By Dorothy Pantel          Photos by Ed



The 73rd Annual Convention and the 75th Anniversary of the Far West Ski Association was celebrated in Long Beach, California, on June 9 through June 12, 2005 at the Westin Hotel.

Some of our delegates arrived early to participate in the Pub Crawl Thursday night that heralds the start of the convention and its festivities. The next day, Friday, June 10, a group went off to play golf, another group went to visit the Queen Mary and another group went off kayaking. Ed Martin, Après Ski Club President, wrote an article summarizing the groups adventure and is featured below. Delegates who represented Après Ski club at this convention were: Ed Martin, Mary Martin, Mike ?, Dorothy Pantel, Helga Campbell, Dee Askew; Scott Bowker; John Schultheis, Linda Indreboe and Cherly ?.

This year the convention featured exhibitor and history booths. Unfortunately, Après did not have time to put a booth together that would have depicted the history of the club. Preparations for the Silent Auction and Dance were underway. Seven o’clock rolled around and everyone was checking out all the great trips and equipment they could bid on as well as enjoying the beer that was donated by Firestone Beer and hosted by Big Mountain Resort & Grouse Mountain Lodge.

Saturday morning we were treated to a continental breakfast and the opening session of the convention. After breakfast we all went off to the Travel Expo to meet with the ski and travel industry “up close and personal.”

Dr. Michael Adams, Ansel Adams’ son, was our guest speaker at lunch. He gave all of us a wonderful background of his father’s life and his love for the environment. Ansel Adams had taught himself to play the piano and read music and was planning a career as a concert pianist that never came to fruition.

Saturday also brought another interesting feature. The TV series “Monk” was being filmed in the lobby of the Westin. Don’t be surprised if you see some Après members in the background. Boy, do we have a bunch of hams in the club.

Some of the ski celebrities who were at the convention were: Deb Armstrong, 1984 Olympic GS Gold Medalist; Caroline Beteta, Executive Director, CA Travel & Tourism Commission; Chris Davenport, 1996 World Extreme Skiing Champion; Jimmie Heuga, 1964 Olympic Slalom Bronze Medalist, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 1970; Joe Jay Jalbert, filmmaker; Billy Kidd, 1964 Olympic Slalom Silver Medalist; Richard Kun, President, Snow Summit Ski Corporation; Laura Menozzi, Director of Finance, National Ski Area Association; Stephanie Neff, Deputy Director, Clifornia Ski Industry Association; Glen Plake, Heavenly Lake Tahoe two-time World Champion Hot Dog Skier; Doug Pringle, Executive Director, Disabled Sports USA – Far West (DSUSA); Marlene Finley, Winter Sports Program Manager, Pacific Southwest Division U.S. Forest Service and Bob Salerno, 199\71 Professional Freestyle Champion, 1974 World Super Hot Dog Champion.

Saturday evening was the Awards Banquet and Dance. The wine was donated by Penfolds, Australia and was hosted by Vail Reports and the awards were given out. The food was delicious, the dancing very upbeat and everyone was having a ball.

Sunday morning was the Eye-Opener Reception. The room was full of the convention party goers enjoying bloody marys, mimosas and munching on hors d’oeuvres from sweet rolls to lox and bagels.

Well, we came to Long Beach for the FWSA Meeting and Elections, and it was time to get down to business. While convening for our meeting, we experienced an earthquake around 8:37am, magnitude around 6.2. We later learned that it was centered around Palm Springs. Elections were held and our own Scott Bowker was reelected for VP Public Affairs. The final awards for club and newsletter were presented. Après took second place for club and third for newsletter. Sunday brunch was served and it was time to pack up and hit the road back home. A great time was had by all, and we look forward to next year’s convention.

Kayak Adventure, by Ed Martin

Two busloads of Conference early arrivals took off along Ocean Boulevard to Alamitos Bay for a small but enjoyable kayak adventure.

We launched from a protected beach under the “June gloom” skies that marked the whole weekend and split into several groups. My group first paddled across to circumnavigate Naples Island viewing the multimillion-dollar homes, each with a similarly valuable boat moored at their personal jetties. There was little activity, were they working, sleeping or simply visiting one of their other numerous abodes?

A paddle back and then north west took us close to Marina Vista Park where we were promised close encounters with non-stinging jelly fish. It was true and taking care not to frighten them, many of us were able to pick them up by simply sliding a hand underneath. Fascinating.

Finally we returned to a splendid lunch of barbecue chicken, rice and salad making the outing a great value at $30.