MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Greetings Don Diego Members,The annual DDSC Picnic was a highlight ofthe waning summer season and a promisingstart to the new ski season. The new locationin Crown Point Park was a hit with the 47picnickers, as was the catered lunch. Specialthanks to Leslie Pally, Chris Houkom, andEllen Locke for making the picnic happen. Inattendance were pioneering club members,including Helen Harris and Connie Smith, aswell as some of our newest members, such asKathy Hendrickson, and Lynn and JaniceHull. The heritage of Don Diego lives on as

the Club continues to evolve.

Club activity ramps up in the fall, beginning with our September 5Labor Day Barbecue, which includes a salute to DDSC Board MemberDan Henry, who will enter the Oceanside Pier Swim that morning.(Remember to RSVP if you plan to attend the BBQ.) The first generalmeeting of the season is at 5:00 pm on Thursday, September 15 at ournew location, Callahan’s Pub & Brewery, 8111 Mira Mesa Blvd. (Allmeetings for 2016-17 will be at Callahan’s on the third Thursday of themonth.) We believe you will like the warm cozy vibe of our meetingroom at Callahan’s. Membership Director Ellen Locke will be on handto accept your membership applications, if you have not already re-newed by mail. And the trip leaders will be there to sign you up for the2017 Mammoth trips. Applications are posted on the club website.

Thanks to Judy Porter, the September 15 meeting will feature a specialpresentation by Teresa Heflin of the San Diego Museum of Art. On themorning of the following Thursday, September 22, Ms. Heflin will con-duct us on a private guided tour of the Museum. DDSC HikemasterSabine Alberti will lead us on a stroll around Balboa Park before themuseum tour, and many of us will stay for lunch in the Park after thetour. Should be a great day! If you want to get weekly notices of Sab-ine’s year-round Thursday hikes, sign up at www.meetup.com/San-Diego-Skiers/ As the weather cools off, the hikes heat up and help con-dition you for the ski season.

Two final thoughts: First, if you have an idea for future club activities,tell me or any of the other Board members. Second, last year DDSCgained more new members than any year since 2008. Many of thesenew members came through referrals. Let your friends, relatives, andneighbors know about our club by directing them to our website or byinviting them to a meeting or event.See you soon.

Ed Offstein - DDSC President

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUB NEWSLETTER

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUB IS A NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONISSUE 155September 2016 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, September 15 at Callahan’s Pub& Brewery starting at 5:00 PM.

See map on the last page for location.

(Continued on page 3)

FROM OUR MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN

My name is Ellen Locke and I have taken onthe role of Membership Director from Noni.I would like to recognize Noni and thank herfor the many years of hard work as Member-ship Director. She generously spent timewith me over coffee, showing me how thejob is done. Thank you Noni!

Membership for the 2016/2017 ski year is offto a great start. By May we had added twonew family memberships for a total of 7 newmembers! Sandy Swain’s brother RyanRagozzini and his family Becky Fugal and Isaac Hansen have joinedthe DDSC family. They live in Bonita. A few of their interests arebackpacking, tennis, dancing and volleyball.

Our second new family membership was referred by Carl Cobb. TheHull family, Lynn, Janice, Julie and Brad live in San Diego. Some oftheir interests are skating, ballroom dancing and fishing.

If you have family, friends or acquaintances who are interested insnow sports, hiking or any of our other year round activities andevents we would love to have them join DDSC. For additional infor-mation on the club please direct them to the website or feel free tohave them call me at 760-231-8821.

Speaking of memberships now is a great time to renew your mem-bership, before we get to the busy fall and winter season. Simply goto our website http://www.skidondiego.org/, then click on Member-ship and then on Membership application. After you complete theform you can mail it to my attention (address is at the bottom of theform) with your payment, or bring it to the next club meeting Sep-tember 15, 2016.

I look forward to seeing every one at the next meeting,

Ellen Locke, Membership

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBSKI CHATTER Page 2

NEWEST ATTEMPT TO BUILD AMERICA’S FIRSTINDOOR SKI RESORT ANNOUNCEDAmerica’s first indoor ski resort dates back to 2004 as New Jer-sey’s Xanadu Meadowlands, but construction stalled severaltimes before a company called Triple Five took ownership of theproject in 2013 and revamped the concept with another companycalled SNOW Operating which plan to open North America’sfirst indoor snow center, Big SNOW America, at AmericanDream adjacent to the megaplex at the Meadowlands SportsComplex by 2017. The 12-story snow center hopes to offeryear-round skiing, snowboarding, and snow tubing, surroundedby a collection of snow-focused retail outlets. Big SNOWAmerica will share American Dream which is supposed to havemore than 450 other enterprises, including North America’slargest fully-enclosed indoor DreamWorks Water Park, anamusement park, a 285-foot tall observation wheel, luxury mov-ie theatres by Cinemex, a 70,000 square-foot Sea Life Aquarium& Lego Discovery Center, and an NHL-size ice rink. TheDream also features a 460,000 square-foot luxury and fashionarea, and 15 full-service restaurants.

