Austin Skiers: A club for snow sports and travel enthusiasts

Date and time: Tuesday, June 11, 2002, 7 - 9 P.M
location: Holiday Inn Northwest
8901 Business Park drive (mopac & 183) 343-0888

48 Austin skiers enjoyed a wonderful Spring Break week March 9-16 at one of the Club's favorite perennial stops, Mammoth Mountain, California. Hal Zochert summed up the feelings of most: "Absolutely awesome. We can't wait to do it again", while another member stated that "The weather this week on Mammoth Mountain reminded me of Texas weatherif you don't like it, wait 30 minutes and it will change (for better or worse)!" Conditions ranged from snowstorms with high winds to breathtakingly beautiful, sunny days. It made the decision about what to wear each morning a bit challenging!

On Sunday morning our lovely view of the mountains became invisible by 8 a.m. when a mini-blizzard dumped new snow. The wind and snow continued throughout the day but a few hard-core skiers, including Doug Jordan, Rainer Vanoni, Kevin Collins, John Kimbrough, Matt Krohn, and Mike Molloy (among others) managed to find some good runs and were rewarded for their perseverance. Even with our pole flags it was difficult to identify other club members from the chair - Cindy Carlson and her daughter, Ellie Prosser made it harder by investing in head-to-shoulder ski masks, so their presence on the mountain cannot really be verified. Conditions dramatically improved by Monday, and many of the Austin Skiers delighted in a pre-lunch and post-lunch tour of the mountain. Kathy Collins had to keep reminding Jerry Conners to slow down a bit so the rest could keep up. In the meantime, Mark Perkins and Tony Cue checked out the snowboard park, while Charles and Liz Earhart enjoyed cruising the mountain with her son Josh Byrd and his roomie Ian Holley. A day of sun, however, brought new problems. There were quite a few serious sunburns and raccoon eyes.

Rainer Vanoni was the star of the mid-week party on Tuesday having spent a day off the slopes to cook his famous beans. Joy turned quickly to terror when the aroma from the feast of rotisserie chicken and specialty beans attracted the local wildlife out of the woods. Chip Slocum, James Hand and Gina Holley reported to the group that a huge black bear was foraging through the condo's garbage bins in the parking lot. Wild man Carl Deckard tried to amuse Cynthia McCauley and the rest of the group by attempting to attract the bear. Is that guy crazy or what? Wednesday saw a diversity of activities. Some skiers (e.g., Doug Jordan, Phyllis Penniston, Nancy and Gary Roth, John Kimbrough, Jackie Young, Pat and Mike Pore, and a couple others) headed for June Mountain. Reviews were mixed. Others (Cindy Couch, Mike Molloy, Bob and Lynn McGoldrick, Cindy Carlson, Ellie Prosser, and Matt Krohn) tried their skill at cross-country skiing. The most common comment was, " I thought you didn't have to go uphill in cross-country skiing."

Thursday brought more snow and unfortunately, some disasters. First time skier Beth Duncan won the Trooper of the Trip award after blowing out her knee on Thursday in an accident that required an ambulance ride to the ER. After being probed, palpated and x-rayed, she was left with a brace, painkillers and crutches. With the help of David Cross she still managed to hobble her way to the Austria Hof for a group dinner Thursday. "I was having a blast when it happened. And I will go skiing again," she reported. As if one injury were not enough, Ellie Prosser fell and severed her ACL on the same morning. Unfortunately she couldn't claim she was a first time skier. She couldn't even claim she was skiing the double blacks off the summit. Rumor has it she just wanted a toboggan ride down the mountain.

