Inskiers meet at this location in the fall and winter months :

In the fall and winter months, the Inskiers meet at Mimi's Cafe in Foster City.  Come and enjoy Mimi's casual atmosphere, good food, and fair prices.  (www.mimiscafe.com)    We are easy to get to and there is plenty of free parking.

The Inskiers also meet once a month at a member's home for a potluck.  The get together is informal and fun.  The club provides tableware and everyone bings food to share as announced.   The Inskiers potluck starts at 6:30 p.m. and annoucements are made through Yahoo Groups.

Inskiers Wooside Sunday Bike Ride

Twice a month the Inskiers sponsor a social bike ride in the beautiful Woodside area.  Check the calendar for details and join us! 

Inskiers:  Sonia, David, Bonney,  Maurice, and Cathy on Canada Road

Hosted by Cuvee Cellars, Inskiers are invited to this boutique wine tasting event:

BAC  Ski Week 2014 at Beaver Creek, Colorado Jan 25 – Feb 1 

Not exactly roughing it!

BEAVER CREEK:

The BAC is currently accepting signups for the 2014 FWSA Ski Week at Beaver Creek, CO Jan 25 - Feb 1.  See attached flyer for description of trip and what's included.

Trip cost without air will be $1230 or $2350  depending on lodging option.  The attached Beaver Creek information sheets includes lodging options and pricing along with payment schedule and cancellation policies.  Lodging assignment is first-come-first-served.  The earlier you signup the better your chances of getting first choice accommodations.

 

BRECKENRIDGE:

 

The BAC is also offering post ski week extension to Breckenridge, CO Feb 1 - 5.  This will be a great deal for the EPIC pass holder.  The attached flyer includes lodging, pricing, and what's included.  

 

EPIC PASS DEAL:

There will be an EPIC pass deal where passes purchased through skigroup.net will get $25 discount on lodging plus $315 credit for ski pass.  See below for additional information.

April 14^th is the Deadline for guaranteed lowest price on EPIC passes

Lift tickets are included in the ski week package; however, EPIC passes will also be available and should be purchased from our Tour Operator at Skigroup.net by calling 1-800-500-2SKI (2745). Each member purchasing the EPIC pass through Skigroup.net, will receive a $25 discount off their lodging during FWSA ski week. To check EPIC Pass pricing, available mid-March, go to: www.snow.com/epic-pass.

Richard Schnabel's most excellent skiing adventure at Whitefish Mountain, Montana:

I just got back from a long weekend at Whitefish Mountain in Montana. The resort sponsored a familiarization or ”FAM” trip, which I attended with BAC president Dennis Heffley.  The purpose of a FAM trip is to showcase the resort and entice ski clubs to organize a group trip to the mountain. And Whitefish has much to offer, even for Northern California skiers jaded by easy access to Lake Tahoe: it is inexpensive, not crowded, easy to get to, with varied terrain and reliable snow.

I arrived in Kalispell on Thursday on Alaska Airlines. From Kalispell, it’s a 30-minute ride to the slopes. Friday was spent in demonstrating the resort and the Mountain. The mountain is big, about as big as Northstar, but the Whitefish summit peaks at just 6,817 feet. The weather is more in line with the Northwest/Northern Rockies pattern and they have had 2 good snow years, when Northern California has had poor to fair snow. The downside is the fog that is a major part of the Whitefish ski experience.

The on mountain facilities are good but not extensive. For more restaurants, bars, wine bars, music, dancing and shopping, the town of Whitefish is 7 miles away.  The free SNOW bus runs from the resort to the town and back, but stops running around 10 PM. There are also some fine dining venues (and fine accommodations) at the Kandahar Lodge on the mountain, The Lodge at Whitefish Lake, and the Grouse Mountain Lodge. The latter two are closer to Whitefish town, but provide their own transport to and from the mountain, and help coordinate other activities in the area—such as dog sledding, or excursions to Glacier National Park.

On Saturday, I rented a pair of Rossignol Super 7 skis and made the summit early from Chair 1--making my way down Inspiration, an aptly named, sweeping boulevard run with magnificent views to Whitefish Lake and the Flathead Valley. I then dropped down to ski in the broken powder among the snow ghosts of Ptarmigan Bowl. Snow ghosts are the ice-encrusted trees found all over the mountain, and they are beautiful, eerie, and fun. On one ascent up Chair 1, I competed with two seatmates in naming the various snow ghost shapes and groupings. In the afternoon, I connected with the Pennsylvania Mad Dog contingent of the FAM, and we skied the steeps of Hellroaring Basin.  Hellroaring Basin closes April 1 as the resident Grizzlies emerge from their dens.

View at the start of Inspiration

 

Rabbit Ghost

Whitefish is a friendly place. Mountain ambassadors pepper the runs and offer cheerful advice and assistance. The locals I encountered were all open and helpful. On one ride up the mountain, I was invited to an Easter service and concert. On another lift, a group of older skiers informed me of local events. I met more of the locals while sampling the local beers at the Black Star Brewery, and the Palace Bar in downtown Whitefish with Jason Forrest, the resort’s Western Sales rep, and spent the latter part of Saturday night conversing with visiting Canadians at the Kandahar Lodge. I learned that Canadians swarm into the area, mostly from the Calgary area, to avail of the great skiing and the reasonable prices in no-state-tax Montana. I heard the term “value” touted frequently, and it is certainly true. Lift tickets are around 60% of the typical Tahoe resort, and the on mountain food and service costs avoid the monopoly rent prices seen on most US resorts.

Downtown Whitefish with Clouds and Fog on the Mountain

 

Sunday morning, I took the SNOW bus into downtown Whitefish for a further look around. Whitefish is a real town with a hardware store, a microbrewery, many restaurants, 3 wine bars and a Frank Lloyd Wright building along a 3 block stretch on Central avenue. I had lunch at the Buffalo Café, and then headed back to the resort, stopping for a scoop of Huckleberry ice cream at Aunt B’s before boarding the shuttle for the ride to the airport and the flight home.

-  Richard

 

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Thanks to Ken Mahar for contributing the following cabin photos from the Inskiers St. Pat's Weekend:

 

 

 

 

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Inskiers Cabin Chef de Cuisine, Monsieur David Baird, Plating a Boeuf de Truckee

 

Photo by Jim Mrazek 

Inskiers Racer, Craig Faitel, Recovers After Snowboarder Mishap

Scenes from the grand "Tequila, Taco, and Snow Shoe Weekend"

               

                    

To promote interest in skiing and winter sports, social and athletic activities, to sponsor trips and other skiing activities, to facilitate the various arrangements attendant with skiing; to derive social pleasure from the companionship of skiing enthusiasts; and to support safer and better skiing.

The Inskiers are a group of single adults who love winter sports and the mountains!  We are associated with both the Far West Ski Association and the Bay Area Snow Sports Council .    As a member of the Bay Area Singles League, we enjoy skiing, snowboarding, racing and social events with other clubs from the Bay Area. As a year-round club, we also enjoy other sports and activities such as biking, hiking, picnics, wine tasting, dining, movies and many types of events.

National Ski Council Federation along with approximately 30 other councils across the United States, representing over 300,000 people!  www.skifederation.org   (user name: ski club; password: member)

Updated 25Apr13

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