had a great turnout for the "Lawn Party" at the Withys and as many as 10 show up to volunteer at the Food Bank 6 days later even though, at the time of the party, turnout for the Food Bank had been looking a bit bleak. Mahalo to Mike Tsutsui for spearheading our volunteer efforts throughout the year. Hope to see you (those without geographical challenges) at our upcoming events in Honolulu, and, if you have been a member for a while and have a nametag from a previous trip, be sure to wear it at the events so our new members (and some of our older ones as well) know who you are.
TOBY
UPCOMING SKI CLUB ACTIVITIES:
PAU HANA
at
ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL
ALA MOANA CENTER
4th Floor, Diamond Head/Ocean side
Thursday, August
29, 3 pm
Start off the long Labor Day
weekend by joining us for a Hawaii Ski Club pau hana on THURSDAY AUGUST 29th
at Romano’s Macaroni Grill located on the 4th floor of Ala Moana Shopping
Center.
Macaroni Grill offers a special Thursday Happy Hour from 3-6pm
with special discounts on food and drinks as well as a half-priced wine
selection on Thursday evenings. Arrive early because this happy hour fills
up quickly, and we could not reserve a table at their bar area.
CAROLINE
GENERAL
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
MANGIAMO BY 604
NAVY MARINE GOLF COURSE
943
VALKENBURGH ST.
September 5 (Thursday),
5 pm
Following a summer hiatus, we are back to Mangiamo for our September General Membership Meeting. Although the meeting itself won't start until 5:30 PM, we'd like you to get there a bit earlier so you can get situated and order your food and drink. We like to get our business out of the way before the live music starts and makes announcements difficult. If you haven't yet been to Mangiamo, it is opposite the airport and off of Valkenburgh Street which runs between Nimitz Highway (under the viaduct) and Radford Drive. Drive almost all the way to Radford Drive and you'll see the entrance to the right. Mangiamo is on the second floor of the golf course's club house. See you there.
TOBY
ANNUAL KICK-OFF
MEETING
RAINBOW BAY MARINA
57 Arizona Memorial Drive
(next to Restaurant 604)
PEARL HARBOR
October 3 (Thursday) 5:00
pm
Come to our Annual Kick-Off (to the new membership year) Meeting, where the food will be "on the house," at Rainbow Bay Marina, Pearl Harbor. Wear your Ski Club tee shirt and name tag from a previous trip if you have one. If you are a new member since April 1 of this year, you are already current through next year and don't need to rejoin. If you prefer to pay by check, rather than credit card, for the 2024-2025 year, you can bring your check to this meeting, but don't forget to first complete the digital membership form accessed through our website. If you haven't been to Rainbow Bay Marina, it is the outdoor picnic area with cabanas on the right hand side (facing towards the ocean) of Restaurant 604. For those of you who unfamiliar with the area, enter Pearl Harbor off Kamehameha Highway as if you were going to the Arizona Memorial, take a right on the inner road (Arizona Memorial Place), and drive approximately 1/4 mile. As soon as you go under the Ford Island viaduct, you are there. You can park behind the restaurant. This is BYOB, and please carry out your drink containers rather than deposit of them in the refuse receptacles at the venue or we will forfeit the return of a $100.00 deposit we gave them for cleanup. As the time draws nearer, we will be providing more information and asking for RSVPs so we know how much food to order.
TOBY
SKI TRIPS FOR 2025:
CANADA
Ski Week 2025 - Sun Peaks Resort, BC
- 1/18/25 to 1/25/25
Revelstoke Extension (optional) - 1/25/25 - 1/31/25
SUN PEAKS
We are five months away from our annual Hawaii ski club trip. I hope
everyone is getting excited!
We have 42 club members signed up for the Sun Peaks
trip and 22 members from that group are signed up for the Revelstoke
extension trip. We have three rooms left at the Sun Peaks Grand and the
deadline for this sign-up is November 12.
For the Revelstoke extension, we have one open spot
for one person, and the deadline for this extension sign-up is August 31 at
the current rate. If we need to add additional rooms for Revelstoke, we are
able to, although these would be two-bedroom units only.
We will depart from
Honolulu on the evening of January 17, landing in Calgary on January 18, and
take our final flight to Kelowna that morning. We have private bus transport
from Kelowna airport to Sun Peaks, a three hour ride. On the day of arrival,
the trip committee has planned a welcome reception at Morrisey's Pub, a
wonderful opportunity to socialize and listen to live music. The meet up
time will be at 1800.