There were other, less grave awards and happenings. The Multi-Task Award goes to Pat Gabella for whom the trip became a combination of business and pleasure as she managed an engineering project for Sematech that just couldn't wait. By working in the mornings with her Palm Pilot and laptop, then enjoying the powder in the afternoons, she demonstrated an enviable balance between work and play. Ask Pat if you want to know where the cyber cafes are, and whether their coffee is any good. Sorayya and Mike Hillman enjoyed seeing their beautiful 8-month-old grandson, Jack Garrett, when daughter and son-in-law, Eliza & Jeff Garrett, drove up from Scottsdale to share our adventure. First-time-ever skier Gina Grote earned the 180^o Award during the trip by having a complete change of heart. She told her fiancé, David McKallip, "I'll go with you on the trip, but I won't ski." After some good coaching and lessons, Gina made it down the slopes for the first time. Her parting comment was, "Maybe we could go skiing on our honeymoon." Mike Molloy and John Kimbrough had their patience tested when melting snowdrifts flooded their condo. Fortunately they were quickly moved into another condo that proved to be a spacious setting for the End-of-Trip, Clean-Out-The-Fridge, Leftover Party Friday Night. One door closes, another one opens. Cindy Couch was going for the Cross Trainer of the Trip Award and left the competition in the dust, er powder that is, by ice skating, snow tubing, sledding, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, downhill skiing, and doing yoga. Her motto, "So many sports, so little time." She sets a standard few can match. New member Chris Bataille earned the "Just Like Riding a Bike," award on her first ski trip in over 8 years. All the credit belongs to her world class coach and former Olympian Albert Arnaud from Chamonix. After seeing her get on and off the lifts okay, he coached her from the greens to blacks with the supportive words, "Crease, leave ze twees ahlone!"

Austin Skiers enjoyed a wonderful ski trip to Mammoth mountain, and special thanks goes to Lynn & Bob McGoldrick for graciously hosting the pre-trip party at their home with stunning views of the hill country and to Mike Molloy for the tasty post-trip barbeque.

Thanks to Chris Bataille & Phyllis Penniston for their assistance with this article.

As we wrap up this year for Austin Skiers, but before we start the new one, I'd like to take a moment to thank all the volunteers, which make this Club so great. As the President, I couldn't have asked for a better Executive Committee (EC) to work with. All of us put in countless hours performing our jobs. And a big THANK YOU to many others who worked make the Club better.

The 2001-2002 ski year was the most unusual travel year on record. Several times during the year the EC felt the financial situation of the Club and the trips were in jeopardy due to the events of 9/11. But thanks to the attention to details by Trips VP Doug Jordan, the trips as a whole closed out on the positive side. We had planned to take 400 people skiing this year, and missed the mark by only 9. Now that's good planning.! Speaking of planning, Programs VP Elva Hibbs did an outstanding job planning a variety of new programs this year and, at the same time, cut her budget by more than 25%! Treasurer Cindy Swannack kept the EC on target with our budget items and did an excellent job managing our books and revenues. She even did great earning us interest on our balances with such low interest rates. Way to go guys!

Memberships were down this year from last, but fortunately the board had foreseen this possibility since the Austin economy had been in a down turn for awhile. We closed the year with a membership base of 514 and Membership VP Barbara Jacquin did a fine job maintaining our database. The Club had 143 new memberships this year thanks to some new ideas of Publicity VP Gary Roth. The membership contest was his brainchild and of course those delightful email messages to our members and guests are his as well. To keep us occupied when we were not skiing, Special Activities VP Cindy Berry provided more activities for us in one year than in the history of the Club. And she is not finished yet! (See page 7 for the activities coming up.) Reporting all the "goings on" of the Club has been performed so well by Editor Mike Hagye that we can't let him go (sorry Mike, you were born to write). Our Web site, Cyber Slope, is second to none thanks to the hard work of Webmaster Cliff Hoagland. He arranged at Mike's request to get the newsletter in a PDF format for your cyberspace reading pleasure. My hat's off to you all!

Past President Anthony Beissner was a huge help to me, and the board, with his words of wisdom and guidance throughout the year. You definitely made my job easier. The Directors, Neil Martin, Kathy Collins, Mary Gasal and Jim Davis need to be commended for their hard work maintaining relationships with local ski retail shops. This group brought in advertising revenue for our newsletters and directory. And they were a huge assistance to me as advisors and committee chairs or committee members doing all that "as needed" work. Another Committee Chair who contributed many hours of service to the Club was Trip Planning VP Liz Earhart, who led the Trip Planning, Trip Sign-up Rules Review, and the Trip Application Review Committees. Her Planning Committee has been hard at work for months ironing out the details on the slate of trips listed on page 5. Her other committees made major revisions in the trip sign-up process and the trip application form. Be sure to read all the details on the early mail-in process on page 4! The Board kept our Secretary, Barbara Bobo, very busy taking notes at our Executive Meetings. Even though the task is tedious and boring, she did a magnificent job documenting the meetings. What a team! And speaking of teams, see the article on p. 6 about our new team for the upcoming year!

