C h i c a g o N o m a d s S k i C l u b N e w s l e t t e r April 1, 2018 Volume 56 Issue 2 The Prez Sez the Prez Sez...Bob - Grouch - Klawitter This is the month when we look to the members for a few people to act as part of the Board for the next year. It s always a very few who volunteer. I know it is not an easy job no matter what position you fill. We always hear the same old excuses I don t have time, experience, or knowledge to do the job. Well let me tell you this, none of the ones serving on the board, at one time had neither the time nor the experience. I assure you, if you volunteer there will be plenty of help for you to accomplish any of the jobs. That said, let s step up and speak out, volunteer and help the club to continue on in it s winning ways. Without a board to direct and monitor the club it will slowly disappear from existence. I know that sounds drastic but that s the way I see it. Tis year we are looking for a Vice-president, Treasurer, mid-west trip director, special events director and an editor. No experience needed! Just a willingness to keep the club alive. SEE YOU AT THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING That said, we have had a really good skiing year. Pam B did not get injured, Scott ran his first trip, Mark and Heather filled our Friday evenings with things to do and places to go. Hopefully we can do again this year. See you at the next meeting, As it is written, So shall it be. - Grouch The CMSC is going back to the Southside! Come join us as the White Sox take on the LA Angels on Saturday September 8, 2018. We will meet at 4:00 pm for a Tailgate party sponsored by Mammoth Mountain Resort. There will be burgers, hot dogs, brats, soft drinks and water provided. BYOB. The game is at 6:10. The seats are in the left field bleachers. All this for $22.00. Contact Mike Thomas for tickets 630-640-5989 Social Meeting 1st Wednesday of every month Joe Daniel s 12218 S. Harlem, Palos Heights 7:30 p.m.
Heather Seger Vice President Hi Everyone! I hope everyone had a fantastic ski season this year with the Nomads. Our trial collaboration with another club on each western trip except for the family trip went well. It was beneficial for the Nomads because we had 15 people each on Sun Valley and Whitefish. If the Nomads wouldn't of done this we would NOT of been able to get group lodging and lift ticket rates. Next year's Western Trip Director be sure to ask how many people you need for the destination you're looking to book. As I write this article I'm on the train from Whitefish. Besides the ski week starting out with 30mph winds and sub zero temperatures it warmed up and snow pounded as the trip went on. It was truly Heaven's Playground with all the deep powder and tree skiing and snowboarding. It made the conditions perfect. The Group met up to ski, unwind in the outdoor hot tub, go downtown for dinner, ordered pizza and played cards and dice in the Viking Lounge. I am going to be trip leading the Taos, New Mexico trip next Jan. 19th - 26th. We will be staying at The Snakedance Condos. Lessons are offered everyday in the morning for those who buy 'Ski Week' lesson pass at a nominal rate. This trip will go on sale in April. While having a great time on the train we were kicking around the idea of a trip to Winter Park, Colorado. We would go there on the Amtrak (or you may fly) and returning either on the train or plane. Please let me know if you would sign up for this so I can see if we have a large enough group. The new friends we met from Sitzmark would like to bring the two clubs together again. Ski Fast! Heather
SUN VALLEY, IDAHO REPORT JANUARY 20-27, 2018 Written by Duneland Charlie & JoAnn Cleek Our trip to Sun Valley did not disappoint a great group of 48, top notch lodging and amenities, relia-ble shuttles, decent snow, challenging race course, x-country skiing, snowshoeing and beautiful ski lodg-es. It was a pleasure to partner with The Chicago Nomads, and not just because they hosted one heck of a hot tub party. And best of all no injuries. There were a few folks that started the trip getting over pneumonia, strep, bad colds, and that slowed them down a bit. Sun Valley, built by the Union Pacific RR in 1936, was the first destination resort in the US. Dollar Mountain is the home to the world s very first chair-lift. The resort s T V channel has a continuous show-ing of the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade staring Sonja Henie, an Olympic gold medal winning figure skater. The resort also offers a skating rink, 6-lane bowling alley, movie theater, large thermal pool, hot tub and exercise room. As I said, top notch. There was a welcome reception for all the clubs staying at the lodge. A few people from DSC & No-mads were lucky and won door prizes. Snacks & beverages were provided. Some of the group took advantage of the SV Nor-dic Center to x-country ski & snowshoe. On Friday, they took a bus 23 miles north to Galena a day lodge offering an extensive trail system & fantastic scenery. They all gave Galena great re-views. Tuesday was race day. The NASTAR course was fast