ALTA'S SNOWBOARDER BAN TO CONTINUEA legal attempt by a group of snowboarders to force Alta SkiArea to open its skier-only slopes snowboarders was stoped by apanel of judges from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Den-ver that upheld a lower court ruling and dismissed the case. Thecourt found that the plaintiff, Wasatch Equality, failed to estab-lish that the ban of snowboarders by Alta constituted an actionby the state. Because Alta leases more than 80 percent of itsresort from the National Forest Service, Wasatch Equality main-tained that the ban violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S.Constitution, which provides equal protection under thelaw. But just because the Forest Service annually reviews Alta’s

lease and operations plan, does not mean the state is forbiddingsnowboarders, the court found. “In granting Alta’s and theForest Service’s motions to dismiss, the district court found thatthe Forest Service did nothing to influence Alta’s decision toban snowboards and the Forest Services’ receipt of a usage feeeach year didn’t sufficiently involve the government to other-wise attribute the ban to the government,” the ruling states.Of Alta’s 2,130 acres, 1,800 are leased from the Forest Service.The court’s ruling notes that 120 other ski resorts across thecountry have similar arrangements with the Forest Service,where ski resorts rent the land.

COLORADO SUPREME COURT SAYS AVALANCHESARE INHERENT DANGERS OF SKIINGThe Colorado Supreme Court ruled in May that avalanches areamong the “inherent dangers of skiing” so ski resorts can’t beheld liable for people killed by slides within their bounda-ries. The 5-2 ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the widow ofChristopher Norris, who was killed in 2012 after being caught ina slide on a designated run in Winter Park. Colorado’s SkiSafety Act limits the state’s ski industry to $250,000 in damagesfrom lawsuits filed by the family of those killed. That cap hasbeen tested many times since the legislation was enacted in1979, but no jury or court ever has awarded injured skiers orbereaved families more than that amount. The law includes a listof the potential dangers that skiers assume the risk for, such asice, packed powder, cliffs and trees but not avalanches specifi-cally. However, it does include “snow conditions as they exist ormay change,” and the Supreme Court ruled that covers inboundavalanches. In a dissent, Justice Monica Marquez argued thatunlike weather, snow conditions or terrain, the average skierdoes not have the training to assess the risk of an ava-lanche. According to the dissent, Montana’s ski law waschanged last year to say that avalanches do not qualify as inher-ent dangers, and Alaska ski operators can be held liable if theydo not adhere to their avalanche-control plans.

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

Our trip leaders are now accepting deposits for the 2017Mammoth bus trips. They will be at the club meetings beginningSeptember 15 to accept deposits. Trip applications are availableonline at www.skidondiego.org on the Ski Trips page and can bemailed to the trip leaders. The trip schedule is shown below.

Our Trip Leaders

Carolyn Keith Ed & Ellen

TRAVEL/TRIP REPORT

Ski Trip dates for Don Diego Ski Club for the 2017 Season:(See the fliers on page 6)

Mammoth Midweek #1: Jan. 8—13, 2017 Trip Leader: Carolyn Blumenthal

Mammoth Midweek #2: Feb. 5—10, 2017 Trip Leader: Keith Bowen

Mammoth Midweek #3: March 5—10, 2017 Trip Leaders: Ed Offstein & Ellen LockeSee the last page of this newsletter for CST/TCRC information

Here’s Woolly…. practicing for the new ski seaon

SKI CHATTER THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBPage 3

As of the July and August 2016 meetings:

Elections were held in April and the newCouncil officers are:President-Chris GillPast president-Tom BundgardVice President-Tom SekretaSecretary-Debbie SchroederTravel-Alan GodwinCommunications-Laura MeldrumTreasurers-Ron Hausch and Don Gill

Tom Sekreta is working with Los Angeles and Orange Councilsin regards to sharing information and activities. Keep an eye outfor joint activities.

The Far West ski Week for 2017 is in Breckenridge, ColoradoJanuary 28-February 4, 2017. So far there are only nineteenpeople, from our Council attending. If you are interested, con-tact Alan at alan@skiclub.us.

