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Greetings Fellow HISC Members,
It was great seeing so many of you at the 11 November social. Thanks for continuing to support your club and recognizing Veterans past, present and future. Trip sales continue at a high volume which is good to see.
We received exceptional feedback on the 28 October wine tasting event. Consequently, Mickey is coordinating with the Ventnor for a return visit in the January/February time frame. If you missed the October event, don’t miss the next opportunity. We’ll advertise the tasting in advance.
Obergurgl Spot Report: Reported as of Friday at www.j2ski.com - 20 cm of snow lower elevations, 60 cm of snow upper elevations, 60% of the area open, 4 cm of snow forecasted next Tuesday, partly sunny next Thursday, 2 cm of snow forecasted next Friday. Plenty of beer flowing beginning next Friday at the Netterhutte.
We have two great activities planned for our 2 December Social:
a. Wear your craziest hat. Yes, that one you are two embarrassed to be seen in public wearing. Or the one that “sets you free.” Let us see your inner self…the real you. We will recognize the hat winner by providing a voucher good for trip payment, Gear Shop merchandise, or Ski Doctor services.
b. Bring your slightly used but collecting dust ski equipment and apparel to the 2 December social. HISC will host a swap shop / flee market. This is a great opportunity to pursue reasonably priced “expiring” equipment and apparel. Face it, some clothing seems to shrink and some guys have this thing about buying new equipment every year or two. In both cases, closet clearing must occur to make way for new ‘stuff’. Similarly, some youngsters consume so much of mom’s good cooking that they sprout like a bean stock so need clothing and equipment adjustments at more often than parent desired intervals. This is a great early season opportunity to do some spring cleaning and to pick-up some good deals. Last year’s beginner who is this year’s intermediate will also find some interesting opportunities. And pricing can be as entertaining as negotiations at a Turkish bazaar. People price reasonably and are open to negotiation. After all, it’s all about justifying that last or next purchase. Who knows, maybe you can find gear to swap with another family. On occasion, some gear is orphaned and may be adopted by any family willing to carry the gear to the car.
Some of you may be considering the big leap to a ski/boarder helmet this year or want to introduce your children to the safety feature through a Christmas present. Last year about half the club wore helmets. This month’s ADAC magazine rated 15 helmets and awarded 10 helmets a “+” rating. Those helmets are:
- Alpina Grap
- GIRO G10
- Head Sensor
- UVEX Apache
- CARRERA Armor
- CP Arago
- PRO-TEC Descent
- WALSER Kronos
- CASCO Powser
- R.E.D. Hi-Fi
The above helmets range in cost between 39 and 150 euro. Given my window shopping, suspect you’ll end up in the 80-120 euro range. If you are looking for a helmet, here are some things to consider and these features will affect cost:
Do you want adjustable vents?
Do you want to be able to remove the ear protectors/flaps on warmer days?
Do you want to be able to remove the liner for periodic washing?
Do you want a helmet with ear phones for your i-pod? This appears to becoming more popular but, in my view, more dangerous as it is more difficult to hear the cautionary yell or to sense a skier or boarder bearing down on you from behind.
Another thing to consider, if you already own that favorite set of goggles or glasses and you have no interest in replacing them, take the eye protection with you when you go helmet shopping. Similarly, take the helmet with you during your eye protection shopping if you already own a helmet and you are about to buy eye protection. The shape of the helmet’s face opening and the shape of the goggles should be complementary. If they aren’t, the goggles will either press down on the nose or up on the helmet; neither is good or comfortable.
Some of you may be boot shopping. Needless to say boot shopping can be a lengthy process and it’s more than just about comfort. Today, most boots have flex ratings – the higher the flex the stiffer the boot and, typically, the better or more aggressive the skier. The stiffer the boot, the more responsive the boot but the less forgiving the boot. It’s important to understand that manufacturer flex ratings are not exact, in fact, there are no precise industry standards. So, flex within a manufacturer’s line will provide you relative ratings within that manufacturer’s inventory but an 85 flex Nordica boot may not be exactly the same as an 85 flex Salomon boot, for instance. So, you have to do side-by-side boot comparisons.
The September 2009 SKI Magazine offers the following boot flex rating definitions:
150-140: Ridiculously stiff. For elite male racers.
130-120: Still a cinder block. For heavyweight and/or aggressive expert men, elite female racers.
110-100: Sturdy but manageable. For typical high-expert guys; heavyweight intermediate men; most aggressive expert women.
90-80: Moderate and comfort-oriented. For intermediate men; lightweight/nonagressive expert men; junior racers; expert teens; female experts.