and the first three gates went straight down. Dave Hubinger, Bill Leavitt, Scott Sanders, Jenny Clarke & Jack Clarke crashed (you can view Bill s spectacular spill on Duneland s Facebook page). The best time was skied by Atilla Donmaz-19.93 sec-gold, followed by Dave Hubinger-22.58-gold, Heather Seger-23.92- silver, Jenny Clarke-24.12-bronze, Henry Bottando-24.92- bronze, Jack Clarke-25.34- bronze and Glenn Haines-24.58-bronze. Racer s medals were present-ed to Scott Sanders-25.37, Bill Stover-27.19, Bill Leavitt-27.24 and Jack Anderson-28.39. Our group dinner was held at Whiskey Jacques in the town of Ketchum, which was a nice venue for both clubs to unwind and mingle. They provided delicious pizza & salad. However, yours truly did not properly anticipate how hungry the crowd would be. So a rush order had to be put in for more Snow on Saturday caused United to divert our flight which meant the shuttle took us to Hailey to check-in our luggage and get boarding passes. Then a bus drove us 2 hours south to Twin Falls which resulted in an hour long security line. We arrived in Denver on time. However, mechani-cal trouble there caused another 90 minute delay. Finally we arrived in O Hare safely with our luggage intact. Our thanks to everyone on the trip. We cer-tainly had a great time hope you did, too. Charlie & JoAnn Cleek
Hello Nomads- Welcome to spring! Many Nomads met the past six weeks to get together at a variety of fish fry s. Some were better tasting then others, but we always had a good time visiting with friends. Many asked, with lent over, what are we going to do next? The next event is limited to the first 24 people who sign up and pay in advance. It s where the players will be challenged by working together to find clues, solve puzzles, and pick locks that will free them from the game room. Do you have what it takes to escape? WHAT: The night includes: Escape room attraction 2 hours of bowling Pizza and Pop buffet Total cost: $40.00 per person WHERE: Orland Bowl 8601 W 159th St. Orland Park, WHEN:Trying to schedule the weekend of April 21. Don t wait to sign up! Please contact Mark at 708-307-2176. WHAT: Let s go hiking! Many of us will be bringing a picnic lunch to enjoy after the hike. Or you can grab a bite to eat in the restaurant. WHEN: Sunday, May 20th meet at 10am WHERE: Starved Rock. Meet at the visitor center (NOT the lodge) Happy Spring- remember, a club is only as good as the involvement of its members!
Nomad Family Trip Ogden, Utah The 13 th annual Nomad Family Western Ski Trip went to Ogden, UT on December 31 January 6, with 30 Adults, 6 Teenagers, and 3 Children for a total of 39. Once again it was a great trip with a wide range of ages. This is our second family trip during the first week of January (vs. a long Martin Luther King Holiday Weekend) which gives us an extra day of skiing and the kids don t miss school. Our departure on New Year s Eve went fairly smoothly with only one misplaced bag and an on time arrival into Ogden. After a little bit of delay checking into the hotel, we handed out lift tickets in the lobby and everyone had plenty of time for a nice dinner in town. (Plenty of great restaurants within walk distance of the hotel). Overall the weather was great during the week with plenty of sunshine, no wind, and temps about 30 degrees warmer than bitter cold Chicago. The down side was we didn t get any new snow and the two resorts we skied, Snowbasin & Powder Mountain, badly needed snow. This was a bit different family trip since the ski resorts were 30 to 45 minutes away so we had to either take the city bus or rent a bus. In the end the club chartered a bus four of the five days which gave us door to door service and those of us who skied on Wednesday took the city bus. (The bus driver was a bit surprised to see 25 people at one stop). We also found out what it s like to have smoking /locked up brakes on our ride down from Powder Mountain on Thursday. Unfortunately neither resort had Nastar so no club race (so sorry), but this did pay for one day of the bus charter. We also had a great club dinner on Thursday night at Rooster Brew Co & Restaurant, and many of us also enjoyed eating in covered wagons around the camp fire at the Prairie Schooner Restaurant. Overall staying in Ogden at the Marriott worked out well with nice rooms, and plenty of inexpensive restaurants. (Plus the hotel sort of gave us breakfast every morning). On Friday night we continued our traditional après ski party in the hotel lobby with snacks and drinks before heading out for another nice dinner. (Sorry no leftovers or race awards this year). Flying home on Saturday was uneventful with an on time arrival despite switching planes in Dallas and most other flights delayed or cancelled. All and all this was another successful Family Trip with the exception of minimal snow, and once again the Nomads proved they can have a good time anywhere and anytime. Thanks again to my family and everyone who supported this trip and we wish a speedy recovery to those who misstep off a bus, never want to try snowboarding again, or over skied!