And last but not least, all the other people who volunteered their time and energy for the Club. If it were not for the trip chairs, all 11 of them, and the assistant trip leaders, our trips would not have been so successful and fun. All right guys! All of you that sat on the Trip Planning Committee what a wonderful slate of trips you have for us. Well done! And the countless others who helped at meetings, opened their homes for functions, organized a special activity, sat on a committee or helped with all the other work that goes on in the background. I thank you ALL! Our Club is better because of YOU!

Here are the rules for the new early mail-in sign-up process for trips this year. Read the following carefully! Note that this is for a limited time period, and for current members only no exceptions! Early mail-in sign-up begins Monday, July 15 and ends on Monday, August 5. Please note these dates!! After August 5, these rules cease to be effective. The general signup period begins with the Aug. 13 General Meeting. Act now for the trip signup "first tracks"!

Just take each step below with its conditions in order. We'll notify you on your status on the trip

1. If you have not yet renewed your Club membership, you must do so before the mail-in sign-up period!
- You must be a current member in good standing to participate in the early mail-in sign-up period!
- This means you must have renewed your membership prior to July 1, 2002. Membership applications are available in the Newsletter and on the Web site.
- You can also contact VP of Membership, Donna Peterman (346-6236, membership@austinskiers.org) for an application or membership issues.

2. Obtain and fill out a trip application(s), one per person, for each trip you want to go on.
- You can obtain trip applications on the Web site, at the General Meetings, or at happy hours.
- "Single" memberships can sign up themselves and one other current member.
- "Family" memberships can sign up their immediate family as defined in the By-Laws (Art III, Sec 1).
- All members signed up must be current members according to criteria in #1 above.
- In order to be considered, all applications must be signed and complete (must include both pages).
- There is no limit on the number of trips for which a member can sign up.

3. Enclose your trip application(s) with your deposit in an envelope.
- The minimum deposit for each trip is $200 per participant.
- Checks should be made payable to "Austin Skiers" and should have the trip name listed on the check.
- You must use a separate envelope for each trip for which you are applying.
- A single membership may include only two applications per trip envelope.
- Each trip envelope must include the signed trip application and your deposit.
- Each trip envelope must be clearly marked with the trip name
- envelopes without trip name will be subject to an administrative delay resulting in later processing!!

4. Mail your application(s) to Austin Skiers during the early mail-in period, July 15 August 5, 2002.
- Address your envelope to: Austin Skiers, P.O. Box 2032, Austin, TX 78768
- Your envelope must be postmarked on or between these dates.

- Metered postmarks will not be accepted to eliminate the risk of dates being manipulated.
- Austin Skiers is not responsible for any problems with the U.S. Postal Service, including delayed delivery or lost mail.
- All applications must be mailed; no hand-delivered applications accepted!
- Envelopes postmarked outside of the 7/15-8/5 dates will be held, and then processed after the Aug. meeting.

5. Austin Skiers will process your application(s) as follows:
- The mailed envelopes will be collected from the post office box on a regular basis during the mail-in period.
- Each envelope will remain unopened and will be marked with a number in the order in which it is retrieved.
- All collected envelopes will be given to VP Trips or VP Trip Planning who will open them and verify eligibility.
- All valid, timely application names will be added to each trip's Participant List in the order received.
- Members submitting applications that fail to meet eligibility requirements (postal or other) will be notified so that they can attend the August meeting (#6 below).
- If a trip's roster fills during mail-in sign-up, subsequent applications will go on a wait list in the order received.
- The Trip Chair will hold (not deposit) waitlist members' checks until a space becomes available on the trip.
- Any envelopes postmarked outside the mail-in dates (7/15-8/5) will be processed after the August meeting.
- you will be notified of your status on the trip prior to the August meeting.

That's it! However, you should still attend the August 13 General Meeting if:

If any of these apply, then plan to attend the August 13 meeting, when the general sign-up period begins. There you can fill out a new application for the trip(s) of your choice at the proper trip table. You will then either be placed on the Participant List (if there's still room), or on a wait list in the order received that night. Your position on the trip will be determined by the order in which you sign up at the meeting. Any new trip applications completed at the meeting take priority over invalid or ineligible mailed applications. You can see how important it is to check that your application meets all the conditions here before you mail it in!