We
are planning some evening events throughout the ski week:
1. On Tuesday, January 21,
we would like to coordinate the Alpine Fondue and Starlight Descent. The
excursion includes a ride on the Sunburst Express chairlift and a fondue
dinner at the Sunburst Bar and Eatery. Alcohol is available for an
additional cost. Following dinner, you will click back into your bindings
and ski down the mountain with a head torch and guide. The descent is about
five miles and is only recommended for intermediate (blue run) skiers.
2. We also have the
opportunity to see a Kamloops Blazers Hockey Game. The 2024-2025 schedule
has not yet been released, although I anticipate there will be a game
offered on January 22, 2025. The excursion would include round-trip travel
and the game tickets. We will most likely book the game in December, so as
we get closer, I will send out a signup list.
3. There will also be opportunities to try your
hand at axe throwing, snowshoeing, tubing, or ice fishing! I will also be
posting information regarding these activities and more on our Hawaii Ski
Club Facebook page soon.
At the end of the week, on January 24, we will have our Farewell Dinner, The
location and start time for this event has not yet been finalized.
I hope you are all looking
forward to another fun trip with our Ski Club!
NIKKI
REVELSTOKE
Skiers and snowboarders return year after year to feel
the thrill of the steep, get lost in the pow, and lap the Stoke until
their tank is empty. Known for the longest vertical descent in North
America at 5,620 feet, Revelstoke attracts winter adventurers from all
over the world. Don't miss your chance to experience the hype this
winter! Grab your gear, friends, and passes, and meet us on the
mountain! Enjoy endless acres of skiable terrain, free refills on snow,
and steep thrills. From wide-open alpine bowls to perfectly spaced
glades, we've got something for everyone. The real challenge is making
sure your legs can keep up! The resort is well known for it’s Heli
Skiing for those who want to partake.
Our accommodations at the
Sutton Place Hotel include one and two bedroom condominium units with
full kitchen. It is rated four stars and located slopeside and provides
ski in/ski out access to the slopes and is located in the mountain
village. Unlike the Sun Peak Village, it is small with only three
restaurants. The town of Revelstoke is a fifteen minute free shuttle
ride where there over 40 dining options. It has a grocery store the size
of a Safeway for those who want to bring items back to the condo and
cook
Revelstoke is a 3-1/2 hour bus ride from Sun Peaks but
actually closer the Kelowna Airport where you will be flying out of.
GEOF
JAPAN
Japan Trips Update: Shiga Kogen 2/15-23 and Rusutsu 2/22-3/2, 2025.
Aloha All,
We currently
have received deposits for 81 reservations. Of these, 36 are for Shiga Kogen
and 45 for Rusutsu. At this time we still have 5 double occupancy rooms
available at Shiga Kogen but only 4 available at Rusutsu. We also have
several single persons who have registered and are looking for a roommate at
each location. The deadline to make a reservation is October 1 when the
balance of the trip is due. However, you can still make a reservation with a
$350 deposit. Over the past few years our Japan trips have sold out early so
don't wait until the last minute if you want to join us.
The popularity of these trips is do to:
Excellent package price: $3250 Shiga Kogen and $3500 Rusutsu including round
trip airfare on JAL, airport to hotel shuttle service, 7 nights lodging,
5 days lift tickets, daily buffet breakfast and 3 buffet dinners at both
resorts. Hotel accommodations at both resorts are ski-in ski-out.
If you're interested in joining us for a ski trip
to Japan in February you need to fill out the registration form found at the
end of the Japan trips description on our
www.hawaiiskiclub.com website by
clicking on "Trips" tab, send in a $350 deposit by October 1, and be an
active Hawaii Ski Club member. You can join or renew your ski club
membership online by clicking on the "Membership" tab and pay only $25
single and $35 family memberships.
Here is some additional information on each ski
resort:
Shiga Kogen is 160
miles north of Tokyo in the Nagano ski area of the main island of Honshu. Rather than a single large ski resort, it consists of 21 ski resorts with 70+
lifts connected by a shuttle bus and single lift ticket, making it the
largest ski resort in Japan. While the majority of the resort is under 4,000 ft, the highest peak is over 7,400
feet making Skiga Kogen also the ski resort
with the highest lift in Japan. Powder Hound ranks it as the best
intermediate ski resort in all of Japan and among the top ten overall ski
resort in Japan.