The Social Scene -- I'm writing this article from Whitefish, Montana under a threat from Scott to get it done. We just had 11 more inches of powder and I want to ski. Even bribes of Fireball or ice cold Moose Drool won't sway him. Right now not even sure Amtrak will show up. We are planning the awards party for May 17th after the general meeting at 7:30pm. I m working with Heather and Chris for racing times. Any other award nominations please forward them to any board member so we can vote on them in April. Also looking to have music and dancing to celebrate the end of ski season. We will have a bartender with a cash bar. Unfortunately no Moose Drool though. You have to go to Montana for that. See you soon. Nomad s, I apologize for not getting this newsletter out March 1st. March has proven to be a very challenging month for me. Our Cascade trip turned out to be a nice trip and I think everyone had a lot of fun! We had a total of 42 people come on this trip. It helped that the snow was really good the day of this trip which was really nice. Some skied up till loading on the bus while others stopped early and were found in the upstairs bar. I think everyone would agree that Cascade had changed a lot since they were there last. I will be getting off the board this year. I have been doing this position for roughly 3 years (Webmaster 3 yrs and Editor more like 2 yrs). The first year I was working with Andi Edington, Cindy Vondrasek and etc The club has been a wonderful place for me during this time and I have gained much experience and made some really good friends all from being on the board. If someone is considering this position don t be afraid. If you are at all comfortable around a computer you can do this job. I will train you in the things I do and can continue to be a resource for you. ~ Scott Sanders
April Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SOCIAL Joe Daniel s 12218 S. Harlem, Palos Heights at 7:30 8 9 10 11 12 Board Meeting 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 General Meeting 7:30 at Gaelic Park 20 Tall Paul Blue Island Beer Co 21 Escape Room? 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
May Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 SOCIAL Joe Daniel s 12218 S. Harlem, Palos Heights at 7:30 6 7 8 9 10 Board Meeting 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 20 Hiking Awards & General Meeting 7:30 at Gaelic Park 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Bob Klawitter President bobgrouch@sbcglobal.net Board Members 2016-2017 Fred Pajak Treasurer Social Director pamccdoc@comcast.net fredpajak@comcast.net Scott Sanders Editor/Webmaster web@chicagonomads.com Heather Seger Vice President Ski2bhigh1208@gmail.com Ann Engelmann Secretary engs85@aol.com Mark Anzilotti Special Events Director manzilotti@yahoo.com Steve Young Membership Director stevey008@aol.com Trip Cancellations: The Nomad Ski Club through its Board of Directors reserves the right to cancel trips, payments will be refunded. If trips are canceled due to circumstances beyond the control of the Nomad Ski Club, payments less expenses caused by the cancellation will be refunded. Non-Refundable Deposits: Members reserve a seat on a trip by making a non-refundable trip deposit. Non-refundable trip deposits are 10% of the trip price for Western & European trips and $35 for Midwest trips. Member Cancellations: Members who cancel their seat on a trip will forfeit the non-refundable trip deposit plus any fees or losses incurred on their behalf. If cancellation occurs after the predetermined closing date (the date the last payment is due on the trip), the full price of the trip may be charged. A cancellation form must be submitted to the Trip Leader within 30 days after the trip departs for refund consideration. Trip Waiting List: A completely full trip means all seats are filled on the bus scheduled for a Midwest trip or the minimum number of seats are filled on a Western or European trip. A member that cancels off a trip may be replaced on that trip from a waiting list, but the trip must be completely full. Canceling members that are replaced on a trip from a waiting list forfeit the non-refundable deposit plus any additional expenses incurred due to the cancellation. The excess will be refunded. Contact your Trip Leader if you have any questions. Nomad Newsletter: If you have not received your newsletter, contact our Webmaster. Web@Chicagonomads.com Membership Dues: Payable after June 1, 2016. Current membership is required to be eligible for any ski trip. Sign up with the Membership Director at any meeting. Single: (new) $30) (renewal) $25, Married Couples: (new) $40 (renewal) $35. Social Meeting: 1st Wednesday of every month at Joe Daniel s: 12218 S. Harlem, Palos Heights, IL @ 7:30 p.m. General Meeting: 3rd Thursday of every month at Gaelic Park: 6119 W. 147th St., Oak Forest, IL @ 7:30 p.m. Board Meeting: 2nd Thursday of every month, 7 p.m., location TBA. ALL MEMBERS ARE WELCOME Unsolicited articles and announcements may be submitted by contacting Scott Sanders at Web@Chicagonomads.com Deadline is 1 week before the 1st of the month. Club website: chicagonomads.com Trip Sign-ups: In person at any meeting. Trip Sign-ups: In person at any meeting