70-60: Soft and ultra comfortable. For novice men; novice/intermediate women; kids.
Standard rental boots typically fall in the 70-60 flex range.
Now that we are getting into the ski trip season, let me take a moment to discuss cancellation/refund procedures.
a. Cancellation. In the event you must cancel out of a trip, please immediately inform the trip captain so that he/she appropriately: adjusts trip sales space availability; notifies trips accounts for financial accounting; and notifies the trips manager for tour operator notification. Please don’t offer your trip space(s) to a friend. Why not? First, the TC offers the space(s) to the next person on the waiting list…that’s only fair. Second, another person can’t show up at the hotel in your place. Reservations are by name and European hotels often charge a cancellation fee for no shows. The Club would then have to pay an additional amount for your unannounced replacement.
b. Refund. The refund process begins with a refund petition you submit to your trip captain. The petition should include who, what, when, why and appropriate supporting documentation – basically that which is needed by the Council to make an informed decision. The TC will submit the petition to the HISC Council. The Council will discuss the case and vote on a decision once the trip is closed out financially, meaning all bills have been paid – normally a week or two after the trip weekend. You may ask, why don’t I automatically receive a refund? Many hotels charge cancellation/name change fees and those fees vary. Financial implications are not confirmed until we receive the final trip voucher. The treasurer and trip accounts manager confirm the accuracy of the billing and then your refund is presented to the council for consideration. The club should not incur costs attributable to a member’s cancellation.
c. Non-Refundable Deposit Refund. This is sometimes controversial so let me address it now. As stated in the Ski Guide, the HISC web site, and in the Constitution, the Club has a policy that the 35 euro deposit is non-refundable. This procedure is not unlike USO, ITT, and other tour/travel agencies. Some may ask why such a policy exists. Club membership in years past voted to incorporate such verbiage into the Club Constitution. Financial and sign-up trend analysis continues to support the policy. The Council abides by the policy and procedures that membership chooses to put in place. In the spring of each year, club members have the opportunity to amend the constitution and by-laws by majority vote. Membership has sustained this policy since inception. All that said, the Council does have compassion while sustaining stewardship of the financial health of the Club and the intent of the Constitution and By-Laws. There may be an extraordinary circumstance whereby the Council may choose, by majority vote, to refund the deposit. Such a case may be emergency leave to the States due to a death in the family and the trip broke even financially. The Council asks that you use discretion in asking for a refund of the non-refundable deposit. Thanks.
Now to what we are all about…trips….
Trip sales for Oburgurgl, Stuben, and Arabba are closed.
This is your last chance to sign-up for the week long Christmas U-drive trip to St. Veit. Don’t forget this trip includes ski lessons for the full range of ski abilities - never before skied through advanced. This is truly a best value trip.
We are wait-listing people for Kitzbuehel and Portes du Soleil. If you think you want to go on one of these trips, please contact the TC to get wait-listed. A lot can happen between now and mid-January thereby creating opportunities for wait-listed skiers.
Andermatt (29-31 Jan) opens on 2 December. It is a new destination for the club. The resort is known as an attractive, traditional village with an excellent snow record. Most skiing is above the tree line. Intermediate and advanced skiers will find more pleasure on the slopes than will beginners. Andermatt has a reputation for great off-piste opportunities. Off-piste and excellent snow opens all kinds of opportunities for the adventurer…might this be a powder hound off-piste weekend? Skiing is split over three unlinked but easily accessible mountains. You will have an opportunity to explore two of the areas during this two day weekend trip. Cross-country skiers can enjoy 40 km of loops along the valley floor. Non-skiers can enjoy the local toboggan run or the beauty of the town’s churches and the museum of local history. The hotel is a fairly basic 3-star establishment. This is one of our cheaper trips.
Begin your financial planning now for the two trips that open on 16 Dec – Zell am See and Ski Safari. I suspect sales for these two President’s Day weekend trips will go as fast as the two Martin Luther King weekend trips. I’ll provide highlights for these two trips in the next newsletter.
Look forward to seeing you on 2 Dec…post Oburgurgl. Don’t forget, the ski doctor will be servicing your ailing skis and boards on the second. Take advantage of this convenient, reasonable cost opportunity. You won’t find a better price. Your skis/boards will thank-you by providing hours of skiing/boarding pleasure.
Time to pull out the snow dance attire and work your magic. We may need to have a snow dance competition at a social.
Have a great Thanksgiving. We have much for which to be thankful.
Don’t forget about the swap shop. Clear out the closet. Be generous. Dig out that crazy hat…show us the real you.
Let is snow…snow…and snow.
Regards,
Al
09-10 HISC President
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