Other trips that are available are:Aspen December 8-14, 2016

bubasanford@aol.comProvence Bike Trip April 22-May 6, 2017

esandford1@san.rr.com

Croatia Boat Trip September 21, 2017esandford1@san.rr.com

The FWSA also has trips going this year and next, check outtheir website at fwsa.org

San Diego Alpine League first meeting of the season will beSaturday, October 8, 2016 at Giovannis on Clairemont MesaBlvd. This is after the Far West Racing Association summerrules meeting at Mammoth on September 23, 2016. MartinWascher and myself will be attending.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars:Council Gala will be on Friday, November 4, 2016 at theHoliday Inn Bayside. Don Diego will need to nominate our Manand Woman of the year to represent the club. Entries are dueOctober 8; resumes are due October 12. The interviews will beat my home on October 19. Winners will be announced at theCouncil Gala on November 4.

Snow Jam will be at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on November 11-12-13, 2016. I will be looking for volunteers, for which we getpaid.

SAN DIEGO COUNCIL of SKI CLUBS REPORT by Eileen Weiner

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

President Ed Offstein 760-231-8821Past President Pete Michael 858-560-8520Vice President Eileen Weiner 858-334-8876Secretary Christine KiffmannTreasurer Dale Shannon 619-729-1620

Directors at Rose EmryLarge Dan Henry

Carl Tatina 858-560-5963Leslie Paly

Membership Ellen Locke 760-231-8821Advertising Anne Heye 858-279-8178

Council Rep Eileen Weiner 858-334-8876Sunshine Rep Anne Heye 858-279-8178Bicycling Carl Tatina 858-560-5963Golf MC Eastman 858-551-8252Historian 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

September 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Local hikes:See page 5 for the details.

September 5, Labor Day activities:At 9 AM cheer on Dan Henry as he swims around OceansidePier in the annual Labor Day event and then at 11AM join Edand Ellen for a Labor Day Barbecue at their home, 2903 ToddStreet, Oceanside

September 22, Balboa Park hike and tour:At 8:15 AM walk/hike around Balboa Park led by Sabine, thenat 10:15 AM enjoy a private docent tour of the Museum of Artfollowed by lunch at your choice of venue.

October 20, Oktoberfest Party:From 5 to 8 PM at the regular DDSC meeting at Callahan’s Pub& Brewery featuring complimentary German buffet for allcurrent members.

October 29, Halloween Party:At Eileen Weiner's 6 PM on, 2330 Via Munera, La Jolla 92037

November 4, San Diego Winter Gala:Annual SDCSC Gala and Awards Dinner at the Holiday InnBayside. Come to dine, dance, and support our nominees forMan and Woman of the Year.

(Upcoming Activities continued from page 1)

SKI CHATTER Page 4 THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUB

A note from Marilea Swenson

In Quito, Ecuador:

DDSC members Leslie, Nancy, Carolyn, Chris, Eileen andChris’ sister went on an OAT trip to Machu Picchu, Ecuador’sAmazon and Galapagos in April. Meantime I went on an OATtrip to Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador. While I was looking ina shop’s window near our hotel, Leslie recognized me and weall chatted. Eileen was back in the room so a few minutes later,I - and two others from my group who had met Eileen on othertrips - knocked on her door and announced‘housekeeping!’. Eileen about dropped when she opened thedoor and saw me. Especially since she was convinced I was inCosta Rica, not Ecuador.

This photo was taken a bit later as we set out to dinner - theywith their group, me with mine. Small world!

Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum

Don Diego members were treated in July to nice summerweather for our second visit to the Marine Corps’ aviationmuseum at the Miramar Air Station. Last year it rained a ton, butit was bright and sunny this year.

More than twentymembers, neighbors,and guests from otherski clubs saw im-portant Marine Corpsplanes and helicop-ters from WW 2,Korea, Vietnam, andMiddle Eastern con-flicts. Brigadier Gen-eral Aguilar at themuseum welcomed

us. He understands the contribution of General Dynamics tonational defense. (Both the Don Diego Ski Club and the ConvairSki Club operated as a joint club from the 1950s through the1990s.)

Some stayed for an Open Cockpit Day presentation on theimportance of the Marine vertical takeoff “jump jet,” the AV8

Harrier. After so much intellectual stimulation, our groupadjourned to the new Ballast Point tasting room at Miramar toeat, hydrate, and tell ski stories.

We don’t want to miss you so be sure to read the Don Diegonewsletter and come to club events this coming fall.

I’ll see you there,

Don Diego

“Hydrating” at BallastPoint Brewery

Some DDSC Member Activities this past offseason

Annual DDSC Summer Picnic

Our annual summer picnic was held at Crown Point Park onAugust 21 attended by ove 40 members. It was a catered affairfor the first time this year with added benefit of no cookingcleanup required.