- These procedures apply to all members with the exception of Trip Chairs and current ExecutiveCouncil Members.
- All Trip Participants are subject to Austin Skiers Standing Rules, Policies and Procedures.
- Information shown on the Trip Schedule and articles is subject to change.
- If you have any questions about these procedures, contact Liz Earhart, VP Trips: trips@austinskiers.org, or
Gary Roth, VP Trip Planning tripplanning@austinskiers.org

Check it out! Here are all your likely 2002-3 trips! Next month we'll have prices, descriptions, and sizes. This lineup is pending Executive Committee approval and is not yet official; any updates or changes will be announced accordingly. See the Web site this month for links to most of these destinations. And, while you're pondering which one of these great trips to attend, consider being a Trip Chair or Assistant! See p. 6 to learn how! Finally, a huge thanks to our Planning Committee for working so hard (and still working!) to bring you this great slate!

During the week of Jan. 17-25, we're planning a Club trip to either Siestiere, Italy or Les Gets, France. When this is decided, you'll get one of our e-mailouts to notify you; it'll also appear on our Web site and in July's newsletter. We'll also have more next month on each trip stay tuned so you can be informed for mail-in sign-up!

Come with us on an epic journey to the South Seas! This two week extravaganza begins in Fiji, where we fly from Los Angeles. We will spend seven nights at the five-star Sheraton Resorts Denarau Island hotel on the island of Nadi. Here we can enjoy golf, tennis, relaxing on the beach, and scuba diving, as well as other water sports or sightseeing. There is an option to take one of several dive trips instead of spending your time at the Sheraton. After soaking up the sun, we will fly down to Queenstown to spend seven nights at the Copthorne Resort Hotel on Lake Wakatipu. In the adventure capital of the world, we can choose from such activities as bungy jumping, jet boat rides, boat trips on the lake, fantastic scenic tours, and more! There are four ski areas to enjoy while we are there. The price includes round trip air from Los Angeles (add approximately $360 for air from Austin), breakfast throughout the entire trip, all airport/hotel transfers, and 12 nights lodging. Price doesn't include departure taxes from New Zealand and Fiji. This is going to be a great trip! Don't miss it! This trip is currently full, but contact Wendy Buck, as space may still be added!

Approximate Price: $2,075 (not including air from Austin to Los Angeles) Trip Size: 12 skiers

There are five important changes among others in the By-Laws ones voted in last month for the coming ski year, as well as a lot of business as usual (if it ain't broke). You should be aware of these new changes:

Perhaps you were wondering what our Executive Positions actually do, while we're at it! Well often they do a lot of different stuff, and you really should glance through Article VI of the By-Laws (available on the Web site and from any officer) to see what their roles are. Here's a quick list of some of the most common help each officer and director provides, among their other duties:

Remember that the Executive Committee exists to serve you. They want to help make your Club experience as satisfying as possible. The back page of each month's newsletter has each EC member's phone number, and starting this year, also lists their Club e-mail address. Write or call them, or pull them aside at happy hours and general meetings. Help them to help you!

If you've ever considered being a Trip Chair (trip leader) or Assistant, this is the right time! Come find out why this is such a rewarding and challenging job! You'll spend most of your time early in the trip, making posters and flyers describing your trip, and selling it at meetings and happy hours. You'll also track your trip's finances, and making sure your group has everything arranged just right. Although you don't get paid outright, you do receive a reimbursement for most of your trip in return, and you'll get the respect, admiration, and smiles of your trip members! So how does it work? We utilize a point system to determine if someone's a good candidate for trip chair or assistant, but we also look at ability to get along with other members, attitude, leadership qualities, leadership ability, and an outgoing, respected, and organized personality. Once all applications are in (June 15 is the deadline!), I'll make preliminary recommendations for all trip chairs and assistants, to be approved by the Executive Committee at the June 19 meeting (some decisions could be made later).

Sound fun? Just print the trip leader application form (pdf version) and send it in. Or if for some reason you can't print it out, please feel free to call (453-6784) or e-mail me (trips@austinskiers.org) and I'll mail you an application. Complete it and mail to me, Liz Earhart, c/o Austin Skiers, P.O. Box 2032, Austin, TX, 78768, or hand deliver to any Club officer at happy hours or the general meeting. . Just remember the deadline is June 15. We need you, so please volunteer to help your Club.

Bike Ride!

