Greetings East Iowa Ski Club members. It was good to see everyone at the March St. Patrick’s Day themed meeting. I don’t want to talk too much about the meeting as I have been informed, I tend to repeat the meeting summaries. However, I did want to thank Tim Gull and his technical advisor, Rosanne Van Cura for the cool slide show from his Italian ski trip. It reminded me of a trip we took many years ago (2010 – I looked it up) with the club and we had a great time going to Innsbruck, Austria. We skied San Moritz in Switzerland, the Stubai Glacier and Kitzbuhel in Austria. We had a great time site seeing in Germany (Neuschwanstein Castle), Austria (Innsbruck, Swarovski Crystal, Salzburg) and some went into Italy. Maybe it is time to look at another European ski vacation. It looks like the CMSC does a great job taking care of the details. Tim may have found an easier way to travel & ski Europe.
I found both of this year’s ski trips exceptional. The snow was off this year, it was too warm and we had a lot of trouble filling up both trips. However, I really enjoyed the skiing and especially the company on these two trips. Skiing with your EISC friends is always fun. Steamboat was great – my memory of the runs did not work all that well and it was icy in spots, but we had a great time. The condos were pretty nice – well, the hike to the third floor was more of a challenge than in past years. The new village was really cool – there were new bars, restaurants, shops and always something going on. The food was excellent in the village, on the mountain and in the condo. The après-ski night at the Sunset Lodge was great fun. The band had old guitars that remembered some old songs we hadn’t heard in some time. The entire trip went well.
The Winter Park trip had the same snow issues, but again was very enjoyable. The snow was better (less icy) and we got powder three days in a row. I did remember my way around the mountains better from a trip about six years ago when Bill Bonewitz helped guide us. Bill became a Winter Park expert, spending several winters there after the farming wound down. The Zephyr Mountain Lodge was a great location just above the village. The village was much more relaxed or family oriented than Steamboat, but there was always something to do. The après-ski night in the Sunspot lodge featured blue grass, which was entertaining. Riding the gondola up to the lodge to listen to music is kind of cool. Now we need to come up with a 2027 ski trip that will fill up more easily and that most skiing members will enjoy.
We did announce the election results. Congratulations to elected board members Todd Eadie, Tim Gull, LeeAnn Eddins and me (Steve Cummings). Dawn Novetzke had the most votes following and was asked to fill in for our friend Marty Stimson’s final year. Thanks to Lori Huff and Cathy Dick for running the election this year – oh and the board representative, Rosanne Van Cura. A new board will be established in April.
Rosanne did speak on Adventure travel options in these challenging times. Trip Leader, Cathy Dick said the May 14th Texas bus trip has one open spot left. Diane Scholl told us the EISC’s September 3rd Cosmos Highlights of Ireland and Scotland Tour has 17 going but can add two more – these spots have to go back in April.
The next meeting will be our Post Party at the Eagles Club on April 18th. There is a 250-year Semiquincentennial theme for the party. We will have a dinner, short meeting and get to enjoy music from the Detour Band. Please sign up and plan to attend the EISC Post Party! Looking forward to seeing everyone there!