Chris holdingdown the DDSC

banner

SKI CHATTER THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBPage 5

HIKING/FITNESS

For this newsletter I was going to writesome excerpts of an article talking about allthe cancers you don't get if you exerciseand lead a healthy life. Due to our fittestmember Verena, who lived to exercise andhad the most healthy habits, dying of can-cer anyway, I'll skip that.

Let me just say that Verena lead an inter-esting life, full of adventure and energy. She kept herself fit toenjoy it to the fullest. So, fitness may not give you an eternal life,but it sure keeps you happy, while you are alive!

May she rest in peace, I will always remember her. She was suchan inspiration.

September Hikes:

9/1 - Beach Hike from Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach9/8 - San Dieguito Lagoon on to the Del Mar Beach

9/15 - Penasquitos Canyon from Penasquitos9/22 - Balboa Park followed by tour of the Art Museum9/29 - Lake Hodges from the fruit stand on Del Dios

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

Sabine, Your Hiking leader

Here are some pics from past hikes this summer:

REMEMBERING VERENA

We are all saddened by the passing ofVerena Florence this past August, 2016.Don Diego Ski Club was privileged tohave Verena as a member for well over 10years. Verena was a remarkable lady whoovercame some serious earlier medicalissues to become an excellent skier,bicycler, and an extraordinary super hiker.

She was an adrenaline junkie always trying to get the mostfrom all her activities. She always had a positive infectiousspirit that rubbed off on all around her.

Here are some pictures ofVerena as many of us atDDSC remember her.

Solana Beach

San Elijo Lagoon

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

The May 2016 DDSC meeting at Admiral Baker Golf Courseclubhouse was the occasion of honoring the birthdays andcontributions of long-time members Helen Harris, Bea Stoylaand Club cofounder Bruce Barr. Here are pics from thisauspicious occasion.

Helen and Bea

THE DON DIEGO SKI CLUBSKI CHATTER Page 6

BOARD MEETING6:00 PM

@Denny’s

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30

September 2016

DD SKI CLUBMEETING5:00 PM @

Callahan’s Pub &Brewery

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

OCTOBER HEADS UPOctober 20 Club meeting at Callahan’s

Pub & Brewery

October 29 Halloween Party at EileenWeiner’s house

CST REFERENCE NUMBERThe paragraph below explains what CST (California Seller ofTravel) means. You will see the number referenced on everyflyer. Please read this paragraph thoroughly. It is a requiredfor all club trips to make this statement available to you.

CST 2056054-40

California law requires certain sellers of travel to have a trust account orbond. This business has a trust account. All payments for transportation ortravel service not provided to the passenger shall be promptly refunded, inaccordance with the agreed-to-terms and conditions, unless the passengerotherwise instructs the seller of travel in writing. This business is a partici-pant in the Travel Consumer Restitution Corporations (TCRC). You, thepassenger, may request reimbursement from TCRC if you are owed a refundof more than $50 for transportation or travel services which was not refund-ed in a timely manner by a seller of travel who was registered and participat-ing in the TCRC at the time of sale. The maximum amount which may bepaid by the TCRC to any one passenger is the total amount paid on behalf ofthe passenger to the seller of travel, not to exceed $15,000. A claim must besubmitted to the TCRC within six months after the scheduled completiondate of the travel. A claim must include sufficient information and docu-mentation to prove your claim and $35 processing fee. You must agree towaive your right to other civil remedies against a registered participatingseller of travel for matters arising out of a sale for which you file a claimwith the TCRC, if your were located in California at the time of the sale.You may request a claim form by writing to: Travel Consumer RestitutionCorporation, P.O. Box 6001, Larkspur, CA 94977-6001; or by faxing arequest to: (415) 927-7698.

Ed Offstein 09/02Bill Gallaher 09/03Chris Houkom 09/05Andre Chappaz 09/14Ellen Locke 09/16

Sondra Pfeffer 09/18Millie Gallaher 09/20Ardith Fishel 09/22Shannon Miller 09/25Jim Roberts 09/25

September Birthdays

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)

LABOR DAYBBQ at Ed &Ellen’s house

Balboa Parkhike & Art

Museum tour

The real Woolly?

NEXT CLUB MEETING: Thursday, September 15, 2016@ Callahan’s Pub and Brewery (5:00 PM)

8111 Mira Mesa Blvd., San Diego

Please note that this is the 3rd Thursday of the month, not the 1st as in past years

DONDIEGOSKICLUBNEWSLETTER2001CantaLomasElCajon,CA92019

SKICHATTERSeptember2016

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

See our club website for directionswww.skidondiego.org