First, on Saturday, June 1, we'll meet at Dripping Springs Middle School at 9 a.m. for a Hill Country bike ride, followed by an 11:30 lunch at the Salt Lick. Also, Saturday, June 15, there's a Summer 'Cajun Boil' party at Lake LBJ; there'll be a per-person charge for the 'boil', and you're requested to bring a Cajun side dish or any dessert. BYOB. For details contact Cindy Berry at (activities@austinskiers.org )

On Thursday, June 13, we'll get together for our usual Happy Hour good time at the Hard Rock Café on 6^th. Then afterwards, join us as we walk from Hard Rock to Esther's Follies and see what's still so funny after 25 years. The show begins at 7 p.m. and the cost is $16 per person. Hope to see you there!

This year, our Annual Summer Party will be a 'Cajun Boil' at Lake LBJ home of Brian & Bernice Wilson on Saturday, June 15beginning around 2 p.m. There will be a $5 per person cover, payable at the 'door', and you're requested to bring a Cajun side dish or dessert, boats and water toys, and your own drinks. For directions, see the link on our Web site (www.austinskiers.org); please contact Cindy Berry at activities@austinskiers.org to RSVP so we can get a good estimate of how much to buy.

On Saturday, July 27, experience nocturnal nightlife, cool breezes, and beauty of a nighttime cruise down the Colorado River from 6-10 p.m.! We're journeying to McKinney Roughs, about 13 miles east of Austin-Bergstrom Airport near Bastrop on Hwy 71. Austin Skiers has reserved 12 spots on 2 rafts for this unique opportunity! Cost is $35 per person, and includes: life jackets, instruction, transportation to the river, and guides. You must be 18 or older and able to swim. Reserve your seat with cash or check payable to Austin Skiers. Contact Cindy Berry at activities@austinskiers.org to pay or for more details and directions.

If you're interested in playing softball for the Austin Skiers team, contact Ben Mathis . Practice on Mondays at Ramsey Park, games on Wednesday, tba. If you are interested in sailing's your choice, contact Hank Miller to set up a weekend (Sunday probably) sail. Golfers who want to play at a centrally-located Austin course Wednesday evenings should contact Cindy Swannack at cswannack@csmtg.com or Otis Sikes at osikes@aol.com for tee times and locations.

From the Editor...

Four years? Am I crazy? Naw, and I even have a life. But as I begin my fourth (and final...?) year at the helm of the Newsletter, I'm satisfied at having made some needed changes during the past 3 years, as well as in doing a few "fine tunes" this year (like maybe a six-figure Editor's salary? Stop laughing). You'll see in this "first of the ski year" June issue most or the familiar stuff, while among some new looks are: p.1 highlight boxes where newsletter features are displayed (gone is the mountain clip art); the President's "From The Top" article is moved to p.2; our back page business box now lists EC e-mail addresses; and I finally gave in - my digitized signature below. We also shrunk the p.2 membership application to make more room (as it's available online and elsewhere). Enjoy.

An issue also comes up every year at this time the possibility of an online-only newsletter (no mailed copy). Actually, most Club members I've talked to prefer their in-hand copy, although going all digital might save some money (though it actually could be indirectly costlier). Although my mind is open for the future, I'm against it right now. Here's why:

There are more. It just so happens the National Ski Club Newsletter this month (basically the "national" Club newsletter) featured this topic, one I decided to tackle here before receiving their issue! Good timing? As a part-time computer geek (programmer) I can appreciate going "virtual", but not at the expense of anyone who would otherwise miss out. As the NSCN says, going digital should be an "opt-in" process, not "opt-out". Towards this end, we went .pdf two months ago, and possibly will set up a by request online delivery in the future. But at least for this year, and for good reasons, keep looking in your mailbox!

The Austin Skiers' newsletter is published monthly, 12 issues per year. Subscription is included with payment of yearly membership fee. Articles and correspondence should be addressed to the Editor by e-mail at newsletter@austinskiers.org or by phone (see above). Deadline for submission is the 15^th of each month. Send issues regarding the Club Web site to skiwebmaster@austinskiers.org. For more information on the next Club meeting or other related activities, contact any of the following:

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Issue 06:02 June 2002
Texas Ski Council Member

Contents

Bike Ride!

From the Editor...

Issue 06:02 June 2002 Texas Ski Council Member

Contents

Bike Ride!

From the Editor...

Issue 06:02 June 2002
Texas Ski Council Member