Another ski season has come and gone. Many members came out to participate in club business meetings where upcoming events were discussed. Also, committees gave information about safe skiing and the latest ski racing events, and new technologies were shared. Meetings were short and to the point.

   Every year the Watchung Ski Club does what it does best…..goes skiing! Last year was no exception.

   We participated in street fairs in Westfield and Cranford. After hanging up our banner at the WASC booth, we did our best to entice new people to join. This was very successful and we did get new members. To that end, we invited our old members and potential new members to our annual Open House in October and the house was packed!

   In pre-season, Mary Ellen Kazar and Joe Tag led us on some spectacular hikes. This helped prepare us for the skills needed in skiing.

   WASC has been known for its bus trips. There were full buses to Windham and Belleayre in New York, and Blue Mountain and Elk Mountain in Pennsylvania. Breakfast was served on all of our trips. On the way home, there were snacks along with the camaraderie that extended throughout the day. On one of our trips we even ran a wacky race where a race course was set up with limbo gates, a maze, and a little uphill skiing. This provided a whole lot of fun for all of the participants.

   The winter is long and there are more than just day trips. So we spent a weekend at Okemo in Vermont, five days at Sunday River in Maine, and two days at our annual Club Outing and Race at Bromley in Vermont.

   Every year the Club goes skiing in the West and last year was no exception. We went to Big Sky, Montana. After every western trip I say, “We will never be able to top this trip!” Well, we did! The mountain, the weather, and most of all skiing with everybody at WASC were the best.

   Last season, “Mother Nature” was not just kind, she was outright generous. There was no global warming in ski country. We were blessed with blue skies all day and LOTS of snow at night making this a true season to remember!

   When not skiing, we socialized, ate, drank, and talked about skiing. We ran five in-house theme dinners along with Paul and Anna’s Fourth of July party (water balloons included), and had a New Year’s Day bash at my house.

   Our annual Banquet and Award Dinner concluded the ski season. We celebrated this successful year at a formal dinner dance at The Westwood in Garwood.

   All in all, it was a great year! I would personally like to thank all who participated in one of WASC’s finest seasons. Can next year be any better? It will be WASC’s 70th Birthday year! Come celebrate with us!

Bob Gittleman
President, WASC
Phone 732-770-0205
E mail berniesw@aol.com