We have reservations at the Prince
Hotel, located in Yakebitaiyama, the largest of the Shiga Kogen villages and
host to several downhill events during the 1998 Nagano Olympics. We will be
staying in the newest of the hotel buildings. We also will have an optional
tour to the famous Jigokudani Monkey Park, where the famous snow monkeys
reside. The Monkey Park is about 30 minutes away from our hotel by bus.
Instead of a ski resort with a nearby town, Rusutsu
is a huge Convention Center complex with shops, restaurants and hotel rooms
all under one roof in Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan. A fabulous
new onsen featuring several indoor pools at different temperatures including
a cold plunge, and outdoor lay flat pools lets snow fall on you as you soak
in the hot mineral springs water. Our hotel package includes a daily
breakfast buffet, where you could choose between delicious Japanese or
Western style food for breakfast or you could eat Chinese style buffet or a
set menu Japanese breakfast. We also have 3 buffet dinners on alternate
nights where we could sit together and talk story.
Rusutsu consists of three mountains, West Mountain
which is ski in ski out from the resort complex, East Mountain accessed by a
gondola from the resort and Mt Isola, accessible by gondola and hooded chair
lifts. The further you go away from the hotel complex the fewer people you
encounter, making it possible to find fresh, untracked powder even after
several days without snowfall. Rusutsu is famous for its long wide runs with
easy access to its renowned tree skiing down into the valleys. There also is
night skiing available if you didn't get enough skiing during the day. For
dinner you could choose from 7 restaurants featuring French, Chinese,
Italian, Seafood, Japanese, pub and buffet style dinners, including all you
can eat crab legs, scallops on the half shell and wagu beef. Powder Hound
ranks Rusutsu as among the Top 10 ski resorts in all of Japan and ranks
number 1 for its lift system.
ALAN
PAST SKI CLUB ACTIVITIES:
PAU HANA
at
THE
SOCIAL HONOLULU
South Shore Market
1170 Auahi Street -
2nd Floor
July 25 (Thursday), 4 pm.
Mahalo to Marian Conroy and Geof for putting this Pau Hana together. About 18 members ultimately came to this restaurant bar located in the South Shore market in close proximity to convenient, free, covered parking which, unfortunately, I did not find first, parking, instead, in the free parking lot behind Whole Foods and walking over. We were seated around several adjacent long tables on the Diamond Head side of the bar, separated from the rest of the restaurant, and there is already talk of, maybe, trying out this venue for our monthly General Membership Meetings now held at Mangiamo opposite the airport. Stay tuned.
TOBY
LAWN PARTY
AT THE WITHYS
156F N.
Kalaheo Ave.
August 4 (Sunday) 3 PM
Between 50 and 55 members came to the "Sunday Party at the Beach" hosted by the Withys. Although Anita was expressing concern, the day before, about whether we would have enough tents, other necessary equipment, and trucks to transport it, everything came together, got set up in time, and, at the end, got disassembled, and disappeared, leaving the Withy's back yard like we found it. It couldn't have happened more expeditiously if it had been rehearsed. The pot luck food was delicious with enough left over at the end for a second party: The Club knows how to feed itself. Also, the diversion to the beach, right behind the backyard, for a short memorial to recently departed member Nancy Rawlins, with scattering of flowers into the ocean, was nicely accomplished. Mahalo to the Withys for hosting and Anita for coordinating the event. Also, mahalo to all who contributed the necessary equipment, including vehicular, make the event a success.
TOBY
VOLUNTEERING
at
THE HAWAII FOODBANK
2611
KILIHAU ST.
HONOLULU, HI. 96819
August 17 (Saturday) 8 AM - 12
PM
On Saturday, August 17, 10 of our club members volunteered at the Hawaii Food Bank in Mapunapuna. We were scheduled to work from 8am to 12pm. Our job was to sort through dry goods that were donated by various stores on Oahu. The Food Bank makes weekly rounds to grocery stores on Oahu. They also have scheduled pickups at the Costco, Wal-Mart and Target stores on the island. Our job was to sort thru the boxes of donated goods and put them into the appropriate bins the Food Bank had set up. We worked sorting through multiple pallets and completed much faster than the Food Bank anticipated. They sent a special thank you note, which is a first for me. They were very impressed on how quickly we worked and how organized we were. We turned, what was supposed to take 4 hours, and completed the task in 90 minutes. Kudos for our volunteers. Photos from the event will be loaded onto our Facebook page soon.
MIKE
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
---------------------------
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.