Highlights of Upcoming Events andHelpful Information
June 11-14:
- Sports Weekend. Keep those legs in shape for skiing with some cycling up at the lodge.
July 3-5:
- July 4th Weekend. Catch the not-to-be-missed Warren Parade. Tracy is organizing an entrant for us. Call her to help out.
August 14 - 16:
- SHSC Annual Pig Roast is right around the corner. Save the date to escape the hot asphalt summers in NJ for a great time in Vermont with some good friends and delicious food. Delectable sweets will also be available.
Announcements:
- Check out the great article by Mike Weiss on equipment selection from the Amateur Ski Instructors Association.
- Send news, photos and stories to WebReporter followed by an at sign and then shorthillsskiclub.org. (We spell it out to try to avoid spam.) Wanted: news from the family weekends.
Short Hills Ski Club Welcomes 2009
by Joann J. Ordille
Every year our club gathers after Christmas to ski and then welcome the New Year at the lodge. This year's gathering was a great success. Larry Goldberg said, "Every day was a party." Anne Dashevsky added, "You had to be there!" There was good skiing on New Year's Eve, and a wind hold on New Year's Day that gave everyone a chance to enjoy hiking and other pursuits. There was also quite a lot of interest in being one of Archie's angels. For that, you must check out the photo essay. I am delighted to provide a first hand account of the festivities from Rich Pulsfort, the Trip Captain. So, without further ado, here's Rich's account called "Puddles to Powder: How to spend 9 days in Vermont with no cell phone, computer and not go crazy."
On Jan. 14, 2009, our Racing Team turned in a great performance in the Giant Slalom Race at Hidden Valley. The Short Hills Ski Club Team enterred 7 racers in a field of 31 competitors. Sandy Schwinzer placed 4th in the Women's GS, and Tom Milner placed 6th in the Men's GS. Our Racing Team was 3rd overall. Bob Frank continued his streak of claiming 1st in snowboarding. Great job!
On left from left to right: Joel Blank, Tom Milner, Kathy Amenta, Bruce Roberts, Nick Kaltneckar.
On right: Bob Frank.
The team can always use more racers for NJ and VT events. Contact Bruce Roberts for more information.
Winter Party 2008
Our Winter Party, on Dec. 23, was warm and jolly as befits the season. We feasted on Italian fare organized by our party co-chairs, Holly Dressler and Adrian Maas, and then followed that with luscious desserts provided by our members. All of our parties occur at a regular weekly meeting, and guests are always welcome.
We continue to attract new members. Five first-time guests and another five repeat guests joined this party, and at least one of these, Lynn Birzin, has since become a member. During the evening, we took the opportunity to celebrate with members who were recently elevated to active: Marie Arnold, Larry Goldberg, Kim Jensen, Betsy McGrath, Susan McGrath and Bill Sodomora. Congratulations, everyone!
At left, Ann-Margaret Shannon epitomizes the holiday spirit with a special set of ears!
Just as the lodge opened for the season on Dec. 4, members turned their attention to sharpening their skills for the season ahead. Nick and Betty Ann Kaltneckar, and Joel Blank and his son Jordan attended the NJ Ski Council Tune Up Day at Wyndham. Participants skied all day with their instructors amid pleasant weather and conditions. Joel reported that it was definitely "worth it." And Nick said that the "coverage was excellent, even up to double black."
While folks were opening the lodge or at the tune up, Tom Milner was pursuing the award for our most ardent ski student. Tom attended Jim Cardenali's Ski Camp on Dec. 1-5, and then the Epic Ski Camp on Dec. 13-14. Tom said Cardenali's Camp at Stratton had terrific coverage. It was a good week of race instruction by a formidable team of coaches. We've seen the results since then in Tom's high standings in various races. He's the one that many of us (Bruce?) want to beat.
As the sign on the left shows, traveling conditions were sometimes challenging in December, but skiing conditions through Dec. 21 were awesome.
We recently installed a new chimney damper to reduce heat loss at the lodge. The damper is mounted on the top of the chimney and is controlled by pulling/releasing a cable secured to the side of the fireplace. The operating instructions are not difficult and they have been posted on the wall to the left of the fireplace. The only three things you need to remember are:
1.) The fireplace now has a chimney damper
2.) The damper must be opened before starting a fire
3.) Any fire burning in the fireplace must be out before the damper is closed
Every year our club gathers after Christmas to ski and then welcome the New Year at the lodge. This year's gathering was a great success. Larry Goldberg said, "Every day was a party." Anne Dashevsky added, "You had to be there!" There was good skiing on New Year's Eve, and a wind hold on New Year's Day that gave everyone a chance to enjoy hiking and other pursuits. There was also quite a lot of interest in being one of Archie's angels. For that, you must check out the photo essay. I am delighted to provide a first hand account of the festivities from Rich Pulsfort, the Trip Captain. So, without further ado, here's Rich's account called "Puddles to Powder: How to spend 9 days in Vermont with no cell phone, computer and not go crazy."
On Jan. 14, 2009, our Racing Team turned in a great performance in the Giant Slalom Race at Hidden Valley. The Short Hills Ski Club Team enterred 7 racers in a field of 31 competitors. Sandy Schwinzer placed 4th in the Women's GS, and Tom Milner placed 6th in the Men's GS. Our Racing Team was 3rd overall. Bob Frank continued his streak of claiming 1st in snowboarding. Great job!
Our Winter Party, on Dec. 23, was warm and jolly as befits the season. We feasted on Italian fare organized by our party co-chairs, Holly Dressler and Adrian Maas, and then followed that with luscious desserts provided by our members. All of our parties occur at a regular weekly meeting, and guests are always welcome.
Just as the lodge opened for the season on Dec. 4, members turned their attention to sharpening their skills for the season ahead. Nick and Betty Ann Kaltneckar, and Joel Blank and his son Jordan attended the